1 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

2 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, , chat, IM

3 On-Line Help and User Documentation  On-Line Manuals

4 On-Line Help and User Documentation  On-Line Help

5 On-Line Help and User Documentation  On-Line Tutorial (Turning Point)Turning Point

6 On-Line Help and User Documentation  Getting Started Guides

7 On-Line Help and User Documentation  Classification of materials based on user goals (Duffy, et al. 1992) User’s GoalPaperOnline I want to buy itSales brochure, fact sheet Animated demonstration I want to learn itTutorialManual, tutorial, guide, animated demonstration I want to use itUser manualManual, help, context- sensitive help I want to solve a problem FAQHelp, FAQ, online community

8 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

9 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, , chat and IM to get help from other users Blind users can use screen readers Economic Advantage –Cheaper to duplicate and distribute

10 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

11 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)

12 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

13 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

14 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

15 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

16 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

17 On-Line Help and User Documentation  Online Help  Sometimes simple lists (keyboard short-cuts) can provide needed information  XP capability to search by topic

18 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

19 On-Line Help and User Documentation  Context-sensitive help  Help notes in italics that explain why the data is needed

20 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)

21 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

22 On-Line Help and User Documentation  Online Communities for User Assistance  , chat, IM  Sent to help desk or discussion board

23 On-Line Help and User Documentation Youtube…