{"id":2871,"date":"2019-12-04T10:31:20","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T10:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital\/?p=2871"},"modified":"2024-11-12T17:04:09","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T17:04:09","slug":"5-things-i-learned-from-my-first-content-crit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital\/2019\/12\/04\/5-things-i-learned-from-my-first-content-crit\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things I learned from my first content crit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just days into my role as a new content designer I faced a baptism of fire \u2013 my first content crit.<\/p>\n

This meant the whole content design team \u2013 10 of us \u2013 gathered to give frank feedback on my first content piece. No pressure!<\/p>\n

I rise from the flames to share what I learned:<\/p>\n

1. Crit is short for critique \u2013 not criticise<\/h2>\n

The first rule of content crit club is that you talk about content \u2013 constructively. The aim is to make the content as good as it can be.<\/p>\n

I set up the content on a big screen and gave some background. The content was on Breastfeeding and your business<\/a>.\u00a0 The user need was to make it as easy as possible for businesses to sign up to the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland scheme.<\/p>\n

We gathered around a table, discussed the content in sections and I took notes of some really helpful feedback.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not comfortable giving or receiving feedback in front of others a \u2018silent\u2019 crit can be another good way.<\/p>\n

This works by printing the content out and sticking it to a wall in a large space. Instead of discussing the content, we put our feedback anonymously on post-its and stick it to the relevant bit of content.<\/p>\n

2. The content crit rules<\/h2>\n

As I mentioned there are rules around content crits. We have posters around the office to remind us of them:<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Talk about the work not the person<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re giving feedback don\u2019t make it personal. Say things like \u2018this could be\u2019 instead of \u2018you haven\u2019t done this\u2019.<\/p>\n

Be specific<\/h3>\n

Explain the reason for your feedback, clarify what you mean and give examples.<\/p>\n

Be constructive<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t give personal opinions such as \u2018I don\u2019t like this\u2019. Ask the person who wrote it if they\u2019ve tried other ways.<\/p>\n

Give some background<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re running the crit you\u2019ll get better feedback on your work if people understand why you\u2019ve done it. Explain who your users are, their needs and what you\u2019re trying to achieve.<\/p>\n

Tell people what you want feedback on<\/h3>\n

This will help them focus their feedback rather than make general comments.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t talk too much<\/h3>\n

After you explain the background, let people review the content in their own time.<\/p>\n

Take notes<\/h3>\n

Take notes as you won\u2019t remember what everyone has to say. Or ask someone else to take notes so you can focus on listening and understanding.<\/p>\n

3. Many content heads are better than 1<\/h2>\n

\u2018Could we say stop instead of prevent?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Would it be helpful to list contacts alphabetically?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Could we use more inclusive language? It\u2019s not just mums who breastfeed.\u2019<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t thought of that.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the brilliance of crits. It can be hard for 1 content designer to see every issue so it\u2019s great to have a group of peers look at the content. Each bringing their own expertise.<\/p>\n

Rachel, Senior Content Designer had been working on content around surrogacy so had lots of insight into using inclusive language. So instead of talking about \u2018mums\u2019 who breastfeed we agreed we should say \u2018someone\u2019 who breastfeeds. This then includes transgender parents and other caregivers.<\/p>\n

4. Crits can help with user research<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no substitute for research with real users. In an ideal world we\u2019d research every piece of content we publish. Sometimes that\u2019s just not possible due to time and resource. In these situations crits can be particularly helpful.<\/p>\n

As well as content designers we\u2019re also citizens and users of Scottish Government services. We each bring our own views and experiences. I got really useful insight having 10 different people looking at the content from different angles.<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s a good way to involve your stake-holders<\/h2>\n

I also got a free tip for future crits: invite your stakeholder. Hearing lots of people give the same feedback can help with tricky content.<\/p>\n

It feels less about opinion and more like user centred content design.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was daunting having my work critiqued by my new team. Thankfully everyone was both kind and constructive. As well as getting pointers on how to improve the content it also gave me reassurance I was on the right path.<\/p>\n

In the end, it really wasn\u2019t that bad. In fact, already looking forward to the next one\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just days into my role as a new content designer I faced a baptism of fire \u2013 my first content crit. This meant the whole content design team \u2013 10 of us \u2013 gathered to give frank feedback on my first content piece. No pressure! 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