Without a strategy, it’s just words.
Content strategy is the most important part of any UX work, yet sadly you only notice it if it’s done poorly. These rules and logic define how you talk about your products and services, how to adapt this language in different circumstances, and how to connect with your customers when it matters most.
On this page:
• Fields terminology work
• Writing guidelines and principles for non-tech teams
• New navigation EAP strategy
Fields terminology strategy framework
As part of a long-term project to simplify the Fields management experience in Jira, I evaluated our use of key terminology — particularly how we talked about fields — and created a simpler and more intuitive framework for talking about this essential tool.
I did this by:
- evaluating the existing usage of key terminology
- aligning these definitions with the mental model of the product
- suggesting updated terminology and design solutions to make a simpler experience
This was a success in that these recommendations:
- were applied in a central pillar of work that affects all Jira users
- made for simpler experience
- were easily understood and approved in customer calls
Writing guidelines and principles for non-tech teams
Jira was made by developers for developers. But to meet user adoption goals, we needed appeal to a wider audience. This meant adopting a content strategy that appeals to less technical and more casual users. To that end, I wrote a document (and recorded a fake podcast because I wanted max engagement) that outlined content principles for simplifying existing and creating new experiences that appeal to more than just developers.
To achieve this, I:
• evaluated the language and structures found in Jira
• aligned these with the user personas of our current and target audiences
• defined recommendations that aligned with our product design and strategy
This page didn’t produce any direct outcomes, but was successful in:
• prioritising simplification projects in Plans as well as in Jira at large
• influencing future content and product decisions and
• it was cited by other designers to justify future design decisions
New navigation EAP strategy
To validate that our new navigation design was an improvement over the old, I gathered feedback from users then refined the experience before migrating all customers into the new experience.
To achieve this, I:
• defined key points of the user journey throughout this Early Access Period
• presented work to stakeholders to get resourcing and
• triaged and prioritized feedback to solve most impactful design-related issues
This Early Access Period was a success in that it led to:
• usability issues raised by customers that were solved before larger rollout
• improved customer reception of new navigation
• widespread rollout to all users – see New Navigation Onboarding tour
What’s shared below is documentation from that process. It includes:
• the metrics by which we measured success
• an exploration of whether another competing rollout might interfere with this, including usage statistics and timeline comparisons
• recommendations about what actions to take