Building Documentation into the Interface  

As documentation is more and more built directly into the interface, and as technical communicators move into interface design and usability, it is important to have a theoretical framework within which to make decisions about what kind of information will be conveyed at any moment. We can build on basic principles of cognitive psychology to help us make these decisions. We start from a question: Why should users be aware of the difference between interface and documentation when all they want is to get something done?

Quesenbery, Whitney. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>User Interface>Help

Context-Sensitive Help: What Programmers and Technical Authors Need to Know

Context-sensitive Help is assistance that is appropriate to where the user is in the software application, and what they are trying to do. Carol Johnston's article describes what programmers and technical authors need to know about Context-sensitive Help.

Johnston, Carol. Cherryleaf (2003). Articles>User Interface>Help>Documentation

Effective User Assistance Design: Ten Best Practices

In a utopian world, a product would be so perfect it would not need any user assistance at all. But in reality, products aren't perfect, and users need assistance through different stages of their use. User assistance (UA)--in the form of manuals or online Help--guides users in their tasks, suggests better ways of getting their work done, and provides directions for troubleshooting their problems.

Dalvi, Meghashri. UXmatters (2007). Articles>User Interface>Help>Online

Instructional Text in the User Interface: Some Counterintuitive Implications of User Behaviors

User assistance occurs within an action context--the user doing something with an application--and should appear in close proximity to the focus of that action--that is, the application it supports. The optimal placement of user assistance, space permitting, is in the user interface itself. We typically call that kind of user assistance instructional text. But when placing user assistance within an application as instructional text, we must modify conventional principles of good information design to accommodate certain forces within an interactive user interface. This column, User Assistance, talks about how the rules for effective instruction change when creating instructional text for display within the context of a user interface.

Hughes, Michael A. UXmatters (2007). Articles>User Interface>Help>Online

Could You Repeat That in English?

Frequently, error messages are totally uninformative -- or, worse, just plain wrong. Here, we look at how meaningful error messages can make it easier for users to correct problems without having to rely on technical support, and how poorly chosen messages can turn users into ex-users.

Seebach, Peter. IBM (2002). Articles>User Interface>Online>Help

Including Recommendations in User Interfaces to Enhance Motivation

Motivation is an important factor in any kind of online interaction or transaction. People need a little encouragement when they’re not really convinced they should take any action or are uncertain about what action to take next. As users perform tasks online, they need to understand what’s happening and expect you to help them move forward. This article discusses the responsibility of a user interface to provide recommendations along a user’s path of interaction.

Kirmani, Afshan. UXmatters (2009). Articles>User Interface>Help>User Experience