Designer's Gallery - Consumer Software: links to screen shots of interesting and innovative performance support features in consumer software programs.Employee Appraiser™ 5.0 Guide Tour
This guided tour shows the features of a program helps managers and leaders to write employee performance appraisals. It's a very good example to an electronic performance support system that walks a user through the process of writing an appraisal that meeting legislative requirements and represents the best practice. It also contains knowledge and helpful guidelines for coach employees and helping them to improve performance weaknesses. You can download a free trial and try it for yourself. (2001-08-05)Project KickStart
Project KickStart is a performance-centered project planning tool that guides you through the process of planning a project. (2001-03-11)Review of Microsoft Office 10
Another new feature is Smart Tags. "The Smart Tag is right where you need it, and requires fewer clicks than if accessing the same command through the menu system. Smart Tags don't get in the way: they disappear when you perform another task." (2000-09-17)
Winmag.com: This review describes some of the interesting new features in the next version of Microsoft Office. While the animated paperclip has not disappeared, it is no longer turned on by default. One of the new feature is something called the Task Pane. For example, choose the File/New command in Word and the Task Pane displays several options: create a new blank document, Web Page, or e-mail message; create a new document from an existing one; view your most recently opened documents; or open a template (on your hard disk, Web sites, or Microsoft's Web site).Performance Support Features in Star Office 5.2
Star Office is a monolithic office suite that's intended to compete with the Microsoft Office suite. The program doesn't use animated characters or Microsoft's online help system. Instead Sun Microsystems created it's one unique methods for delivering online help. It's not outstanding but compared to the competition it's at least as good and worth studying. (2000-07-15)20/20 Insight
An organization can use this EPSS to gather employee performance information using the 360 Degree Feedback method and help evaluated employee develop appropriate performance improvement action plans. (2000-07-09)Business Plan Pro
Business Plan Pro, by Palo Alto Software, helps a user to write a business plan containing complete text, tables for forecasts and financial analysis, and business charts for illustrations. It's a good example of a performance support systems. The software greatly simplifies the process of building a business plan, by presenting all the components of a typical plan. A person simply fills in the blanks by following the embedded instructions and examples. (2000-06-04)Project KickStart
Project KickStart is a simple project management planning program. Some project management programs, like Microsoft Project, are very powerful and complex. One needs to understand the basics of project management to use those types of programs. Project KickStart provides a relatively easy process for building a simple project plan. (2000-06-04)Seven Steps Online Help Authoring Tool
Steven Steps presents a performance-centered approach for authoring online help. The unique Project Guide describes the 7 step process and the tasks within each step. From a task description a user can open forms that can be used to gather information or launch one of the Seven Step tools for writing and compiling an online help system. (2000-04-02)AutoCAD LT 2000
This computer aided drafting program contains an interesting and innovative example of an embedded help window in a dialog. It also features an innovative method for displaying types of information an HTML Help window. (2000-03-26)Microsoft Works Suite 2000
This page contains screen shots and a description of the Works Suite task launcher, a nifty little program that lets a user create documents or find information based on their task or the tasks and templates for a particular program. It also contains a historical list of the document created by the programs in the suite and a keyword task search. (2000-03-19)Peachtree Accounting
In a recent review of small business accounting software, Peachtree Accounting was selected as the best overall program. I spent about an hour testing the program. While it does not have a lot of performance support features, I found it to be a very well organized program that made it relatively easy to understand the features of the program. (2000-03-12)AI RoboForm
AI RoboForm is a free web form filler that uses Artificial Intelligence to identify form fields and automatically enter your pre-defined personal information. It works with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, 5.0 or later. Of all the web browser add-ons, this is my favorite. It works smoothly and simply. When I need to fill in a web form on an e-commerce site, I simply click the RoboForm button on the IE tool bar and it does the rest. It's a real time saver. (2000-01-16)Performance Support Elements in Microsoft Project 2000
This article describes some of the interesting performance support features in Microsoft Project 2000. (1999-12-20)Knowledge Point's People Manager
Take a look at some the of interesting performance support features in Knowledge Point's People Manager software. (1999-09-26)Lotus QuickDemos
The online help in Lotus SmartSuite 2000, contains some interesting voice driven quick demos. You can view some demos of these demos on the Lotus web site. Click the Demos & Trials link on the left navigation bar. (1999-08-15)Advisor
Advisor features a stay-on-top tip window that contains directions for completing each of the data fields in this application. The contents of the tip window changes as you move between fields. The window will also move out of the way when you go to the second column of fields on a screen. (Nov-01-98)Family Tree Maker
Family Tree Maker will display a bubble help window when you hover the mouse pointer over a field. The bubble help window will display several lines of instruction about entering data in the field. (Nov-01-98)Greatest Paper Airplanes
Greatest Paper Airplanes is a delightful little program that provides just-in-time support for the construction of paper airplanes. It will print the paper with the fold lines and provides a 3D animation of each step in the folding process. It is an excellent example of an EPSS that supports a task that is not computer mediated. (Nov-07-98)Greeting Cards 99
ipublish
This software has a cartoon like interface with an interesting and helpful method for presenting error messages. It also enables user to perform actions in the interface by clicking on the descriptive text in a bubble window that looks like the Microsoft Office Assistant help window. (Oct-26-98)
In ipublish you can click on the graphics and hyperlinks in an embedded Internet Explorer window to perform actions in the document edit window. ipublish is a software program for designing online documents and printed material. (Oct-23-98)Lotus SmartSuite
The Lotus SmartSuite millennium edition is an office application suite like Microsoft Office that contains a few interesting and unique performance support features. (Feb-13-99)Macro Magic
The Macro Magic Hints and Tips windows open when you click buttons or menu items. You can choose to turn off a particular tip or all tips. (Oct-18-98)Microsoft Encarta
Microsoft Encarta has a unique method for representing complex searches. (Feb-13-9)Microsoft Money 99
Microsoft Money 99 contains some interesting examples of embedded help and embedded field specific help.Microsoft Office 2000
Microsoft Office 2000 contains some interesting performance support features, like a Common Tasks button in the PowerPoint toolbar, Tip windows in PhotoDraw and an improved File Open dialog. It still uses the Office Assistant animated character, but it now seems to be less intrusive and more flexible. (Feb-15-99)Microsoft Office 97 Assistant
This page contains a screen shot and short description of the controversial Microsoft Office 97 Assistant. It tries to, quite literally, put a friendly face on their online help system. While the Winhelp online help system is still present, Microsoft has replace the Winhelp content screen with something that looks more like QuickCards. (Jan-18-97)Microsoft Project
This site contains a detailed review and description of the performance support features in Microsoft Project (Nov-07-98)Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Publisher is recognized for its use of performance support features like wizards and cue cards. You can download a free trial version from the Microsoft website. (Updated Oct-23-98)Microsoft Works
As a program specifically designed for the beginning user, Microsoft Works contains some interesting and innovative performance support features. (Oct-18-98)Monthly Bill Manager 98
The Quick Reference Guide window in this program shows information about the interface element under the mouse pointer. The topics change as the mouse moves over various interface elements. (Nov-07-98)NeoPlanet Web Browser
NeoPlanet is a very interesting and innovative web browser. While it doesn't introduce any technical innovations, it's unique interface greatly simplifies web browsing and searching. NeoPlanet has done an exceptional job in organizing the information and resources that are already available on the Internet. (Feb-12-99)Professional Capture
Professional Capture is a program for capturing and editing screens and images. While it has the typical tool palette with pop-up tool tips, these tool tips contain a brief instruction for using the tool. (Nov-07-98)Performance Now
This program is designed to guide a manager or supervisor through the process of preparing and discussing an employee performance evaluation. The program is described in Gloria Gery's article Attributes and Behaviors of Performance-Centered Systems. You can download a program that presents a detailed step by step demonstration of the program. (Jan-18-97)Rumba Assist and Help Desk
The Rumba Office 95/NT termination emulation contains two proprietary online help and performance support features that are worth studying. (Jan-18-97)Quicken
Quicken's personal financial software contains many performance support features. (Updated Oct-23-98)Yeah Write
Yeah Write is an easy-to-use and unique word processor written by former employees of WordPerfect Corporation. It is ideal for keeping a journal, taking notes, and writing simple letters and memos. (Nov-27-98)