Is the Help Helpful? : How to Create Online Help That Meets Your Users' Needs

Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.

ISBN: 9781930919600 | 1930919603
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 12/1/2004

Rent

(Recommended)

$23.45

Term

Due

Price

Semester

Dec 13

$24.69

Quarter

Aug 16

$23.45

Short Term

Jul 18

$22.22

*This item is part of an exclusive publisher rental program and requires an additional convenience fee. This fee will be reflected in the shopping cart.
Buy Used

Usually Ships in 3-5 Business Days

$28.47
Buy New

Usually Ships in 3-5 Business Days

$39.35

Is the Help Helpful? presents the full cycle of help content development, regardless of the operating system running the application, the type of help being produced, or the tools used to produce it. In this book, you'll discover: (1) The ten most common complaints that users have with online help, the causes of the underlying problems, and ways to avoid those problems, (2) The eleven steps in the ideal help development process, their benefits, and the problems that arise when a step is left out, (3) Techniques for planning, writing, editing, reviewing, and testing online help and (4) Sample plans and specifications for your help project.

Our Contract with You, the Reader

iii

List of Chapters

Dedication

Acknowledgments

xvii

About the Authors

xix

How to Download the Files

xxi

Introduction

xxiii

Planning an Online Help Project

(22)

Why plan an online help project?

(1)

What process is used in an ideal help project?

(9)

Step 1. Analyze the audience, plan the project, and write the plan

(2)

Step 2. Develop high-level specifications

(1)

Step 3. Develop detailed specifications

(1)

Step 4. Perform a detailed task analysis

(1)

Step 5. Build and evaluate a prototype help system

(1)

Step 6. Develop an outline and map of the help project

(1)

Step 7. Write, index, and edit the help topics

(1)

Step 8. Review the help topics

(1)

Step 9. Test the help

(1)

Step 10. Release the help with the product

(1)

Step 11. Evaluate the help and plan for improvements

(1)

What are the roles in an online help project?

(5)

Project manager/planner/producer's role

(1)

Writer's role

(1)

Editor's role

(1)

Graphic artist's or illustrator's role

(1)

Instructional designer's role

(1)

Programmer's role

(1)

Multimedia producer's role

(1)

Indexer's role

(1)

Localization and translation coordinator's role

(1)

Usability tester's role

(1)

Quality assurance (QA) person's role

(1)

How much time is required for producing online help?

(2)

Overall time required

(1)

Time required for different activities

(1)

Number of help topics required

(1)

Who does what, when?

(4)

Organizing the flow of writing, editing, reviewing, and testing

(1)

Stages of help and software development

(1)

How many reviews are needed, and when?

(2)

What types of testing are required?

(1)

Methods for editing and reviewing

(2)

Choosing help-development tools

(1)

Conclusion

(1)

Analyzing Audiences and Tasks

(12)

Who are the audiences?

(2)

Example 1. Audience analysis for TreeLine

(1)

Example 2. Audience analysis for a multi-user database program

(1)

Working with user profiles and personas

(2)

Example 3. Personas for TreeLine

(1)

What are the audiences' tasks?

(3)

Example 4. User task analysis for TreeLine

(1)

Example 5. User/task matrix for a multi-user database program

(1)

Example 6. Task map for TreeLine

(1)

Flow diagram

(1)

Working with use cases and user scenarios

(2)

Example 7. Use case and user scenario for an e-mail program

(1)

What questions will the audience ask?

(1)

Build lists of users' questions and help topic types

(1)

Example 8. Part of a task-topic list for TreeLine

(1)

Conclusion

(1)

Developing Specifications

(26)

High-level specifications

(10)

How will the online help coordinate with other user documents?

(1)

What type of help will best fit the application?

(1)

How will the help be connected to the application?

(1)

What media types are required?

(1)

What tools are needed?

(1)

What information types and levels are required?

(1)

What topic types are required?

(2)

How will the help windows (or pages) be presented?

(1)

What navigation aids will be used?

(1)

How will the help meet localization criteria?

(1)

How will the help meet accessibility criteria?

(1)

Detailed specifications

(14)

FREE SHIPPING

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Is the Help Helpful? : How to Create Online Help That Meets Your Users' Needs

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials