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At mySidewalk, I developed a structured method for evaluating platform terminology, turning subjective naming debates into a repeatable, stress-tested process for aligning language across a complex system.
Product Strategy · UX Writing · Information Architecture · Platform Systems · Facilitation
The Problem
At mySidewalk we needed to choose the primary term for a core geographic object in the platform. Region, boundary, geography, and area were all in use. Each worked in certain contexts, which made the debate circular.
The same object appeared under different labels across filters, map interactions, and documentation. Depending on where you were in the product, the word shifted.
Why It Mattered
This was not just copy inconsistency. The geographic selection model sits at the center of how users explore data.
Was a boundary something you selected? Was geography a dataset? Was an area different from a region? Even small moments of doubt add friction to an experience.
Internally, every naming conversation reset itself because each term could be defended in isolation.
The Approach
Instead of arguing semantics, I treated the words as variables to test.
I gathered formal definitions and synonyms to understand their baseline meanings. I bolded the synonyms that fit our community data context to see how closely each term aligned with our domain versus how broadly it stretched.
Then I pulled dozens of real-world usage examples to see how each term behaves in natural language.
The Analysis
Reviewing the definitions and example sentences clarified how people actually use the words and narrowed their practical meaning, but that still left Area and Region performing similarly. The most useful step was building controlled test phrases to see whether the terms could truly hold up.
I placed each term into statements relevant to our product and observed how the meaning held up.
Some terms collapsed under light pressure. Some drifted toward physical rather than administrative meaning. Some felt more stylistic than structural.
Area
Is Kansas City, MO an area?
I guess... but that sentence feels off
The Boise area.
The area surrounding Boise
Oklahoma's area.
The physical 2D area of Oklahoma, or the surrounding area depending on context
The area of Florida.
The region surrounding and including Florida
I want to see data from the area of Sacramento.
This makes me think that they want data from sacramento's surrounding areas
Data from the Seattle area will help make the decision.
This makes me think that they want numbers from Seattle, synonymous with region
These 14 stations make up the Fire District 3 area.
This makes me think that Fire District 3 is an area that contains 14 locations
Boundary
Is Kansas City, MO a boundary?
No, but KCMO has a boundary that defines its edges
The Boise boundary.
Sounds like a weather phenomenon
Oklahoma's boundary.
The Oklahoma border
The boundary of Florida.
The Florida border
I want to see data from the boundary of Sacramento.
This makes me think that they only want data from outlying areas
Data from the Seattle boundary will help make the decision.
This makes me think that it's referring to a tectonic plate
These 14 stations make up the Fire District 3 boundary.
I imagine a polygon with 14 vertices, but it's a little confusing because it feels like it says fire station locations define the perimeter of fire district??
Geography
Is Kansas City, MO a geography?
No, but it has geography that describes it's borders, population, and economy
The Boise geography.
The landscape and terrain of Boise
Oklahoma's geography.
The terrain of Oklahoma
The geography of Florida.
The shape and landscape of Florida
I want to see data from the geography of Sacramento.
It sounds like this is asking about measurements of the physical landscape
Data from the Seattle geography will help make the decision.
I don't know what this means, it kinda feels like a stylistic usage.. maybe it's a report
These 14 stations make up the Fire District 3 geography.
This doesn't feel totally divorced from the idea of a region/area but it feels weirdly stylistic or that it's referring to the landscape
Region
Is Kansas City, MO a region?
Yes, it's makes up the biggest piece of the KC Metro
The Boise region.
The area surrounding Boise
Oklahoma's region.
The area where Oklahoma is located
The region of Florida.
The state of Florida.
I want to see data from the region of Sacramento.
This makes me think that they want data from Sacramento... and maybe surrounding areas
Data from the Seattle region will help make the decision.
This makes me think that they want numbers from Seattle
These 14 stations make up the Fire District 3 region.
This makes me think that Fire District 3 is an area that contains 14 locations
The Decision
Placing the terms into controlled test phrasing clarified that, while the top candidates were close in meaning, Area was just too non-specific.
Region proved the most reliable as the selectable unit. It carried geographic scope without implying a hard legal boundary or a cultural identity. It read clearly in both the UI and documentation.
The other terms did not disappear. Boundary referred to the line. Geography referred to the broader social spatial context. Area remained useful in more general descriptions.
A region is defined by a boundary (or collection of points).
Exploring community data reveals useful insights about the geography of an area.
All of the insights could be consolidated into two simple sentences that guided how we used the terms moving forward.
The Outcome
I expected some resistance to settling on the language, but once it was laid out this plainly, the decision was obvious and we moved on. The geographic selection terminology snapped into consistency.
UI labels aligned with documentation. Internal conversations stopped looping. The object model became easier to explain and easier to extend.
What started as choosing a word became a lightweight method for resolving terminology whenever ambiguity creeps back in.
Check out my other examples or learn more about me.
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