Chun San Yong

Setting up a content process

40% faster, 400% calmer
 

Context

When I joined Endowus as the first and only content designer, the content process was messy™.
 
Problem
During an early project that I hopped on (let’s call it Project A), we suffered from a few things:
  • Long discussions to perfect sentences that did the job well enough.
  • Stakeholders not knowing when to review content and whether content had been signed off.
  • Our C-suite calling for content changes last minute during development.
 
Goal
Get timely, focused, and visible feedback on product content.
 

Stuff I tried at first

 
Set up a Figma page for async content reviews
This was for an early design checkpoint (we were about 10% into project B), and I had 2 aims:
  • Move together as a team: bring in the marketing and customer support folks, who’d felt left out and wanted to chime in early on.
  • Keep crits focused: spell out progress and the kind of feedback useful at this stage to steer productive conversations.
 
 
notion image
 
Initially, stakeholders liked how clear the process looked. A senior executive said, ”Such a huge improvement on our Figma review process!!!” I got tons of useful comments from all the teams.
 
 
Folks were super eager to share thoughts. This was a much higher level of participation than in project A.
Folks were super eager to share thoughts. This was a much higher level of participation than in project A.
 

How the early attempt failed

Sadly, the process quickly showed cracks:
 
Workflow and documentation issues
Subject matter experts created a Google Sheet on their own because they wanted to draft copy. This ended up in an unwieldy mix of Google Sheet and Figma, with comments flying in both places.
 
Content review process issues
Last minute overhauls to terminology and tooltips, because another team of subject matter experts spotted major risks in content accuracy after developer handoff.
 
Conceptual debt
The copy was more complex than needed because of early decisions about this project’s main concepts and terminology.
 
 
Ever tried to pack 3 dense concepts and a complicated transaction process into a subheading? 0/10 would not recommend.
Ever tried to pack 3 dense concepts and a complicated transaction process into a subheading? 0/10 would not recommend.
 
Despite everything, I’d learnt a lot about what went wrong and what made our org tick. I was excited to iterate the content process for our next project, Project C.
 

Stuff I tried, round 2

With a better sense of the org’s rhythms and how stakeholders preferred to work, I proposed changes to our process that helped us get early alignment on project and content requirements, and move forward together.
 
Improved documentation and clearly defined deliverables
4 foundational documents for our cross-functional teams to work with throughout a project:
  • a product spec
  • an investment product highlights sheet
  • a copy doc
  • a project-specific glossary
Each document had a unique purpose, plus clearly defined cross-functional roles and responsibilities.
 
Clear conceptual model and terminology from the start
Iron out what we mean exactly and aligning on direction, so that downstream work sails smoothly.
 
 
Since it was the Christmas holidays and many folks were on vacation, I ran async discussions in Slack.
Since it was the Christmas holidays and many folks were on vacation, I ran async discussions in Slack.
 
1 copy doc as the source of truth
Housed in Google Docs, for content items that needed to be pair-written and revised with stakeholders. Just 1 source of truth for stakeholders to look at. No more ping-ponging between Figma and Google Sheets.
 
 
Project C’s copy doc.
Project C’s copy doc.
 

Impact

~40% faster time to market. No last minute content surprises. All-around more effective collaboration to make quality content.
I wanted to appreciate how fast you scaled yourself and how much of the product work you are owning... makes this all so much easier and less painful and quicker too! — Product manager
 

Reflections

 
Take time to create shared clarity early
So much of our content mishaps in later project phases came from rushing full speed ahead without sharpening our requirements or conceptual model. Fuzzy thinking cascades into product content. Thinking these things through first sets content up for success later.
 
Fit in with stakeholders’ workflows
The best tool is the tool that people feel comfortable using, even if it has limits. And well, Figma is not the friendliest for non-designers.
 
 
 
 
Related work
Building Endowus’s content design practice →
 
 
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