Online help

See also: readability, writing for the web

Discussion articles

  • A gallery of online help
    A gallery of almost 200 samples of online help from a wide variety of companies and products. Those required to write online help can get inspiration from examining the work of their peers in this field.

  • Fantasies of the technical writer
    The usability issues in technical writing are still at a more basic level than most of us acknowledge. The problem is that the writing is too far away from the action. The instructions aren't where the users are--and we users, frankly, are much too lazy to go find the instructions when we need them. So here's my basic argument: for the most effective user experience, reduce the distance between the instruction and the action.

  • Guidelines for writing accessible online help
    This article describes how to write effective on-line help for blind and low vision users of text based readers. The authors draw on their collective experience in both using text (screen) readers like JAWS to access web applications as well as preparing accessibility help for web pages and applications.

  • Ode to balloon help
    Just as a romantic poet might choose to pen an ode to a single rose as opposed to the entire garden, perhaps we should look to the simplest elements of usability for inspiration. Perhaps it’s time to recognise the contribution of a single humble helper. Yes, it’s time for an ode to balloon help.

  • Problems in navigating online help: clues from user search patterns
    "Overall, the largest problem our participants had in using the help system wasn't in processing the procedural information in the help, but rather finding the correct help topic, a topic generally unaddressed in the literature on how to write a help system. Specifically, participants had difficulty in searching for topics because their terminology differed from the terminology used by the help system, and they became lost in the unclear structure of the system."
    (Robert Krull, Angela Eaton)

  • Six slick tests for docs and help
    Usability testing isn’t just for software and web sites. Testing documentation can ensure that it includes--and accurately conveys--all the information users expect and need.Testing gives you accurate information on how well your documentation and Help work. It can even uncover problems that are better solved by changing the interface. As with most parts of the development, it’s easier and less expensive to find and correct doc problems early in the process, so we try to test as soon as possible. Choosing a method depends on what you want to learn, how much time you have, and where your greatest risks are.

  • The key for effective documentation: answer the user's real question
    "To successfully communicate to users, documentation must do more than meet the user's information needs, it must present the information in the same way the user processes the information. The design of software and its accompanying documentation must be reconceived so that the design is done from the problem-solver's point of view."
    (Michael J. Albers)

  • The future of help: nine trends in online user assistance
    Whilst applications are becoming more complex, many people believe that online user assistance hasn’t changed much since WinHelp was introduced with Windows 3. This is a misconception. There have been many developments in this field aimed at increasing end-user productivity and satisfaction. In this article, we have listed nine of the most significant trends in online user assistance.

  • The importance of documentation
    Computer documentation is shoddy, or more often absent. Missing information amplifies usability problems, leaving users stuck calling unfriendly technical support lines. In this installment of "the cranky user", Peter Seebach explains what's missing in the documentation effort and why it is gone