Doctar - Voice, Tone and UX Writing
Voice and Tone
Defining the language used is fundamental in consolidating the identity and coinsistency of any solution, and the relevance of how Doctar will communicate and appear to users has led us to a study to better understand how to convey what is intended to be the user’s perception: more direct, serious, formal, respectful and medium-educated, since the relationship occurs with individuals who may not be at their best mood.
Fun, irreverent or casual tones would not be appropriate. Moreover, the vocabulary has been purposely simplified so as not to seem too cultured or too much, Doctar wants to be accessible and simple, without being simpleton.
And so stood the baseline for the Doctar tone and voice:
More direct, one of the fundamental pillars of the solution is to be a channel where the user can solve all the demands of the journey in an agile way. With this, assertive and simple communication is a prerequisite for a better experience.
More formal, because it treats people’s health, we understand that Doctar should give confidence to the user at all times, not fitting the use of words or expressions casual or outside the correct grammatical use.
More serious, because we understand that at the time of use the patient is not necessarily in a comfortable situation, since she is seeking a solution to a possible discomfort, cute and smiling emojis would not sound good.
More respectful, deepening the previous guideline, an irreverent approach was not understood as convenient at the time the user uses the application, as this could cause irritation, indignation and ruin the experience and success of the solution.
Medium-educated, avoiding jargon and technicalities both medical and technological, prioritizing the use of words of easy understanding to reduce cognitive effort and better experience. A counterpoint to the seriousness that business requires by its nature.
UX Writing
So that we could apply the vocabulary with better fit and guarantee the least possible cognitive effort and improve the experience, we investigated which words people are statistically more accustomed to using and apply them in the most relevant tasks such as “set an appointment” (instead of of “schedule appointment”), “cancel appointment” (instead of “delete appointment”), “create something” (instead of “add or register something”).
This study was carried out by combining interviews with doctors and patients, observing the vocabulary used by competitors (which to our surprise in some cases misaligned with our conclusions), and finally, comparing the most used “eligible” words in Google searches. (an important reinforcement if well combined with the other approaches, its use is not recommended in isolation in the context of UX Writing).
A curious example: if not even doctors use the word “schedule” to “set” an appointment, why then are there applications using “schedule”? (to align with the fact that the appointment is made in a “schedule”?).
Below we can see some comparative Google Trends examples, indicating the words that users are most used to.
The words compared below were not translated because they do not have perfect equivalent meanings in English, however, to give a context idea, we have translated as closely as possible.
“marcar” ou “agendar” consultation?
“Set” or “Schedule”.
https://trends.google.com.br/trends/explore?cat=45&geo=BR&q=marcar%20consulta,agendar%20consulta
“cancelar”, “desmarcar”, “deletar” ou “excluir” consulta?
“Cancel”, “Unschedule”, “Delete” or “Exclude”.
https://trends.google.com.br/trends/explore?cat=45&geo=BR&q=cancelar,desmarcar,deletar,excluir
“avaliação” ou “opinião”?
“Evaluate” or “Opinion”.
https://trends.google.com.br/trends/explore?cat=45&geo=BR&q=avalia%C3%A7%C3%A3o,opini%C3%A3o
“pesquisar” ou “buscar”?
“Search” or “Look for”.
https://trends.google.com.br/trends/explore?cat=45&geo=BR&q=pesquisar,buscar
“pesquisar médico” ou “buscar médico”?
“Search for doctor” or “Look for doctor”.
https://trends.google.com.br/trends/explore?cat=45&geo=BR&q=pesquisar%20medico,buscar%20medico
“mudar”, “alterar” ou “trocar” password?
“Change”, “alter”, switch”.
“criar”, “adicionar” ou “cadastrar”?
“Create”, “Add” or “Subscribe”.
https://trends.google.com.br/trends/explore?cat=45&geo=BR&q=criar,adicionar,cadastrar
The use of more adherent words showed a clear effect on the results of usability tests, with 100% successful conclusions, respectively for patients and professionals. In addition, 55% of the “testers” said: “The vocabulary and icons made it easier to complete tasks”, revealing the good decision of the study on using the most appropriate words in combination with icons common to various interfaces.
It was not possible to score improvements addressed to the specific use of each word, as they were either used since the first low-end prototype, or were not part of the tasks of the first usability test.
Curious? Click here to see the results of the Doctar usability tests.
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