Termibot
Core Experience.
TermiBot is a terminology reference tool designed for Panasonic employees across the US and Japan. The platform provides a centralized source of approved definitions in English, Japanese, and Spanish, helping reduce miscommunication caused by inconsistent terminology across teams and production systems.
Search Terminology Across Languages
Users can search Panasonic terminology in multiple languages and instantly access approved definitions, translated examples, and supporting context. Saved terms allow workers to quickly reference frequently used terminology during daily operations.
My Role.
As the sole product designer, I led the end to end design of TermiBot, an internal terminology reference platform used across Panasonic manufacturing teams in the US and Japan. I collaborated closely with engineering teams and stakeholders across both regions to define multilingual workflows, simplify terminology access, and design a scalable system for cross-team communication.
My work included user research, workflow mapping, wireframing, prototyping, visual design, usability testing, and designing cross-platform experiences that supported employees across different languages and technical backgrounds.
Problem.
Production terminology was inconsistent across teams and systems, creating confusion, miscommunication, and operational inefficiencies throughout the manufacturing environment.
The same production terms often carried different meanings depending on the department or system.
Japanese and American teams frequently interpreted terminology differently across workflows.
New workers lacked a centralized reference for approved terminology and relied heavily on coworkers for clarification.
The issue scaled across 2,000+ employees using disconnected production systems with inconsistent naming conventions.
Design Goal.
Because terminology varied across departments, systems, and languages, workers lacked a reliable source of truth for production communication. To guide the project, we defined three core goals:
⭐ Standardize Production Terminology
Create a centralized source of approved manufacturing terms shared across departments and systems.
⭐ Reduce Cross-Team Miscommunication
Ensure Japanese and American teams could reference consistent terminology regardless of workflow or department context.
⭐ Improve Confidence in Operational Decisions
Help workers act on accurate information without relying on tribal knowledge or coworker clarification.
User Research.
Field Study
Workers relied on nearby coworkers or Google Translate to resolve terminology confusion during daily operations.
Japanese and American teams frequently interpreted the same production terms differently across departments and systems.
Terminology questions occurred during active work on the factory floor, requiring a solution that was fast, mobile, and always accessible.
Interviews
“When PENA was launched, technical Japanese terms and expressions varied from person to person, often causing miscommunication between Japanese and American teams.”
“I joined PEC in November 2023 as an interpreter. Japanese-to-English terminology changed depending on who I asked, which frequently caused confusion and misunderstandings.”
Design Approaches.
🧩 Design for Cross-Cultural Communication
Design for employees across different languages, cultures, and technical backgrounds. The experience needed to feel equally approachable for a new Japanese worker and a longtime English-speaking operator.
🧩 Reduce Time to Information
Workers often needed answers quickly during active conversations on the production floor. The design prioritized getting users from search to definition in as few steps as possible.
🧩 Lower the Learning Curve
With no formal onboarding or training planned, the experience needed to be intuitive for users with varying levels of technical familiarity and English fluency.
Key Insights.
🔑 No Centralized Source of Truth
Terminology varied across teams and departments, with no official reference employees could rely on when definitions conflicted.
🔑 Workers Relied on Coworkers for Clarification
Employees often resolved terminology confusion by asking nearby coworkers, interrupting workflows and creating inconsistent explanations.
🔑 Miscommunication Reduced Operational Efficiency
Unclear terminology caused delays, mistakes, and repeated clarification between Japanese and American teams during daily operations.
🔑 Terminology Changed Across Systems
The same production terms often carried different meanings depending on the department or system, reducing confidence in communication and decision-making.
User Roles.
Six user profiles were defined based on how employees interacted with manufacturing terminology across daily operations. Access levels were designed around role responsibilities, organizational affiliation, and content governance requirements.
Design Process.
Information Architecture
Organized around two core workflows: terminology lookup and term management. Separating employee and administrative workflows kept the experience simple for everyday users while allowing support and admin roles to manage content governance efficiently.
Userflows
Mapped the core search and term management workflows to identify key decision points and maintain a consistent experience across all six user roles. Reviewed with engineers and stakeholders to validate requirements before moving into high-fidelity design.
Wireframes
Built to validate the search experience and results structure before moving into high-fidelity design. Early alignment with Japan-side stakeholders ensured the experience worked consistently across both English and Japanese language contexts.
Iterations.
Improved Multilingual Search and Result Comparison
Updated the search and results layout to better separate source and translated terminology, improving readability and making cross-language comparison faster during production workflows.
Simplified Language Selection and Term Lookup
Updated the onboarding and search experience to better support multilingual workflows. Default language preferences and consistent search behavior reduced setup friction and improved terminology access across English and Japanese contexts.
Created a Scalable Multilingual Editing Flow
Updated the editing experience to support multiple language inputs within a consistent structure. The revised layout improved readability, reduced content overlap, and made the workflow easier to scale as new languages were added.
Final Designs.
Easy Lookup Across Languages
Users can search for terminology in either English or Japanese, and Termibot automatically returns approved definitions with translated examples and supporting context. Automatic language detection removes the need for manual language switching during daily production workflows.
Quick Access to Frequently Used Terms
Frequently referenced terminology can be saved for faster lookup during daily production work, reducing repeated searches and improving workflow efficiency.
Centralized Terminology Management
Admins and support teams can manage terminology, definitions, and multilingual content from a single interface, improving consistency, governance, and long-term maintainability across the platform.
Additional Workflows
Beyond the primary counting workflow, the platform also supported additional operational processes for compiled summaries, discrepancy reporting, and cross-line review across 6 manufacturing workflows.
Reflections.
Designing for Clarity Over Aesthetics
Designing for users across different languages and technical backgrounds meant every interaction needed to work without explanation. Simpler workflows reduced opportunities for confusion and helped improve communication across teams.
Design With Scalability in Mind
The next phase of Termibot was deprioritized before launch. In hindsight, designing more intentionally for future expansion — additional languages, user roles, and content structures — would have made long-term scalability and handoff easier moving forward.
Define Scope Before Requirements Expand
The project began with a relatively narrow scope, but requirements expanded as stakeholders from both the US and Japan teams introduced new requests throughout development. Defining clearer boundaries earlier would have made it easier to manage scope and prioritize decisions.