All Entries in
intranets

User interface writing and guidelines for intranet applications

Client/employer: Intuit

Challenges: Reduce internal support and operations costs, increase employees’ use of benefits programs, and improve productivity and internal communication.

Dutchgirl’s solutions

I wrote user interface copy and designed interaction for a variety of intranet applications, including:

  • An internal news and information site — with interfaces for both readers and authors of articles, and guidelines for authors
  • A stock purchase plan signup tool for employees; see Employee Signup for Stock Purchase Plan
  • A “pay decision tool” for managers

I wrote navigation and other labels, onscreen instructions, error messages, help, and automatically generated emails.

For more details

… or to discuss your project, contact us.

Employee signup for stock purchase plan

Employer: Intuit, Mountain View, California

Challenges: Design an intranet application to replace the paper form used for employee stock purchase plan signup and changes. Putting the functionality online changed the process for the staff processing the changes, as well as for employee users. Because an employee might incur financial risk by using the application, help text had to be carefully worded.

Dutchgirl’s solutions

I wrote user interface copy for several different user scenarios based on business requirements of the company’s stock plan. Here are the deliverables I produced:

  • Application flow: Flowchart for each user scenario: new signup, changes to contribution during or after open enrollment, withdrawal from the plan, and several others.
  • Interface copy and help: Series of screens for login and for each user scenario, including instructions to the engineers for dynamic text. A chart of error messages mapped to issues. Context-sensitive help about ESPP paycheck contributions and the rules of the plan.
  • Emails: Messages automatically generated by the system to send employees confirmation of changes they had made in the application, including instructions to engineers for dynamic text.

Editing of Cisco sales force support materials

Client: Cisco

Challenges: Impose clarity and consistency on presentations in varying styles and formats.

Dutchgirl’s solutions

These 1-page presentations, which Cisco’s sales reps used in selling Cisco’s Internet solutions for businesses, summarized recent developments in the adoption and use of Internet technologies in different industries. To make the presentations easy for reps to scan and use, I edited them for sense, format, and length.

For more details

… or to discuss your project, contact us.

Prototype of intranet for international retailer

Client: Gap Inc.

Challenges: Make a case for building an intranet site for the IS group that supported retail stores in 6 countries.

Dutchgirl’s solutions

On the basis of user interviews and task analysis, I created a prototype that showed how an intranet could improve development and support of the computerized systems in Gap’s North American, European, and Japanese stores. CMS was Lotus Domino intranet server.

For more details

… or to discuss your project, contact us.