How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert

Chapter 4: Choose a Direction | Page 93

Create a list of words you say.

A controlled vocabulary is an organized list of terms, phrases, and concepts intended to help someone navigate a specific context.

Documenting language standards can reduce linguistic insecurity.

A good controlled vocabulary considers:

• Variant spellings (e.g., American or British)
• Tone (e.g., Submit or Send)
• Scientific and popular terms (e.g., cockroaches or Periplaneta Americana)
• Insider and outsider terms (e.g., what we say at work; what we say in public)
• Acceptable synonyms (e.g., automobile, car, auto, or vehicle)
• Acceptable acronyms (e.g., General Electric, GE, or G.E.)

Chapter 4: Choose a Direction | Page 94

Create a list of words you don’t say.

A controlled vocabulary doesn’t have to end with terms you intend to use. Go deeper by defining terms and concepts that misalign with your intent.

For the sake of clarity, you can also define:

• Terms and concepts that conflict with a user’s mental model of how things work
• Terms and concepts that have alternative meaning for users or stakeholders
• Terms and concepts that carry historical, political, or cultural baggage
• Acronyms and homographs that may confuse users or stakeholders

In my experience, a list of things you don’t say can be even more powerful than a list of things you do. I’ve been known to wear a whistle and blow it in meetings when someone uses a term from the don’t list.

Chapter 4: Choose a Direction | Page 97

Understand the past.

As you talk through your controlled vocabulary, listen for stories and images people associate with each term.

Language has history. Synonyms and alternatives abound. Myths can get in your way too, unless you’re willing to uncover them.

Gather the following about each term:

• History: How did the term come into being? How has it changed over time?
• Myths: Do people commonly misunderstand this term, its meaning, or its usage? How?
• Alternatives: What are the synonyms for the term? What accidental synonyms exist?

When it comes to language, people are slow to change and quick to argue. Documenting these details will help you make your controlled vocabulary as clear and useful as possible.

Chapter 6: Play with Structure | Page 143

Meet Joan

Joan is the social media coordinator for an airline that recently merged with another airline. Overnight, her team became responsible for twice as much work as before. She’s also now responsible for managing twice as many people.

As the details of the merger iron out, duplicative channels have to be dealt with. For example, they now have two Twitter accounts and two help directories on two different websites. To tie everything together, Joan:

• Conducts user and stakeholder research
• Develops a controlled vocabulary to identify the nouns and verbs of both companies across their existing channels
• States the intent of each channel and determines the best direction to serve users
• Develops specific goals and baselines
• Identifies a set of flags to keep her informed
• Maps out the channels that she manages and how the merger will affect each over time
• Organizes each channel to better serve stakeholders and users