Re: Modern vs Old-fashioned Help

[Tony Chung <tonyc -at- tonychung -dot- ca>]

-Tony



On 2011-07-25, at 7:10 AM, Nancy Allison <maker -at- verizon -dot- net> wrote:

> This help system is very strange (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb208225.aspx)
>
> ...

> I've lost the original writer's name -- someone in this thread wrote:
>
> ************
> Even MSDN switched from frames to no frames. It's not a question of design, it's web standards meets usability.
> *************
>
> To the person who wrote that -- if you find improved usability in this help system, please elaborate on it for me -- I must be missing something.
>

I wrote the quote about non-frames sites improving usability. My
original intent was to say "break out of the frames". However, some
writers have been shaking up the notion of the usefulness of
topic-based help over the past 10 years.

As Char said, one aspect of usability assumes that the user is
browsing through a task path. Those users aren't expecting to shotgun
through a number of topics, they want the focus to follow their
leaning.

Ben Minson wrote this post after reading Ginny Redish's Letting Go of
the Words: http://www.gryphonmountain.net/2011/03/why-i-dont-like-tri-pane-help/

Ben shares Ginny's argument that there must be a better way to truly
HELP users, by providing them with multiple scripted pathways, almost
like a role playing game. This process assumes the user doesn't really
want to search; search is a necessary evil to  get into the closest
ballpark.

Later, Tom Johnson responded with some pros and cons of the tri-pane model:
http://idratherbewriting.com/2011/03/17/evaluating-tripane-help/
He cites Tony Self's research into exploring non-typical topic
structures to  break us out of the book paradigm.

A web developer could produce a frameless tri-pane help system that
operates like a traditional help system. Then there's the question of
whether tri-pane help is even the best support option. If we combine
non standard topic structures, task based pathway pages, current web
standards, and a killer search, I think we'd have a winner.

I admit this arena is evolving, and that one creator's assumptions may
be "off"--just look at the kerfuffle MS caused by switching completely
to task based menus in Office 2007. They switched again to a hybrid
model for 2010, as users still like "File Edit Insert...."

BTW I just caught wind of an alternate thread, which discusses the
product interface as the front line help system. Bonus points to you!

-Tony
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