Beyond Help: Making Help a Core Component of an Electronic Performance Support System   

With the advent of HTML Help and the ability to embed Help directly inside an application, there’s been an increased interest in creating Help systems that are seamlessly integrated with their host applications. By blurring the line between the application and the Help that supports it, and by developing Help that automatically responds to user actions, application developers and Help authors now have the ability to develop true electronic performance support systems (EPSS). With this new ability will come a paradigm shift in the ways applications are developed and documented.

Wexler, Steven S. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Document Design>Help>EPSS

Beyond Software Manuals and On-line Help: Interactive Help

Software user guides have traditionally provided assistance when the user requested help. Context-sensitivity enabled help systems to predict the most appropriate topic to present. For Windows applications, the move from Microsoft WinHelp to the new Microsoft HTML Help format allows user instructions to be presented in the same window as the application. This offers technical authors some extraordinary opportunities to provide intelligent, predictive, interactive help without the user having to request it. In this paper, we will explore one of the first such interactive help systems (for the Archivist e-mail archiving software), and see where the technology is moving.

Self, Tony. HyperWrite (2003). Articles>Documentation>Interaction Design>Help

Constructing a One-Stop "Answer Station" Website for Software Users

The web allows us to easily provide updated documentation to our users, but why stop there? There is more to making users successful quickly than just providing documentation. By creating a complete 'Answer Station' that is accessible from the application or product, we can not only direct users to that updated documentation, but we can also provide information about technical support, consulting, training, sales, etc. This article discusses writing a proposal for an Answer Station, determining content, working with other departments to gather information, designing the site, making that design work with an existing corporate website, dealing with tool issues, and finally, going live.

Bleiel, Nicoletta A. and Beth A. Williams. WritersUA (2004). Articles>Documentation>Web Design>Help

Designing for Interactivity: Role Models, Guides, and Coaches  

This paper presents three methods of user assistance: role models (simple demonstrations), guides (structured walk-throughs), and coaches (active assistants). After a brief introduction, potential uses, available development tools, and additional information sources are discussed for each method.

DeLoach, Scott. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Help>Interaction Design

Document to the Question: Understanding What Users Ask and Where They Look for the Answers  

The user's idea of the problem is often very different than the help or program designer's. The online help topics often reflect the designer's viewpoint, not the user's.

STC India (2003). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Help

Making Help More Human, and Other Discussions

Discusses a number of trends in the technical writing world, particularly the need to make help more human by adopting conversational tones and addressing the angry/frantic state of the user.

Johnson, Tom H. and Heidi Hansen. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Help

Online-Dokumentation aus Anwendersicht  

Benutzerinstruktion muß sein. In Form von Online-Documentation ist sie unmittelbarer Teil des Programms.

von Obert, Alexander. Techwriter.de (1998). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Help