I have built many of these and an online help is never a waste of time. Regardless of how much you think it will or will not be used, I have yet to encounter an incident where having it didn't make a good impression on users, as well as to the business who funded the work. They may not know how to use the application or service they paid for, and therefore appreciate the notion that they are empowered by having the help available.
The need to organize an online help also gets the flow in order for presenting to users and to each other, and frequently gaffs in the design, despite how thorough the usability may or may not have been, may be uncovered during its preparation. Good communication is paramount, however, if your users are scattered far and wide, across the world, across one country, or simply across a building where getting to everyone via a phone help or physical visit isn't always possible depending on availability. And did I mention how useful the online help is to the support team who will assist users? My question now is what sort of documentation was created and sued to produce the application? Let's start with that. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Diego Fernandez Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 10:44 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [IxDA Discuss] How to design an online help? Hi list! (this is my first post.. sorry if my English is not so good). I've the following problem: I'm working as usability expert for an application related to medical appointments. The application will be used in clinics by operators that interact with patients personally or by the phone. On of the requirements of my client, is to have an online help in the application (with the intention to reduce calls to internal support). I was arguing that this requirement is unnecessary, because I think that users will not read the online help: they will be busy serving customers. My point is that good communication and feedback in the UI will be more effective. Anyway, the client stills wants a help system included in the application, so my question is: How to design a good help system? (I mean not the typical manual page, but something more effective for the context) Any advice or recommended reading? Regards, Diego ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help This email is confidential and subject to important disclaimers and conditions including on offers for the purchase or sale of securities, accuracy and completeness of information, viruses, confidentiality, legal privilege, and legal entity disclaimers, available at http://www.jpmorgan.com/pages/disclosures/email. ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
