Duplicate Merge

PROBLEM: Merging duplicate profiles in our software. The feature exists in our legacy software, so we are updating the feature to our new architecture and our new UI.

Legacy

In our legacy software, when a person had duplicate profiles, the admin had the option to merge one profile into another. When merging, if the 2 profiles had different data in one contact field (for example, an old phone number in Profile 1 and their newer phone number in Profile 2), the admin would choose which profile was the "Winner" and that profile's data would be kept. 

Notice how we made sure to call Lucille Ball a loser. 

Additionally, we merged over more than "notes, emails, and files" from one profile to another but that's all we mentioned.

Initial Mock-up

The initial mock-up included the "winner" and "loser" language, but we split the process into 2 screens. On one screen, you see potential duplicates and can select one. Then, when selecting the action to merge, you would be given a warning of what was about to happen. I like this flow better, but I wasn't a fan of the language. 

Release

It was time for the winner/loser language to be gone. I began narrating the process of merging duplicate profiles out-loud to see what language felt natural when explaining the process from a user's perspective. After speaking to some of our customer success associates, I felt confident in the language used to describe the process. 

Our users didn't call them winners and duplicates; they, instead, talked about the profile they'd keep vs the profile they'd delete. We used this language because it better fit what users were already saying and it avoided calling people losers. Win-win.