Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 10 User Manuals, Online Help, and Tutorials

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Introduction When it comes to learning about computer systems many people experience anxiety, frustration, and disappointment Even though increasing attention is being paid to improving interface design, complex systems can still benefit both paper and online help Forms of paper user manuals: –Install manual with step-by-step instructions to set up an application –Brief getting-started notes to enable eager first-time users to try out features –Introductory tutorial to explain common features –Thorough tutorial that covers typical and advanced tasks –Detailed reference manual with all features covered –Quick reference card with a concise presentation of the syntax –Conversation manual that introduces the features of the system to users who are knowledgeable about a similar system or previous versions of the same system

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Introduction Online materials –Online manual An electronic form of comprehensive paper manuals that cover the interface features. Online manuals make the text more readily available, searchable, and up-to-date –Online helpOnline help Brief descriptions of specific topics to help users cope when problems arise. Online help can provide indexes of terms, keyword searches, step-by-step guidance, and access to complementary web information. –Context-sensitive helpContext-sensitive help User-controlled interactive help, ranging from simple balloon help explaining objects to system-initiated assistants that monitor users’ activities and provide relevant information.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Introduction –Online tutorialOnline tutorial An online training environment that uses electronic media to teach novices by explaining objects and actions through textual descriptions, graphical imagery, and interface screen grabs. The scope of the tutorial can vary greatly, from brief two- minute introductions to week-long computer-based training courses. –Animated demonstrationAnimated demonstration Appealing animated graphics presented as a slide show, series of screen captures, or well-produced video engage users and show the actual interface, often with verbal explanations. –GuidesGuides Audio or video recordings of authoritative personalities or animated characters who provide introductions or focused segments that cover key topics.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Introduction Other methods of providing help are based on archives of user questions or dialogs among users: –FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)FAQs FAQs prepared by developers to answer common questions and kept up to date, usually on the Web. –Online communities, newsgroups, listservers, , chat, and instant messaging To get answers to specific questions from peer users. Users’ goals are good way to classify paper and online materials: User’s Goal PaperOnline I want to buy itSales brochure, fact sheetAnimated demonstration I want to learn itTutorial Manual, tutorial, guide, animated demonstration I want to use itUser manual Manual, help, context-sensitive help I want to solve a problemFAQ Help, FAQ, online community

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Paper versus online manuals There are many reasons to have online manuals –Physical advantages Information is available whenever the information appliance or computer is available. Information can be electronically updated rapidly and at low cost. –Navigation features Specific information necessary for a task can be located rapidly if the online manuals offer indexes, table of contents, lists of figures, glossaries and lists of keyboard shortcuts. Linking within texts can guide readers to related materials; linking to external materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, translations, and web resources can facilitate understanding.linking to external materials

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Paper versus online manuals There are many reasons to have online manuals (cont.) –Interactive services Authors can use graphics, sound, color, and animations that may be helpful in explaining complex actions and creating an engaging experience for users. Readers can turn to newsgroup, listservers, online communities, , chat, and instant messaging for further help from other users. further help from other users Blind users (or busy users on the move) can use screen readers and listen to instructions. –Economic advantages Online manuals are cheaper to duplicate and distribute than paper manuals.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Paper versus online manuals However, these advantages can be compromised by potentially serious negative side effects –Displays may not be as readable as paper manuals –Each display may contain substantially less information than a sheet of paper –The user interface of online help systems may be novel and confusing to novices –The extra mental effort required for navigating through many screen may interfere with concentration and learning, and annotation can be difficult –Splitting the display between work and help or tutorial windows reduces the space for work displaysreduces the space for work displays –Small devices such as cell phones do not have enough display space to provide online help

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Reading from paper versus from displays Numerous studies have found 15% to 30% slower task times for comprehension or proofreading of text on computer displays, compared to on paper Potential Disadvantages in Reading from Displays: –Poor fonts, especially on low resolution displays –Low contrast between characters and the background –Emitted light from displays may be more difficult to read by than reflected light from paper –Screen flicker (low refresh rate) can be a problem –Curved display surface may be problem –Small displays require more frequent page turning –Reading distance can be greater than for paper –Displays are fixed in place –Display placement may be too high for comfortable reading –Layout and formatting problems –Reduced hand and body motions with displays as compared to paper may be fatiguing –Unfamiliarity of displays and the anxiety that the image may disappear can increase stress

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Shaping the content of manuals Traditionally, training and reference material often written by junior member of development team –manuals were often poorly written –were not suited to the background of the users –were delayed or incomplete –were not tested adequately The benefits of well-designed manuals include –shorter learning times, –better user performance, –increased user satisfaction, and –few calls for support

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Shaping the content of manuals Learners apparently prefer trying out actions on the computer, rather than reading lengthy manuals. The design of minimal manuals that –Anchor/fasten the tool in the task domain, –encourage active involvement with hands-on experiences, – promote guided exploration of system features, and –support error recognition and recovery.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Shaping the content of manuals Every good manual should have –a table of contents and an index, –glossaries for clarifying technical terms, –appendices with error messages are recommended.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online manuals and help Although paper manuals often yield faster learning, the online environment opens the door to a variety of helpful facilities that might not be practical in printed form. Studies have confirmed that well-designed online documentation can be very effective. Kearsley's guidelines for online help systems: –Make the help system easy to access and easy to return from. –Make help as specific as possible. –Collect data to determine what help is needed. –Give users as much control as possible over the help system. –Make help messages accurate and complete. –Do not use help to compensate for poor interface design.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online manuals and help Online Manuals –Reproduction of printed manuals online paper page layouts may not convert well dealing with figures problematic attractive if users have large enough display (full page) –Enhanced by special online features string search multiple indices multiple tables of contents tables of figures electronic bookmarks electronic annotationsannotations hypertext traversal automatic history keeping

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online manuals and help Online Manuals (cont.) –Most effective if manuals redesigned to fit electronic medium to take advantage of multiple windows text highlighting color sound animation string search with relevance feedback –Properly designed table of contents that can remain visible to side of text page vitaltable of contents –Keyword lists improved by clustering into meaningful categoriesKeyword lists

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online manuals and help Online Help –Traditionally, little information about how to assemble actions to perform tasks –Users expect to be able to search the full text of online documents –Expanding and contracting table of contents can be combined with search –The online help and support center for Microsoft Windows XP contains articles/topics and search optionssearch –An answer wizard can respond to natural language requests;An answer wizard the program then selects the relevant keywords and offers a list of topics organized into categories.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online manuals and help Context-sensitive help –User-controlled, interactive object help Small pop-up box (often called a tool tip, ScreenTip, or balloon help) Dedicated portion of the display –System-initiated help: by keeping track of user actions, some researchers believe that they can provide effective system guidance Intelligent help systems that provide system-initiated support have generally failed. The most infamous example illustrating the problems of this approach is Microsoft’s Office Assistant (or “Clippit”)Clippit Many users considered the paper clip so intrusive that they immediately turned it off.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online tutorials, demonstrations, and animations Online tutorials –Practices the skills needed to use the system –Can work alone at an individual pace and without the embarrassment of mistakes made before a human instructor or fellow students –Start-up tips Each time users start the interface, they get a pop- up box displaying a brief explanation of a feature. Some systems monitor user behavior and show start-up tips only for features that are not used by this particular user.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online tutorials, demonstrations, and animations Animated demonstrations –Distributed on disk, CD-ROM, or over Internet –Designed to attract potential users –Typically show off system features using animation, color graphics, sound, etc. –An animated demonstration can be prepared as a slide show, a screen-capture animation, or a video recording of a person using the device. –A slide show might be appropriate for form-fillin or menu-based interfaces, but animation is preferable to demonstrate direct- manipulation interactions such as drag-and-drop operations, or zoom boxes –User-interface requirements are to capture and maintain user interest build positive product image

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online tutorials, demonstrations, and animations Animated demonstrations (cont.) –Typical controls automatic or manual pacing length of demonstration (short versus in-depth) stop, replay, skip –A screen capture animation is easy to produce with standard tools such as CamtasiaCamtasia –Games often have a 30 second demonstration

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online tutorials, demonstrations, and animations Guides –Audio and video recording of human guides or cartoon figures to lead users through information –Audio tours of art galleries –Audio or video lectures may be played on a computer or a separate system –Video Professor Introductions for dozens of popular software programs. These videos are tutorials, meant to be viewed from beginning to end, rather than a way of getting help when problems emerge.

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Online communities for user assistance Help networks using –sent to designated help desk or staff person –sent to general list within organization –users must publicly expose their lack of knowledge –risk of getting incorrect advice Microsoft has made an ambitious effort to use online communities to provide assistance for professionals and novices. online communities Frequently asked questions (FAQ) lists for newcomers

Copyright © 2005, Pearson Education, Inc. Development process Recognizing the difference between a good and a bad user manual is necessary for producing a successful manual on time and within a reasonable budget. –Allows adequate time for review, testing, and refinement –Manual can act as a more complete and comprehensible alternative to formal specifications –Manual writer becomes effective critic, reviewer, or question asker –Enables pilot testing of software's learnability –Allows for reviews and suggestions by designers, etc. –Informal walkthroughs with users possible –Field trials with moderate numbers of users facilitated