#6: Forms - Improving User Experience
Hi all! I did not make a post last week due to the holidays, so this one will encompass the past two weeks.
I have still been working on getting information from Subject Matter Experts regarding commencement dates for each college and school at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Because of the holidays, the responses are rolling in slowly but surely. In this time, I have been using a Google Sheet to keep track of who has and hasn’t responded and the information they provide about when commencement dates are finalized and who to contact for this information in the coming years. I have always considered myself to be proficient at using Google Sheets, but this work is improving my skills even further!
I have also begun working on improving user experience on the One Stop Forms page. I am proofreading and editing previously collected information about the type, usage, and intended audience of each form. Eventually, each form will have its own page with context about what the form is and who should and shouldn’t use it. This will provide users with more information about if they have found the correct form or not for their situation.
This task has been putting my editing skills to the test because some forms are very jargon-heavy. Using jargon can prevent users from reaching their goals and getting the help they need. This means that I have to take time to do research and understand what the forms are used for so that I can use the correct plain language to describe them to users. I also have to find a good balance between being descriptive and concise. Not every form is for every user, so they need to know if they can use it. But, providing too much detail could cause them to skim over the context and miss key information.
This project will definitely take some time to work on, but it has been a good test of my editing and audience analysis skills so far.
Key words: research, editing, forms