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Help and Documentation

This document provides an overview of user support design principles, types of user support, and approaches to user support. It also discusses knowledge representation techniques and issues in intelligent help systems.

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Help and Documentation

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  1. Help and Documentation CSCI324, IACT403, IACT 931, MCS9324 Human Computer Interfaces

  2. Overview • Users require different types of support at different times but all user support should fulfil some basic requirements. • Implementation and presentation both need to be considered in designing user support. • Types of user support • quick reference • task specific help (context sensitive) • full explanation • tutorial

  3. Overview • These may be provided by help and/or documentation • help • problem-oriented and specific • documentation • system-oriented and general • The same design principles apply to both

  4. Requirements • Availability • continuous access concurrent to main application. • Accuracy and completeness • help matches actual system behaviour and covers all aspects of system behaviour. • Consistency • different parts of the help system and any paper documentation are consistent in content, terminology and presentation.

  5. Requirements • Robustness • correct error handling and predictable behaviour. • Flexibility • allows user to interact in a way appropriate to experience and task. • Unobtrusiveness • does not prevent the user continuing with work nor interfere with application

  6. Approaches to user support • Command assistance • User requests help on particular command. • e.g., UNIX man, DOS help. • Good for quick reference. • Assumes user know what to look for. • Command prompts • Provide information about correct usage when an error occurs. • Good for simple syntactic errors. • Also assumes knowledge of the command.

  7. Approaches to user support • Context sensitive help • Help request interpreted according to context in which it occurs. • e.g., Spy, Balloons Help. • On-line tutorials • User works through basics of application in a test environment. • Can be useful but are often inflexible. • On-line documentation • Paper documentation is made available on computer. • Continually available in common medium but can be difficult to browse. • Hypertext used to support browsing

  8. Intelligent Help • Use knowledge of the individual user, task, domain and instruction to provide help adapted to user's needs. • Problems • knowledge requirements considerable • who has control of the interaction? • what should be adapted? • what is the scope of the adaptation?

  9. Knowledge representation • User modelling • All help systems have a model of the user • single, generic user (non-intelligent) • user- configured model (adaptable) • system-configure model (adaptive) • Approaches • quantification • user moves between levels of expertise based on quantitative measure of what he knows. • stereotypes • user is classified into a particular category. • overlay • an idealised model of expert use is constructed and actual use compared to it. Model may contain the commonality between these two or the difference. • Special case: user behaviour compared to known error catalogue (UT)

  10. Knowledge representation • Domain and task modelling • Covers • common errors and tasks • current task • Usually involves analysis of command sequences. • Problems • representing tasks • interleaved tasks • user intention (AT)

  11. Knowledge representation • Advisory strategy • Involves choosing the correct style of advice for a given situation. E.g. reminder, tutorial, etc. • Few intelligent help systems model advisory strategy but choice of strategy is still important

  12. Knowledge representation • Techniques for knowledge representation • rule based • knowledge presented as rules and facts interpreted using inference mechanism. E.g. logic, production rules. Can be used in relatively large domains. • frame based • knowledge stored in structures, each having slots which can be filled. Useful for a small domain. • network based • knowledge represented as relationships between facts. E.g. semantic network. Can be used to link frames. • example based • knowledge represented implicitly within decision structure. Trained to classify rather than programmed with rules. Requires little knowledge acquisition

  13. Knowledge representation • Problems with intelligent help systems • knowledge acquisition • resources • interpretation of user behaviour

  14. Issues in intelligent help systems • initiative • does the user retain control or can the system direct the interaction? Can the system interrupt the user to offer help? • effect • what is going to be adapted and what information is needed to do this? Only model what is needed. • scope • is modelling at application or system level? Latter more complex. E.g. expertise varies between applications

  15. Designing user support • User support is not an ‘add on’ • it should be designed integrally with the system. • Should concentrate on content and context of help rather than technological issues. **** • Presentation issues • How is help requested? • command • button • function (on/off) • separate application

  16. Designing user support • How is help displayed? • new window • whole screen • split screen • pop-up boxes • hint icons

  17. Designing user support • Effective presentation requires • clear, familiar, consistent language • instructional rather than descriptive • language • avoidance of blocks of text • clear indication of summary and example information

  18. Designing user support • Implementation issues • Is help • operating system command • meta command • application • What resources are available? • screen space • memory capacity • speed

  19. Designing user support • Implementation issues • Structure of help data • single file • file hierarchy • database • Considerations • flexibility and extensibility • hard copy • browsing

  20. Mandel’s rules for the user interface designer • Give users control of the Interface • Reduce users’ memory load • Make the Interface consistent

  21. Principles to give the user control • Use modes judiciously • Let users use keyboard or mouse (flexibility) • Let users change focus (interuptible) • Display descriptive messages & text (helpful) • Provide immediate & reversible actions and feedback (forgiving) • Provide meaningful paths & exits (navigable) • Cater for different skill levels (accessible) • Make the interface transparent (facillitative) • Let users personalise the Interface • Let users directly manipulate Interface objects

  22. Principles to reduce memory load • Relieve short term memory (remember) • Rely on recognition, not recall • Provide visual clues (inform) • Provide defaults, undo and redo (forgiving) • Provide interface shortcuts (frequency) • Promote an object-action syntax (intuitive) • Use real world Metaphors • Use progressive disclosure (context) • Promote visual clarity (organise)

  23. Principles for consistency • Sustain the context of users’ tasks (continuity) • Maintain consistency within & across products (experience) • Keep interaction results the same (expectations) • Provide aesthetic appeal and integrity (attitude) • Encourage exploration (predictability)

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