FW: Why PDF for online help?

["Bill Swallow" <wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com>]

I am forwarding a message I received off-list (with permission), with
some commentary:

::: From: Munged, Munge
::: Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2003 3:08 PM
::: Subject: Re: Why PDF for online help?
::: 
::: 
::: Hi Bill-
::: 
::: I read the mailing list on the newsgroup echo, so can't
::: post, but feel free to quote me on this one. (Address
::: appropriately munged, of course!)
::: 
::: ""Bill Swallow"" wrote ...
::: > 
::: > ::: If you call it ONLINE HELP, they don't click on it
::: > ::: (studies show). However, if you don't name it, and
::: > ::: simply make it available, like a flash tour, or a pdf
::: > ::: file, the automatic conditioned negative response is
::: > ::: bypassed and the next neuron plugs in.
::: > 
::: > Can you cite these studies? I seem to remember this as an 
::: urban legend
::: > stemming for the late 1990's, but I could be wrong.
::: 
::: From "Fear and Loathing of the Help Menu: A Usability Test of
::: Online Help," _Technical Communication_, 2Q98, by Trevor Grayling:
::: "Although we would always like to see more data, usability
::: testing indicates that help information for Windows-style 
::: applications frequently will be ignored if it relies on the
::: Help menu as the primary access method.  Through their 
::: observed behavior, test subjects displayed a highly negative
::: attitude toward help information provided in this manner.
::: On the other hand, test subjects did like and use dialog-box
::: help and pop-up help for tools. The hypothesis that we draw
::: from these two strikingly different behaviors is that users 
::: respond to help information that is simultaneously context-
::: specific, easily available, obvious to invoke, useful, and
::: non-intrusive." (page 178, in the Conclusions.)

I believe this was the article that spun the whole "users won't click
Help" urban legend (maybe not a true urban legend, but a falsehood based
on generalization). The article does in fact say that users were averted
to selecting the Help menu item off the main application menu, but did
like context-sensitive help. Can you blame them? ;)

::: I also seem to recall a usability test that observed users
::: using software where the help was accessed via a link (or
::: maybe it was a button or menu item - I can't recall if it
::: predated Web apps) variously called "Help" or "Tips" and
::: "Tips" got nearly twice the usage.  A quick leafing through
::: of my article collection, though, did not show any likely
::: articles.  (I've always remembered the "Fear and Loathing"
::: article because of the great title.)
::: 
::: Hope this was helpful-
::: 
::: Munge Munged
::: "Not Mentor's opinions and all that"

BILL SWALLOW
Information Design & Development Professional
tel/fax: 518.371.1867
wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com



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