Designing Help Topics That Answer User Questions

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Designing Help Topics That Answer User Questions
Rob Houser rob_at_userfirst.net
w w w . u s e r f i r s t . n e t
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Help is not about information
A focus on information makes help a dumping
ground for loosely related data.
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Help is about questions
A focus on questions makes help more like a
question-answering machine.
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Question-Answering Machine

• If good online documentation is a
  question-answering machine, then topics are the
  answers to the users questions. Creating good
  topics requires understanding how and when users
  ask questions and what it takes to answer
  them. William Horton

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Anticipating User Questions

• Where do you go to find out what questions users
  are asking?
• Customer Support/Knowledge Base
• Trainers
• Sales/Professional Services/Customer Liaisons
• Human Factors/Usability Reports
• User Groups/Listservs/Bulletin Boards
• Customers (especially through site visits)
• Another way to anticipate user questions is to
  think about what they are doing.

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Common User Questions
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Procedures
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What can I do with this tool?

• Make sure users can find their goals (and
  discover new goals) in your list of tasks
• Use their language and tasks, not the developers

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Where do I start?

• Provide different launch points for users

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What tasks relate to me?

• Group tasks by user groups if multiple groups
  share the same help

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When should I do this?

• When possible, organize procedures around the
  flow of the users work

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Am I in the right place?

• Provide consistent road signs to let users know
  they are on the right path

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Am I still in the right place?

• Repeat graphic elements to group similar topics

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Where am I?

• Bread crumbs can also show where you are in the
  process
• They also provide additional navigation

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How did I get here?

• Use breadcrumbs to show users the path to where
  they are

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Where can I do this?

• Tell users where they should be to start the task
  (or where they cannot be)
• Especially important when users stumble across a
  procedure

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Where should I be looking?

• Orient the users to the location of the action
• On the File menu,
• If its not already chosen,
• In the File Name box,

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How do I do this?

• Focus procedures on the best way to perform a
  task
• Use drop-down text to layer additional procedures

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How do I do this?

• Use visuals to reinforce procedures

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Whats wrong and how do I fix it?

• Lead users through the procedures to diagnose
  problems

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Am I finished yet?

• Provide progress indicators when possible

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What else can I do?

• Notice that most of this topic appears as notes
• Jumps should appear at the end of the topic

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Concepts
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What do I need to know first?

• Provide brief introductions to help users make
  decisions

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How does this work?

• Use organizing topics to provide conceptual
  explanations
• Link to procedures and additional concepts

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Is there anything else?

• Make conceptual information optional using
  layering

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Why would I do this?

• Some users may need the reassurance of an
  explanation before attempting a task
• The why helps users remember how

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Can you show me an example?

• Include scenarios to show users how to use the
  tool effectively

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Whats the best way to do this?

• Example from WinZip provides too many details for
  quick use

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Whats the best way to do this?

• By highlighting only one method, the WinZip file
  is easier to read quickly
• Advanced users will explore shortcuts when they
  are ready

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Whats the best way to do this?

• Provide tips to make work more efficient

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Reference
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Can you define this for me?

• Definitions should explain why something is
  important to the users

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Whats this?

• Use field-level help to answer specific questions
  about the user interface

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What are the possible values?

• Reference topics provide details and examples

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What are the parts of this tool?

• Explain the interface components (icons, menus,
  parts of window)
• But dont make them the focus of your help

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How can I work faster?

• Give users keyboard shortcuts so they can work
  more efficiently

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Whats new?

• Point out the new features added since the last
  release

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What is my question?

• Use FAQs to suggest what questions users could be
  asking
• Good to put on a web site

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What if I cant fix this myself?

• Always tell users how to contact a real person
  for help

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Instruction
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How can I learn about this tool?

• Help users understand the structure of your help

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Can you show me how?

• Provide brief demonstrations when possible to
  reinforce vital or difficult procedures

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Can I practice?

• Users need to have hands on practice to reinforce
  learning
• Could be simulations or exercises to complete in
  the tool

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Do I understand?

• Users need to check their knowledge and receive
  feedback about their answers to create a rich
  learning environment

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Users and Information Types

• Provide help topics that satisfy the needs of all
  different levels of users

Beginner
Proficient User
Expert
Procedures
X
X
Concepts
X
X
Reference
X
X
Instruction
X
X
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Evaluating Topics

• What question does this topic answer?
• How does this topic help the user complete real
  work?
• Can different levels of users benefit from this
  topic?
• Can users find this topic?

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Conclusion

• Change your mindset about help
• Help question-answering machine
• Help topics answers to specific questions
• Build a mechanism into your help to capture
  questions that you may have missed