Design & Development - Web Self Help & Support: articles about designing and developing Web self help and customer support systems. 

Online Customer Service Tough To Implement 
"The message from consumers this holiday season is very clear. They expect e-tailers to beef up their customer service operations. As a result, many cost-conscious online merchants are looking at so-called natural language service agents that allow customers to type in questions in English. The big question is whether it will work." (2000-01-22)

Solving the Customer Support Dilemma
"E-commerce may be the engine driving Web development these days. But no engine works without lubricant, and customer service is the lubricant of commerce. It keeps the wheels moving smoothly." (2000-01-10)

Giving Good Service on the Web
"Selling is only half of the e-commerce equation. Blinded by dollar signs, many e-commerce businesses go live without thinking about the flipside of opening a 24-hour, 7 day a week store on the Internet - they also need a 24/7 service department to support the needs of new and existing customers." (2000-01-10)

IntelliSystem product demonstration
This site contains a basic demonstration of how hypertext can be used to create a "trouble shooting" or diagnostic self help Web site. (2000-01-10)

The Ten Best Web Support Sites for 1999
The recipients of the Association of Support Professionals 10 Best Web Support Sites competition. (1999-12-05)

You Asked for It!: Solving the Customer Support Dilemma
According to this article "It's estimated that as many two-thirds of online shoppers abandon their shopping carts before checking out. E-commerce vendors are looking for ways to step into the process and make checkout easier, in part by addressing customer questions -- preferably before the customer needs to send an email." The article describes several techniques and technologies for solving this customer support dilemma.  (1999-11-07)

GE, Ventix to help users master e-commerce
This press release is about a partnership between the 1999 EPSS Design Contest recipient Ventix Systems and GE. According to the release GE will used the Ventix AnswerSystem, which delivers contextually relevant answers, and the new Ventix AnswerWeb, an intelligent self-supporting infrastructure for electronic-business transactions. (1999-10-10)

Reaching out for Help
This CIO Magazine article describes a new type of web-based "problem-resolution technology" that lets customers find answers to their product and support questions. According to the article, this technology "...is one of the fastest growing segments of the IT landscape, with a compound annual growth rate of 36 percent from 1997 to 2002..."  (1999-10-03)