help and documentation. 2 agenda user support requirements types of doc/help user support approaches...
TRANSCRIPT
2
Agenda
• User Support Requirements
• Types of doc/help
• User Support Approaches
• Presentation issues
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Help & Documentation
• Never a replacement for bad design, but essential
• Simple system
• Most other systems with rich features require help
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Documentation
• Kebanyakan user tidak suka membaca manual– Boring, no goal– start working
• Sering digunakan saat kondisi panik, ketika user membutuhkan bantuan secepatnya
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User Support Requirements
• Ketersediaan– Should be available any time the user is
operating the system
• Ketelitian & Kelengkapan– Should be accurate (tricky with changing
versions) and should cover all aspects of application
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User Support Requirements
• Konsisten– Across different sections, between on-line and
paper documentation, in terminology, content and style
• Ketahanan– Should be predictable and free of errors
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User Support Requirements
• Fleksibilitas– Mulai dari user awam sampai yg ahli
• Unobtrusiveness– Tidak mengacaukan
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Types of Doc/Help
• 1. Tutorial
• 2. Quick reference/review
• 3. Reference Manual (Full explanation)
• 4. Context-sensitive (task-specific) help
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Types of Doc/Help
• 1. Tutorial– For start-up– Gets user going– Convey conceptual model– Communicate essential items– Sometimes see on-line tour or demo– http://www.rsinc.com/envi/
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Types of Doc/Help
• 2. Quick reference/review– Reminder or short reference– Often for syntax– Can be recall aid for expert– Can allow novice to see what’s available– http://www.computerbooksonline.com/wproc/w
pdchap.htm– http://imbolc.ucc.ie/~pflynn//books/
htmlcard.html
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Types of Doc/Help
• 3. Reference Manual (Full explanation)– Detailed command descriptions– Usually for experts– Unix on-line manual pages, for example– http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/
technology/sts-newsref/stsref-toc.html
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Types of Doc/Help
• 4. Context-sensitive (task-specific) help– System provides help on current
situation– Macintosh balloon help, for
example– Other examples?
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User Support Approaches
• Command assistance– Detil spesifik pada command tertentu, seperti
MAN pada linux/unix– Bagus jika user tahu apa yg diinginkan
• Command prompts– Message ketika user melakukan kesalahan
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User Support Approaches
• Context-sensitive help– Knowledge of
particular user to information pertinent to a particular situation or interface item
Title bar
To move the window, position the pointer in the title bar,
press the button, and drag it to the new position
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User Support Approaches
Wizards• Takes user through procedure step by step• Inflexible, & often slow.• Also problematic if user gets stuck
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User Support Approaches
• On-line tutorials– Work through simple
examples, provide a feel for application
– http://w3.aces.uiuc.edu/AIM/scale/tutorials.html
– http://www.w3schools.com/
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User Support Approaches
• On-line documentation– How much like paper doc?– Electronic can emphasize hypertext, indexing,
and searching more– http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/
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Advantages of on-line help• Always available with the application - paper
manuals often unavailable• Don’t require extra desk space. • Electronically updated – fast & low cost • Electronic searching facilitates rapid location of
specific information • Can use graphics, sound, color, and animations
to explain complex functions • Can provide interactive & context specific help• Links to other on-line resources
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Disadvantages of on-line help
• Reading screens always slower than paper
• Small displays require frequent page turning
• Display resolution less than printed material (v. important when graphics are used)
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Medium
• Paper versus monitor
• Studies show that people are 15-30% slower reading and comprehending text from a display as compared to paper
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Presentation Issues• Integrate with system, don’t “add on”• 1. How is help requested?
– Command, button, function, separate applic– Advantages, disadvantages?
• 2. How is help displayed?– Separate window, whole screen, part of screen, on
top of applic., pop-up box, command line, highlighted button, light bulb..
– Largely depends on what type of help it is
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Presentation Issues• 3. Effective presentation of help
– Design it like any other part of UI: language, terminology, jargon, etc.
– Use active voice• “To close a window, place the mouse cursor in the box at
the upper right corner (with the X) and click the mouse button.”
• 4. Implementation issues– Fast response time is important– How is help stored? File, database, …?