Aglet

Prioritize Product Terms to Test First

Not every wording difference deserves a study. Prioritize labels that gate an important action, cross a domain boundary, or vary sharply between user groups. Compare the cost of a misunderstood term with the effort to test it in context before the wording spreads widely.

Decide where the work belongs

  1. Assess action consequence

    Describe what a person could miss, select, or believe when each label is unclear. Give weight to labels used during recovery, access, consent, or handoff. Keep minor stylistic preferences below task-critical language.

  2. Compare language variation

    Review differences by new and expert users, support staff, language background, and translation. Identify terms that only make sense inside the team. Choose an observation, comprehension probe, tree test, or task comparison that can expose the difference.

  3. Choose a test queue

    Select labels, context, participants, owner, and review date. Defer low-consequence copy with a reason and trigger. If several labels describe one action, test the action context before choosing a favorite phrase.

What to carry forward

The priority output is a terminology queue showing consequence, audience variation, method, owner, and review trigger. Test the label most likely to block a meaningful action. Keep lower-risk copy decisions separate from evidence about task comprehension.

Technical background: GOV.UK user research guidance.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

Create an account See the product workflow