Help! Nearly every computer user needs it at one time or another. Some online help is excellent. Some isn't. Just what makes help helpful? And what exactly is help, anyway?

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"Help is in the eye of the beholder. To be helpful, information must fulfill the user's need. You must anticipate user needs, then design your document to fulfill them."

What Help Was and What It Is Now

The earliest online help was a quick reference—a summary of the more comprehensive reference manual that was provided with new software. Users who wanted to learn the software started with the manual, which often included tutorials. Online help was a backup—a reminder for users who needed hints on key points.

As reference manuals began to disappear and more software came preloaded on users' computers, online help became online documentation and tutorials became computer-based training. Now, few software makers provide CBT, so most software users begin their learning experience using the online help.

Help for Software: Online Documentation

Experience level is a major factor in the helpfulness of online documentation. The documentation must get new users started. It must help experienced users with common procedures. And, it must help advanced users with complex tasks. What is helpful to a user at the beginning of the learning curve may be less helpful later on. Online software documentation must address a variety of experience levels while making it easy for users at all levels find what they need. Sample

Help for Non-Software Applications

Today, with the rise of corporate intranets and extranets, help has gone beyond assistance with software. Conveniences that were once on the desk are now on the desktop, including:

• corporate telephone directories that now include email addresses
• plans and schedules that can be accessed by many users
• directions for using non-software items such as telephones
• procedures and reference materials.

After the operating system, there are two kinds of items on users' computers: applications and information. Anything that is information can also be viewed as help.

More information about:

Views

Making Information Helpful

Making information helpful requires knowing your users. What is helpful to one user may not be helpful to another. What is helpful at one time may not be helpful at another. Help is in the eye of the beholder. To be helpful, information must fulfill the user's need. You must anticipate user needs, then design your document to fulfill them.

One way to make information helpful is to provide varying levels of detail, as was shown in the earlier sample for software. Another is to design different menu views for different user groups. This is especially useful for ISO/QS publications, where you only want one version of your base document in use at one time.

As you develop a document, test prototype versions with representative users and obtain their input. Then, after publication, invite user input and survey users on a regular basis.

"After the operating system, there are two things on your user's computer: applications and information. Anything that is information can also be viewed as help."

Avoiding the Help Stigma

Some users don't use help simply because it's help. Calling help help implies that the user can't do it on his or her own. Here are some design ideas to help you avoid the help stigma:

• Call your online information Employee Directory, Product Development Guide or Telephone Quick Reference.
• Replace the main menu with a visual metaphor: a tabbed directory, a process flow chart or a telephone.
• Use views to tailor your message to specific groups. An Employee Directory can have a view for each location. A Product Development Guide can have a view for each department. A Telephone Quick Reference can have views covering the features available to different departments or groups.

Keep Help Current

Once you've developed your document, keep track of who uses it and how.

• Provide a feedback mechanism to collect user comments and suggestions. If your organization has email, use that. Otherwise, solicit user suggestions on the first page, then check with users often to be sure that the document is fulfilling their needs.
• If you're on a network, monitor accesses of your document. See which areas get the most use and, for heavily-used areas, follow up to see if more help or training is needed. If areas are not used or are used infrequently, check to see if they're needed or if another kind of help would be more useful.

Quick Reference Guide

When you think about it, every online document can be viewed as help. You want your reader to accomplish a task, learn new material or take an action.

Try to design every online document as though it were online help. That way, you'll have an excellent chance of giving readers what they need.