Introduction

Online Help needs help.  A fundamental shortcoming is its failure to help us perform quickly and flawlessly when faced with new or infrequently used functions.  Not all of us are interested in becoming "power users;" we just want to get the job done.  We don't have the time or the inclination to go looking for all the right things to do. We're not alone.  This complaint is heard from users at work, home, school, and on the Internet.

Our chief complaints are we cannot find the right help and then, if we do find it, the instructions slow us down because reading and interpreting instructions are tedious. Usability studies reveal that people go to extreme lengths to avoid using Online Help (Grayling 1998). Our Help systems can overwhelm us with information rather than answer our questions (Horton 1994, pg. 399).

We propose an Online Help system that streamlines the process to find and use the right help.  This Help system would no longer be a passive repository but actually interact with and execute commands in its software application. Acting as an extension to the software's interface, the system would just do the task for us.  We would click a hypertext link to send a command to the software application to have it complete the new or infrequently used function.  We are released from the chore of interpreting and performing well-intentioned instructions.  "Okay, now let's see, it says click on Apply ...where is Apply... I don't see Apply!"

Short-Lived Friendship

To witness this shortcoming, let's watch people align objects using PowerPoint's Online Help system.  They find that seeking help from the computer is like seeking help from a friend who sympathetically listens and says, "Leave me alone.  Take care of it yourself!"

Their department leader asked them to prepare presentation slides for the Sales meeting tomorrow.  They all want their slides to look professional and communicate their points effectively, but some time has passed since they used PowerPoint.

After they put their presentations together, they realize the items in some slides aren't aligned.  But it's 5:00 p.m., the kids' soccer game starts at 6:30 p.m., and the Sales meeting is at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow!  Feeling pressured for time, they request help and enter the term "align" in the Office Agent (Microsoft's Online Help system for their suite of office applications). Office Agent asks "What would you like to do?" as shown in Figure 1.
 

When they choose "Align and arrange objects," Office Agent asks again "What do you want to do?" as shown in Figure 2.
 

Feeling encouraged by the computer's responsiveness, they answer "Align objects in relation to the slide." Office Agent displays the appropriate step-by-step instructions shown in Figure 3.

So far, the actions and responses between Microsoft's Office Agent and these users are fairly typical.  We might not even detect the shortcoming here:  if they want to align the objects, then they'll just have to follow the instructions and do it themselves!  This Online Help system is no different than the friend who seems to listen but, in the end, leaves us alone to figure out how to do it right.   Using Online Help can be a very lonely experience.

But didn't these people clearly communicate the objects on the presentation slide need to be aligned? Why can't a software program be designed to  execute those steps, if we want it to? Why must we pay several thousand dollars for a powerful computer and software with millions of lines of code, only to be forced to read instructions just like those in an owner's manual? Why can't the Help and software application work together and do it for us?

"The Two Shall Be As One"

Integrating Help and Application Files

Grayling observed in usability studies that people went to extreme lengths to avoid using the Help menu.  He concluded that a Help system designed to overcome user avoidance has five key characteristics (Grayling 1998). The Online Help is:

1. Context-sensitive
2. Easily available
3. Obvious to invoke
4. Useful
5. Non-intrusive

Combining the Help with the software application means the two communicate.  This would let information developers improve or build new types of Help.  For example:

1. Keyword Command System

We perform functions in software applications by clicking on toolbar buttons or selecting menu options.  Remembering which one activates a function becomes more difficult  when we use multiple software applications on multiple platforms.  Many of us turn to a keyword index to find Help.

According to several usability studies, most of us prefer to use a keyword index to find the appropriate Help topic (Lobis,1998 and Hunt,1997).   This route is more likely to take us to the right instructions.

Let's examine the Help developed by Microsoft to assist us with using Spike, a Microsoft Word function that does not display anywhere in the menus.  Basically, Spike is a powerful function that lets us remove two or more items from nonadjacent locations and paste them into one location.  But it is difficult to find and we have to use the keyword index to get Help.

When we search using the keyword "Spike," a Help window opens and offers a long descriptive paragraph plus step-by-step instructions.  We have to read all this text to decipher that four basic actions are possible.  Then to use Spike, we still have to find the right set of steps and perform them ourselves.

In contrast, our proposal would offer a keyword command system, essentially a keyword index but with hypertext links to activate commands in the software.   Our Help window would display the list of actions upfront.  We could make a selection and go directly to the right Help and then choose a way to use it by clicking one of the hypertext links:  let the computer do it, read the steps and do it ourselves, or watch a demonstration before making a choice.  This Help window would remain open until dismissed, allowing more than one choice.

2. Help Messages

During a recent round of usability labs, we watched in astonishment while an evaluator performed an incorrect action several times, generating the same error message each time. The error message was carefully written and contained helpful instructions about how to perform the action correctly. The evaluator clicked OK immediately to close the error message without reading it, then proceeded to repeat the same incorrect action. On the third try, the evaluator finally stopped and read the instructions.  Throughout the day, we watched other evaluators dismiss error messages quickly without reading them.

We concluded that people do not find error messages helpful.   Most people do not read the message contained in any window that looks like an error message.  So if we are trying to deliver Help, error messages are not the right mechanism.

With our proposed system, we would replace the standard error message with a Help window. This approach would allow the information developer to display the right Help and offer hyperlinks to automated corrective action or other types of support.  This action-based messaging system, when implemented within the Online Help system, could be a powerful tool for providing just-in-time support and instruction.  This approach could facilitate learning by exploration and provide feedback sufficient to build a mental model about how things work in the software application.

3. Option List Companion

Many software applications use drop-down lists or radio buttons.  Unfortunately, the meaning, significance, and outcome of each selection is not always clear.  Some information developers put descriptions in context-sensitive Help or a "What's This" pop-up window to help us make the right choice.

We propose an Option List Companion that opens by clicking a button next to the drop-down list or radio buttons. This companion would display a Help window with a description for each option.  We could select an option by clicking the associated hyperlink. This would close the Option List Companion and display our choice from the drop-down list or radio buttons.

Learning from the Pioneers

Some pioneers have already joined Help to the software application.  The very successful i publish program features a control center that lets us format a newsletter or brochure by clicking an icon and sending a message to the software application to perform the action.  By joining the software application to a helpful Help system, any of us, from the novice to the power user, can format a document.  We no longer need an abundance of time and computer savvy.

The i publish control center uses a tabbed table of contents to present the basic workflow to prepare a document (Start-Grab-Design-Publish) and the program functions as shown in Figure 4.
 

Information developers are under utilizing existing technologies to make software more usable.  For example, the Show Me feature runs a demonstration of how the function works or is properly performed.  However, it is not available in many software applications. This feature and other forms of interactivity are still the exception rather than the rule.

Conclusion

Our proposal requires new or modified software development kits (SDK) or add-ons that allow information developers to create an interactive link between an Online Help topic and the software.  Given the growing number of people who use computers, have time constraints, or are unfamiliar with the software's functions, we need the toolmakers like Microsoft, Sun, Lotus, and others to develop SDKs to let information developers deliver this Do It For Me solution.

We are expected to be proficient with multiple software programs and electronic commerce systems on the Internet. We use some of these programs frequently or maybe once or twice a year. It is unrealistic to think we can learn and retain all the commands and functions in every software application. It is also unrealistic to expect us to read and follow step-by-step instructions, especially when getting the job done is paramount.  We use Online Help only at the time of need and when other routes to performing an action are not available.

If information developers expand the scope of Help beyond context-sensitive information, the needs of more users will be met. A helpful Help system delivers information whenever and however users need it; otherwise we reject the entire support system (Hackos and Stevens 1997, pg. 79). 

References

Grayling, Trevor, 1998. "Fear and Loathing of the Help Menu: A Usability Test of Online Help." Technical Communication 45:168-179

Hackos, JoAnn T. and Stevens, Dawn M., 1997. Standards for Online Communication: Publishing information for the Internet/World Wide Web/Help Systems/Corporate Intranets. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.

Horton, William, 1994. Designing and Writing Online Documentation: Hypermedia for self-supporting products. 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.

Hunt, John (1997, September 25). TOC in Help, WINHLP-L Newsgroup Group.

Lobis, Bob, 1998. "Usability of Online Documentation", http://www.mesadev.com/helpuse.htm

Bill Miller

Bill is an independent contractor working as a full time interface design consultant with Edward Jones, a financial services company headquartered in St. Louis. He is  the editor of EPSScentral, an Internet web site that contains information about designing and developing electronic performance support systems. The site receives about a 2000 visitors a month and is located at /infosite.

In 1996 he received an "International Society for Performance Improvement Outstanding Performance Aid" award for an electronic performance support system that enabled clerical level staff to process complex land transactions.

Pat is an associate of Edward Jones. Her responsibilities include information development and performance support design. Prior to joining the firm, she was a technical communications consultant. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. An active member of the St. Louis chapter of the Society for Technical Communications (STC), she serves as judge for local STC Publications Competitions and gave a presentation on electronic performance support systems (EPSS) and the role of the technical communicator.