Online Help Systems
Abstract
Computer systems were once used only by highly-trained specialists. Now, complex computer systems are used by people with various levels of skill and experience. On-line help must be designed so new or infrequent users can effectively use the systems without lengthy training or experimentation. The purpose of this project was to perform a systematic investigation of on-line help and to develop guidelines for the design of on-line help for computer systems. Three topics were investigated-- 1. The help system should be arranged so that it can be effectively maintained without sacrificing the capacity for many kinds of access. It should appear consistently so that entries can be added or amended easily. Alternate organizational strategies that balanced user- friendliness with ease of maintenance were developed and tested. 2. All entries in the help system should be structured for effective scanning and interpretation. Alternate presentation formats for on-line help information were evaluated. Optimal display strategies are reported. 3. The type of information in the help system should be specific to the users for which the help system is designed. Procedures for assessing the kinds of information that will be useful were developed. Access channels to the on-line help database were designed. Keywords: On-line help; Help systems; Human-computer interface; Human factors; Computer systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 07, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA216757
Entities
People
- Ann Aaron
- James Palmer
- Susan Hathaway
- Thomas M. Duffy
Organizations
- Indiana University