https://www.sarakaplow.com/strategy daily 0.75 2023-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588901631336-NPB6I13R6EQX8R48X446/Firefox_Screenshot_2020-05-08T01-22-04.905Z.jpg Strategy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1589073689503-RXL9GP2NGZD12HSV5WDM/screencapture-help-gocanvas-hc-en-us-community-topics-2020-03-02-13_04_10.jpg Strategy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588728173550-CTSF5ZUY1BFE0RR9R4M3/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1e3f7K4uZmXq909gKnDTrQO-HtYCeFnZt-HxShhDk45I-edit-2020-05-04-21_20_46.png Strategy https://www.sarakaplow.com/resume daily 0.75 2025-04-10 https://www.sarakaplow.com/get-in-touch daily 0.75 2020-05-01 https://www.sarakaplow.com/gocanvas-pages daily 0.75 2020-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1583778299224-7022NBWA099W53H4ARO4/GoCanvas_NewHome.png GoCanvas Pages https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1583778216734-AQXHUSTZJEUYOUDY9WUO/GoCanvas_OldHome.png GoCanvas Pages https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1583779090073-N0CPZJIJ2FRKUZF2X482/screencapture-web-archive-org-web-20191206230317-https-www-gocanvas-com-content-tour-2020-03-09-14_36_17.png GoCanvas Pages https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1583779232736-Y9NRP2WPUDT3SI1UBVFG/Large+JPG-Aro+Ha_0428.jpg GoCanvas Pages https://www.sarakaplow.com/home daily 1.0 2023-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588274670094-U7N8ARGI0HS7NZH4IGD0/rsz-dsc-0006.jpg Home - Doing good with content and technology. Content strategist, UX writer, community builder, and documentation specialist with experience in SaaS, local news, and non-profit digital strategy. https://www.sarakaplow.com/writing daily 0.75 2023-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1583960543277-GGO50M6WVVOBKTIEJ015/Drupal_logo.png Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1583960810231-IPO77VXN7P2NNUK9VH9U/hometop.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588554047492-ZUNGEESJ8MOSFW5TL513/gettingstarted.png Writing https://www.sarakaplow.com/other-projects daily 0.75 2020-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588300207867-IN6HAVS9M45QVM4N0H8A/screencapture-web-archive-org-web-20161005124000-http-www-projectaware-org-2020-03-02-13_16_35.jpg Other Projects https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588300173252-41XO7JG7XI7A8WZSRNB9/image-asset.jpeg Other Projects https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588300119339-EQY5AHCHBP5K7IRLUKXT/screenshot-help.gocanvas.com-2020.04.30-14_45_38.jpg Other Projects https://www.sarakaplow.com/drupal-documentation daily 0.75 2020-05-10 https://www.sarakaplow.com/gocanvas-community-moderation daily 0.75 2020-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588300924405-NGO1BIIPWK3JRM2SNARW/screenshot-help.gocanvas.com-2020.04.30-16_18_02.jpg GoCanvas Community Moderation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588300847010-FAQHX1T5146TGVZHY9JN/screenshot-help.gocanvas.com-2020.04.30-16_16_48.jpg GoCanvas Community Moderation https://www.sarakaplow.com/project-aware daily 0.75 2023-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588636237123-ELNK60E3THETKZ4UBFLO/Firefox_Screenshot_2020-05-01T01-00-32.806Z.jpg Project AWARE - The Project. Project AWARE is a unique blend of action-oriented community and conservation policy non-profit. Thousands of scuba divers participate in Project AWARE activities, collecting debris and helping clean up the world’s oceans one piece of garbage at a time. Their platform not only contained a robust, highly customized survey submission component, but also had content translated into several different languages. The technology challenge on this project was significant. While Drupal 8 was a shiny new tool that, we hoped, would give the new site a longer shelf-life, there were real concerns about whether it could support the functionality required to have feature parity with the old site. We also wanted to push the limits of the content authoring experience to give the team the ability to tell stories in a flexible, visual way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/af7116bd-882b-4473-83a1-cb950d37494e/screencapture-web-archive-org-web-20161005124000-http-www-projectaware-org-2020-03-02-13_16_35.jpg Project AWARE - New Website Finally, updated content components and visuals highlighted the vast reach and impact of the organization (with updatable numbers showing how much debris had been collected and how many divers had participated), gave users several ways of taking action alongside the organization, and highlighted the incredible images and stories that the organization and community had collected through the years. The balance of user stories and organization stories is balanced harmoniously and accessible, even to those of us who don’t dive. https://www.sarakaplow.com/gocanvas-style-guide daily 0.75 2020-05-10 https://www.sarakaplow.com/echo-analysis-requirements-process daily 0.75 2023-03-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588901227013-8B1DA506KGIGTH1JNVZA/Firefox_Screenshot_2020-05-08T01-26-54.875Z.png Echo & Co. Analysis & Requirements Process The next major iteration of the process included breaking up each component even more and defining the fields and field types that would be needed to support each of them. And we kept iterating. We set up a flow via Zapier to tie the components we were defining in a Google Sheet to tickets in Jira so they could be built. We established a hierarchy of ticket types for producing the different kinds of things that needed to exist, from the content types, to the components, to the page templates, to the taxonomies. Everything was fully articulated and, thanks to full-team walkthroughs of the component definition process, understood by everyone on the project. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/b0593ca0-feab-45d3-a242-196441088c2d/Frame+1.png Echo & Co. Analysis & Requirements Process With a background in content and Drupal site building, and by then having worked closely with both the UX and technical teams as a technical project manager, I was tapped to try to find a way to bridge the gap. Starting with wireframes, I broke the experience into manageable chunks, thinking about how each piece of content would be constructed in the backend. Each content block became a component, with pages and pages of wireframes all marked with boxes and component numbers. Next, I sat with the UX team and reviewed how they envisioned each component working, focusing on what they had discussed with the client, the purpose of each section, and the types of content that would flow into each area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588901060410-M8PAUHIPO3ZX345GGAVB/Firefox_Screenshot_2020-05-08T01-24-05.625Z.png Echo & Co. Analysis & Requirements Process After digesting that info, I built a component definition document, where each component was outlined and explained, and then each page (usually aligned with a content type) was defined by the components that appeared on that page. Then I sat with the development team to review each component and page. These marathon sessions included making technical decisions (let’s use nodequeues for that, blocks for that, this needs to be its own content type, etc.). That rough process became the foundation of a system that we would iterate on over the next year. That first pass was a good step, but things were still falling through the cracks, especially when it came to how clients expected to be able to manage the content. https://www.sarakaplow.com/gocanvas-content-practice daily 0.75 2020-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588726930680-K26GLFZT5HDS6NCRYD7G/Storyboard.png GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588726933227-ULPR89G0UITWT9R0RPN3/trello.png GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727566912-HL66CLZE3VUOT59GFQ4R/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1D-u54qYiXIYiQ1Xbq-2csghbvVKD8-siVDOBLc9BDoI-edit-2020-05-04-21_23_16.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727534867-P0V66JHXJE5UDVFNU50J/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1e3f7K4uZmXq909gKnDTrQO-HtYCeFnZt-HxShhDk45I-edit-2020-05-04-21_20_46.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727703132-KQ1XP8ZFW8X0L2BY2428/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1fTL-kN78qUHHsM3TOkOjw7oqMKq1FBN8BHpW2Mtl2z0-edit-2020-05-04-21_19_10.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727476686-BLLHVLJ44T8QNQDENJ4R/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1IqCCPt-nqKoMpUHf8Qz6E2guGAwZBl-liqXNSK2rdEs-edit-2020-05-04-21_22_24.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588726991265-ERKCVF2W878OH68A6JEP/trello2.png GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727899616-XQC7M93HDZ3BMVJGN4HX/Newsletter%2BB-1.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727691964-QUQNPTJOZZKOBEO379O1/screencapture-docs-google-document-d-1cAAsGUTDwVxwusFivdwsrSEBJ8OFyLInkO5Yj-TRr80-edit-2020-05-04-21_21_47.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727738995-9N02FSD5MU0GSQ2QQLV1/screencapture-docs-google-forms-d-e-1FAIpQLSdGyY6K-jeUu2Q8e9eF4-xx1qrrOhXqxzfKd3vA4D8mrlr1iw-viewform-2020-05-04-21_20_04.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727774593-ZZ5SDCRTO4IAF1YBJK14/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1y9Rdb-EOsGQx-Rp1Drdybo7J7y9gA-Ooxfzjt6Kmo88-edit-2020-05-05-21_09_22.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588727766934-63GPTU9NES8BMVJUKM8I/screencapture-docs-google-document-d-1TCz3VssmmJQzngtMxtZfUlfnP2OcrGhsL2V-CmKtJEA-edit-2020-05-05-21_08_11.jpg GoCanvas Content Practice https://www.sarakaplow.com/gocanvas-community-strategy-launch daily 0.75 2020-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1589072722285-HIL7RZFN467FR5Q5DU63/helpcenteraudit.png GoCanvas Community Strategy & Implementation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1589072777982-41WQW0IVV5VBWOK1TYK4/screencapture-docs-google-document-d-1zmhiRjh6P-uoQqZWcIt7xyi-qtY6AXN-0KYfz3F72-c-edit-2020-05-09-20_25_18.jpg GoCanvas Community Strategy & Implementation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1589072812152-2LR1MV5RC3OOF3WYA64E/screencapture-help-gocanvas-hc-en-us-community-topics-2020-03-02-13_04_10.png GoCanvas Community Strategy & Implementation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1589073419096-LH6U954AA1J8VOV3QZMQ/screencapture-help-gocanvas-hc-en-us-community-posts-360000008967-Community-Guidelines-2020-05-09-21_15_01.jpg GoCanvas Community Strategy & Implementation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1589072915591-9J6S109H24L0OB4XNXN8/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1PNOn-q81mZbYQCT1fFIwCWD2nS7w0l91DYzeeu8k5jw-edit-2020-05-09-20_26_29.jpg GoCanvas Community Strategy & Implementation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1589073198505-2R96OINQ2TA3C0CV7CIZ/metrics.png GoCanvas Community Strategy & Implementation https://www.sarakaplow.com/uxproduct-writing daily 0.75 2020-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588635157102-FZF9QNA4SJYBQE2CNEEU/gettingstarted.png UX/Product Writing - Onboarding. GoCanvas is a complex product with a steep initial learning curve; you’re just staring at a blank page with a lot of bells and whistles. The challenge was to improve our conversion rate with a new onboarding process, including a conversational intro, updated orientation guides, and a checklist. This is the current version of the flow; it went through many rounds of revision and usability testing to get to this point. View onboarding flow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588634857663-YG294CC5JZU48Q740G57/screencapture-docs-google-spreadsheets-d-1ig3Y8ORGE8C5BuwMrhBvyIc5-nC2xqM4KeFaEjNi0FQ-edit-2020-05-04-19_11_05.jpg UX/Product Writing - Feature naming. One of the biggest barriers to entry with the product is the naming and labeling of features and settings. Terms like “reference data” and “segmented controls,” and even the core of our product (mobile forms that we refer to as apps) are confusing. As new features have been released, I have been active in naming them. Segmented controls became single-choice boxes, static image stayed consistent with static text and image field labels, apps are slowly becoming forms and, well, we’re still working on reference data. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588635336617-NTQABMHQ03SNM0944CAP/screenshot-apps.apple.com-2020.04.30-14_18_19.jpg UX/Product Writing - App & Play Stores. Conversions from both the Google Play and Apple App Stores historically was extremely low. In fact, one of my first forays into writing for the product team was assisting with a mobile-first form building tool that was launched in 2018 in an effort to improve those numbers. For that launch, we re-conceptualized our appearance in the places where users would go to download the app, including new screenshots and a completely new description. The result was higher download rates in both places. View App Store description. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5abe68f8286310c1449293/1588635449124-8YC6HJUGLOCVHYT6FW2P/tooltip.png UX/Product Writing - Buttons, labels, tooltips, and error messages. Products are filled with copy. The simplest button can become a confusing, unused piece of functionality with the wrong verbiage. My approach is simple and aligns and user-centered design: how would I think of this (or respond to it) if I was in the middle of trying to accomplish a task? How are users already thinking of this (for that, scouring support tickets and feature requests came in incredibly handy)? What does this thing actually DO?