Writing to Teach - Tutorials Chapter 2

Writing to Teach - Tutorials The purpose of a tutorial is to accommodate information to the needs of the user. This kind of manual is associated with novice, intermediate or advanced learners. Tutorials assume that users progress in skill and confidence with a program. The tutorial document requires a design of text and graphical information that supports a highly focused lesson or module rather than giving the reader options.

Identify User Actions You Need to Support There has to be a thorough user analysis to help you identify what skills you need to teach. You need to define the action or scenarios that users would participate in. The designer need to decide on the skills that he/she wants to teach in support of the scenario. Example: With an accounting program, you might want to teach the bookkeeper how to post a transaction to the general ledger, but for managers focus on tracking features.

User Actions For each action you will teach, list the program skills the user needs. This will help decide on the lesson plans. Whatever user action the designer selects, each can only get accomplished based on how the user was able to learn certain skills from the program. Ex: How to use menus, how to click mouse etc. Write out the objectives you want your tutorial to achieve. Stating objectives will help planning on user modules / lesson plans and form a outline of the tutorial project.

Connecting Program Features to the User Actions Central to job performance: Some program features will relate more directly to the user’s work. Users may care more and want to learn more about certain features they perceive as essential to problem solving on the job. Essential for efficient software use: Some features, security, file management etc must be taught. Always teach the basic concepts specific to the program. Frequency of performance: Some features occur so frequently that you will want to teach them to the user.

Guidelines for Designing Tutorials Identify the skills you need to teach. State objectives as real-world performance. Choose the right type of tutorial. Present skills in a logical, cumulative structure. Offer highly specific instructions. Allow practice and feedback at each skill level. Test your tutorial (usability testing with real clients)

Let the Help System Detect Skill Needs Some help programs allow the software to present the tutorials. These are called Embedded Tutorials. Example: In a drawing program, when the user moves one design object over another for the first time in the use of a piece of software, the program can detect the opportunity for a highly specific lesson. Embedded tutorials present a task according to some predetermined event that triggers the tutorial program.

Choosing the Right Type of Tutorial Guided Tour: Focuses on the entire program’s main features and user actions. This is mainly for beginning and intermediate users. Demonstration: Focuses on specific features and user actions. This is mainly for beginning and intermediate users. Quick Start: Focuses on basic features and applications. This is mainly for intermediate and advanced users. Guided Exploration: Focuses on user actions and examples. This is mainly for beginning and intermediate users. Instructional Manual: Useful for technically difficult software. This is for users at all levels.

Logical and Cumulative Structure You would need to assemble the lessons in a logical order and structure. Order and structure should follow typical-use scenario. Example of typical-use scenario: student typing a paper, clerk calling up a record to check for payment of a bill etc. Examples of logical and cumulative structure: beginning to advanced, simple to complex, generalized to specialized, starting to ending a session etc. See Fig, 2.9

Highly Specific Instructions Your instructions or lessons should focus on a specific scenario or problem the user would recognize. To reduce readers’ anxiety about learning or remembering features in a new program for example, you need to help readers maintain focus. Use: Specific data: numbers, names, words, variables, protocols etc. Tools: Mouse buttons, icons, check boxes, radio buttons, hypertext links etc. Screens: Displays, highlighted areas, data fields, menu selections. Commands: Control commands, keyboard shortcuts, function keys etc.

Give Practice and Feedback at Each Skill Level State goals positively and avoid controversial jargons. Remind the user of the reward for understanding and correct performance. Establishing a feeling of goodwill: “This is the end of the Console program guided tour. Thanks for coming in and we hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

Build a Pattern of Exposition Give action to take: “Select Open….from the file menu.” Explain the result: “The program will display an empty file.” Sometimes you can give practice and exercise by including exercises in your lessons.

Pace the Tutorial & Test Your Tutorial When you put your tutorial together, consider that you don’t want to waste your user’s time. DO NOT STRETCH THE LESSONS UNNESSESARILY. Conduct usability testing before marketing the product.

The Elaborative Approach Some research suggests that elaboration like explanations, examples, summaries, articulation of goals and objectives helps to improve retention of skills in software manuals. The elaborative approach helps novice to intermediate users. Research has shown that elaboration helps users to apply their learning to real world situations. Elaboration helps when learning complex and abstract information and also when the user is encountering basic information for the first time. This approach should always be used with novice learners.

The Minimalist Approach Users of computer manuals like to get started right away and will resist reading information designed to introduce or orient. Users will rarely read the introduction to a manual. Users like to create their own perspective on their training. Users like to take charge of situations.