1 on-line help and user documentation user manuals, online help, and tutorials are typically not...
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
User manuals, online help, and tutorials are typically not used
However, well written and well-designed user manuals (paper or online) can be useful
Forms of traditional paper manuals
Installation manuals
Brief getting started notes
Introductory tutorial
Complete application tutorial
Detailed reference manuals
Quick reference guides
Conversion manual
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Forms of online help include:
Online manuals
Online help
Context sensitive help
Online tutorial
Animated demonstration
FAQs
Online communities, newsgroups, lists servers, email, chat, IM
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
On-Line Manuals
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
On-Line Help
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
On-Line Tutorial (Turning Point)
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Getting Started Guides
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Classification of materials based on user goals (Duffy, et al. 1992)
User’s Goal Paper Online
I want to buy it Sales brochure, fact sheet
Animated demonstration
I want to learn it Tutorial Manual, tutorial, guide, animated demonstration
I want to use it User manual Manual, help, context-sensitive help
I want to solve a problem
FAQ Help, FAQ, online community
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Paper vs. Online Manuals
Advantages to online manuals
• Physical
– The information is available when the computer is available. No need to
locate the manual separately
– Physical space is not required to open the manual
– Lower cost
• Navigation
– Information can be located quickly (indexes, table of contents, list of
figures, glossaries)
– Faster searching
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Paper vs. Online Manuals
Advantages to online manuals
• Readers can bookmark and annotate
• Use of graphics, sound, color and animation
• Readers have access to newsgroups, list servers, online communities, e-mail,
chat and IM to get help from other users
• Blind users can use screen readers
• Economic Advantage
– Cheaper to duplicate and distribute
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Paper vs. Online Manuals
Disadvantages of online manuals
• Displays may not be as readable as paper manuals
• Displays may contain significantly less information than paper
• Extra mental effort of navigating through screens may impeded learning
• Splitting the display between work and help or tutorial windows reduces the
space for work displays
• Small devices (e.g., cell phones) lack display space
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Reading from Paper vs. Displays
Studies indicate a 15 to 30% slower task time for comprehension or proof reading for online displays
• Fonts may be poor on low resolution displays
• Low contrast between characters and the background
• Emitted light can be more difficult to read than reflected light (glare, flicker)
• Small displays require frequent page turning
• Reading distance – easily adjustable for paper, most display distances are fixed
• When position, distance to retina, line length, layout, and illumination are
controlled for, and online resolution matches paper resolution, there is no
difference in reading speed (Jorna 1991)
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Use of the OAI Model to Design Manuals Condition: When users have only partial knowledge of the task objects and actions,
then training in the task is the first step (e.g., writing a letter)
The instructional materials should start with familiar objects and actions, link these to high-level interface objects and actions, then show the syntax needed to accomplish each task
Universe
Atoms
Objects
Intentions
Steps
Actions
Task
Metaphors
Objects
Plan
Actions
Interface
Pixels Clicks
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Use of the OAI Model to Design Manuals
Condition: When users know the task domain, but do not know the interface. Educational materials should explain the interface objects and actions, starting with the plans
Universe
Atoms
Objects
Intentions
Steps
Actions
Task
Metaphors
Objects
Plan
Actions
Interface
Pixels Clicks
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Use of the OAI Model to Design Manuals
Condition: When users know the task and high-level interface, but need to learn the visual representations and syntactic details
Universe
Atoms
Objects
Intentions
Steps
Actions
Task
Metaphors
Objects
Plan
Actions
Interface
Pixels Clicks
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Shaping the Content of the Manuals
Well designed manuals benefits
• Shorter learning times
• Better user performance
• Increased user satisfaction
• Fewer calls for support Towards minimal manuals
• The “Active User Paradox” (Carroll and Rosson 1987): The user’s eagerness to
conduct meaningful activities often stops them from just “learning”, and as a
result their skills remain mediocre
• Users prefer trying out actions on the computer and apply prior experience with
computers
• Minimal manuals anchor the tool in the task domain
• Users are encouraged with hands-on experience
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Online Manuals and Help
Kearsley (1988)
• Make help systems easy to access and easy to return from
• Make online help as specific as possible
• Collect data to determine what help is needed
• Give users as much control as possible over the help system
• Supply different help for different types of users
• Make help messages accurate and complete
• Do not use help to compensate for poor interface design Improvements to online manuals
• Allow for annotations and translations
• Bookmarking
• Automatic history keeping
• Relevant feedback
• Design to fit the electronic medium
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Online Help
Sometimes simple lists (keyboard short-cuts) can provide needed information
XP capability to search by topic
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Online Help
Microsoft’s Answer Wizard: allows the user to enter topic in natural language
• User: Tell me how to print addresses on envelopes
• System: What do you want to do?
– Create and print an envelope
– Print envelopes by merging an address list
Context-sensitive help
Monitor the cursor location, and provide help at the point of the cursor
A Tooltip can be displayed or a help dialog can be launched which is related to the topic where the cursor is located
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Context-sensitive help
Help notes in italics that explain why the data is needed
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
System-initiated Help
Tracking user actions as input to the system providing guidance
Most of theses approaches has failed (e.g., Clippit)
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Online Tutorials, Demonstrations and Guides
Recorded demonstrations
User performed practice tasks
Animation
• Step-by-step procedures
• Actions leading to results
• Stop, replay, skip
• Self paced versus auto-paced
• Research indicate that dynamic presentation facilitates learning over static Guides
• Human guides leading the user through a program
• Video Professor
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On-Line Help and User Documentation
Online Communities for User Assistance
E-mail, chat, IM
Sent to help desk or discussion board
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeWvF1NRMSI
On-Line Help and User Documentation
Youtube…