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Subject:Re: Folio, Lotus Smar Text From:Chet Ensign <Chet_Ensign%LDS -at- NOTES -dot- WORLDCOM -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 6 Jun 1995 09:21:28 EDT
Phil
You asked:
> So what online delivery tool did your users prefer? What benefits did your
> users identify and what benefits did your company identify?
It has been different for different projects. On one project, the answer was
IBM's BookManager because we had to support users on IBM mainframes as well as
PCs. Users wanted to be able to put the electronic source in any number of
different places -- some on the mainframe, some on network drives, etc. We were
exploring using BookManager as the help system for mainframe software as well,
but I don't know whether that eventually worked out.
On another project, the customer had a requirement that meaningful content be
no more than two mouse clicks away from the user and that the interface be very
stripped down and simple. We designed a custom interface on EBT's DynaText that
completely did away with the book paradigm. A row of buttons across the top
corresponded to the first level of information and another row of buttons
corresponded to the second. That interface is still being field tested, but
what I've heard so far suggests that it is well received.
On yet another project, the customer invested a great deal in the redesign of
their paper document and they wanted to carry that investment over into the
electronic version. They also had legal reasons for requiring that certain
pieces of information always be shown when the reader first enters the
document, and that certain pieces of information always be available from a
button. We have done a custom Multimedia Viewer system for this project, using
Delphi to produce the interface design. Now that we have a prototype, we are
preparing to run focus groups with their customers and find out if the
interface we have designed works for them.
We played around with Acrobat-type products last year. Our conclusion was that
they offered an excellent solution for delivering printable documentation to
site-licensed customers, where the customer had unlimited right to reprint the
manuals. We didn't think it would be accepted as 'online' documentation.
Common thread that you'll find running through my messages is that the product
is not the point. When an organization tries to makethe choice of information
delivery system based on the merits of this product vs. that, then their
chances of success are hit-or-miss. They are basically closing their eyes,
tossing the dice, and saying "Come to papa!" What's worse, I'm afraid that when
a company takes that approach and their customers don't like the result, the
company will be inclined to say "We tried electronic publishing, but our
customers hated it." when the customer has only rejected this one approach.
The point is not the product. The point is the information. Making it more
useful, more accessable, more interactive. To find the product that does that
best, I believe that you have to start by considering *your* particular
information and *your* particular users and determine requirements based on
their needs. Then and only then is it time to look at products.
