Re: Online & paper?

[Faith Weber <weber -at- EASI -dot- ENET -dot- DEC -dot- COM>]

This is long -- sorry, it's a topic of great interest to
me right now!

Mike LaTorra asks:

>The central question is this: If you could have a comprehensive,
>hypertext help on your computer -- a help window that can
>remain open even while you are doing other things in the
>underlying application -- would you still want a paper manual?

I'm very interested to know other people's thoughts on this,
as we are thinking about this question too.

I work for a CAD/CAE company, so we're talking about a similar set
of users. My feeling is that although our users really want
online help, they'll still want the paper, at least in the short
term. This is particularly true if they've come to distrust your
existing help system, which you describe as less than ideal. Despite
the improvements in the new system, it may take a while to convince
them to use the new system. The manual is kind of a security blanket
until you've won them over.

I also think it'll be a while before people are comfortable with
online-only information. (I'm a gung-ho online advocate, but I
feel weird if I don't get a manual to look at.)

It also depends what kind of information is needed. There are
some manuals I take home and look at in front of the TV at night,
just to get an idea what the software is all about, the
underlying concepts, etc. Many people don't have time to read
for this type of information during the day, and if your users need
background concepts that are interconnected, I think a manual
is still the best way to present that. I've been frustrated a
few times using online help (being too lazy to read the manual)
and finding bits and pieces of information, but remaining
unable to grasp the overall concept I was looking for.

Re: saving money, as this is an issue for us, too: have you thought
about putting manuals in PostScript format, sending them out with
the software, and letting users print the ones they need? Or you
could send one set of manuals plus PostScript files if the users
find they need more. Of course, depending on your pricing and
distribution policy for manuals, you may not be able to do that,
but it is a way to save money on printing and shipping. (It also
depends on how your users feel about printing their own manuals.)
The other option is to offer all of the above options.

We're about to develop a help system, and our initial strategy
is to put the reference material online (weaning users from the
paper versions, we hope), and distribute a user guide that
explains techniques. Later, we'll put the techniques online
too, and at that point we'll decide whether users still want
the book. This reduces (we hope) the number of books we distribute,
requires less shelf space for users, and provides the same
information.

Sorry I've been so long-winded. What do other people think?

Faith Weber
EA Systems Inc.
weber -at- easi -dot- enet -dot- dec -dot- com