RE: Writing tasks for online help. Specific vs. General

["SM Rush" <sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com>]

Here's my philosophy:  keep topics short and focused, but make sure users
can easily find more/general information if they need it.

I often create a topic with brief general information followed by links to
specific tasks.  Click on the link to go to a new topic with specific
instructions. In each specific topic, use a related topics link back to the
general topic.

There are 3 reasons why I might separate text like this:

(1) Instead of scrolling to find the section they want, users click once.
Keeping topics short makes it easier for users find what they're looking
for.

(2) When accessing help from the index, the user goes directly to the
pertinent instructions instead of scanning a long topic.  But, because
they're slipping in through a back door (via the index), the related topics
link lets users view additional info and put the topic in a larger context
if they need to.  If not, then they don't have to wade through extraneous
detail.

(3) Short topics can double for context-sensitive help, especially when
working with a tight budget.

Caution:  When separating specific and general text, you need to be careful
to maintain the context of a specific topic.  For example, when describing
how to change an address, be sure to identify where the user must go to
accomplish this task.  Each specific topic must be able to stand on its own.
This is particularly important when working on a large or complex
application.
_______________________
sella rush
applied technical systems
silverdale, wa
developers of CCM knowledge discovery



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