Microsoft | Azure Developer Division

UX content design for developer tools

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Cracking complexity | Intentional pattern use | Core user action | Research-driven iterating | Video

Cracking complexity

Designing for developers means I break down highly complex subjects into clear, efficient—yet still authentic—interfaces. My audience coverage includes new developers and experts alike; transparent communication is the through line.

Intentional pattern use

I redesigned a complex form that needed more strategic pattern use.

In this product example, users are creating a scale rule for an application. They can choose from a service template or work from a blank form—in either path, there are highly-technical fields to navigate.

I’ve shown the designs along with annotations I shared with partners.

What’s the core user action?

To communicate a feature requirement within the limited space of this radio selection, I combined a string with URL text to reduce cognitive load.

Users immediately know what’s required and where to complete the task, with less reading.

Research-driven iterating

I designed a feature over the course of several months and multiple user research studies. We had a clear problem to solve—and a challenging road to a solution.

Step 1: Align internally

At this stage, we had a lot of user feedback telling us which specific problems we needed to solve. Design-wise, that was a great position to be in—until we realized that we didn’t have alignment across the product team on how to solve those problems.

I created a new internal process where design and research interviewed all internal stakeholders to understand their mindmap of the product. We clarified audience segment, business outcomes, and specific jobs to be done.

Step 2: Draft designs

Once the team was aligned, we could start building a coherent solution. Given that much of our user feedback on past designs concerned confusing terminology, I worked to simplify the UX language according to the user jobs the team aligned on in step 1.

Step 3: Validate again

Then it was time to see if we’d addressed the core problems with the previous design. 

STEPS 2-3 VISUALS

Product video

I write scripts, work with motion designers, and refine voiceover audio.

I love writing for video and creating multimedia assets. It’s such an impactful way to expand reach and fill out the story between product interface, docs, and marketing channels.