UX Writing #5
Write for error-recovery
Exceptions truly break the system. Many products design a great experience when everything is going smooth, it’s when exceptions occur like the one above, where the experience gets severely tested.
And exceptions of ANY and ALL kinds will happen, no matter how much you try to prevent it.
Handling exceptions keeping the user in mind goes a long way in showcasing reliability and leads to building trust in the product. It shows that you truly care.
Reliability and trust help in product adoption. :)
Let’s break down the brief given —
Scenario
The user works in graphic design. While critiquing a design in a mobile app, their phone abruptly turns off. When they restart the phone, they reopen the app.
“The user works in graphic design”…user is a designer, this is interesting.
“…critiquing a design in a mobile app”…user is tech-savvy. To be able to critique in an app is something not many people will do or be able to do. Though I didn’t fully understand why will anyone want to critique on a mobile app as the screen space is very limited. And also the experience would be quite tedious as one wants to see the design holistically and also be able to share comments in parallel.
“…phone abruptly turns off. When they restart the phone, they reopen the app.” Love this challenge as it deals with exceptions, though these exceptions can and occur fairly often in real-world scenarios.
Assuming the user has spent some time on the critique, for the phone to turn off abruptly, the first thought is whether whatever I have done so far is lost and I have to start all over again? So when they open the app, the experience which the user will get is critical. This experience can either lead to trust or erode trust for the user. If the user is new to the app, it’s likely the user will not use the app again and if the user is somewhat a regular user, it's likely the user may want to find some another app as the replacement.
No one wants to use a product which is not reliable especially during exceptions like these.
Challenge
“Write a message that the user will read immediately upon opening the app. What do they need to know? What steps (if any) do they need to take to recover their content? What if they can’t recover their content?”
I found the challenge a bit confusing and vague as it mentions several use-cases such as —
- What do they need to know?
2. What steps do they need to take to recover?
3. What if they can't recover?
All 3, will have it’s own experience and needs to be written and handled for separately. It may also be that no handling is required as the user just resumes where they left off. But then there will be no need for any UX Writing in the first place. :)
Probably, point #1 will be present along with either #2 or #3.
So let's begin.
Version ONE
We noticed the app got shut down abruptly. Usually, we get a crash report, but since we didn’t get it we assume its due to device shutting down.
Not to worry, you can resume your work right from where you left.
Version TWO
Sorry, due to sudden app shutdown, we couldn't save your work. We humbly apologize and will ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Version THREE
Oops, look like the app was shut down forcefully. Worry not, thanks to auto-save you can resume right from where you left off from the “Draft” section.
Version FOUR
Something unexpected happened and the app was closed forcefully. You can resume your last version which was auto-saved at 10:18 am.
Version FIVE
We are afraid we couldn’t save your work as the device was shut down abruptly which led to data corruption. We are looking into it and will ensure this doesn’t happen again. Sorry. :(
Version SIX
We have noticed that the device and therefore the app was shut down abruptly. Nothing to worry, you can resume right from where you left off.
Resume or start fresh. (Links)
Writing for empty-states and error-states is where the magic of UX Writing can really shine through.
Let me know which version you would like to experience if you were the user.
View other Writing related posts —
https://medium.com/@anirudhbb/deliberate-practice-ux-writing-d6395e09bab4
