Brand & design · Planning worksheet

Healthcare error messages: write with clear ownership

Illustrative situation

A booking error blames the visitor and gives no useful route to resolve the problem.

The decision

Explain the immediate issue in plain language and offer an action the person can actually take. Avoid implying certainty about a cause the system has not established.

Rehearse this before accepting the change

Show a fictional failed booking message to a reader and ask what they would do.

Use fictional examples and an authorised test environment. Record what happened, the evidence you inspected and any issue that still needs a responsible owner.

Choose a useful measure

Measure errors that lead to repeated unsuccessful attempts.

Agree the definition and baseline with the team doing the work. Review the result over a comparable period and note other changes that could affect it.

Healthcare brand design kit with identity studies, colour swatches and layout guidelines.
Define a coherent identity before producing the assets.
Healthcare brand consistency across a website, appointment card and information leaflet.
Carry the same verified message across print and digital.
Healthcare design review comparing page layouts with a grid, magnifying lens and checklist.
Review clarity and practical use before approval.

Your planning worksheet

Use these checks to prepare a discussion with your team or supplier. Tick a check when you have recorded the decision or evidence, rather than when a feature has simply been promised.

Decisions to record

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Further reading

These primary sources provide additional context for the project decisions above.

Related decisions

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