Cockeyed Optimist

Taking as a starting-point two lists […] of the ways that users are assumed to seek help, and the problems they might encounter, we can formulate two sets of testable hypotheses.

Hypotheses about how users seek help

         Users’ reliance on help will vary widely

         All users will refer to on-line help at some time, even if only for confirmation

         Beginners will always need help with finding out how to seek help

         Willingness to seek help will vary with gender

         Some users will prefer to ‘do it the hard way’ rather than seeking help

         Some users will believe that seeking help will slow them up excessively, or interrupt their train of thought, or make them ‘lose their place’

         Repeated unsuccessful attempts to get help will cause some users to give up trying

         Some users will resort to trial-and-error methods or to hunting through the menus

         Users’ attitudes to and use of help will be influenced by factors such as: general reputation, attitudes of teachers, attitudes of colleagues and acquaintances, anecdotes

         Users’ early experiences with help will affect later attitudes and practice, both positively and negatively

         Different users will have different preferences for styles of help

         Some users will object to what they see as over-obtrusive help mechanisms

         Some users will want more control over the extent to which help systems interrupt their work.

Hypotheses about problems with help

         Some users will not know there is a help system available, or not understand how to use it

         Some users will have difficulties finding their way round the help system

         Some of the difficulties in getting help will be to do with terminology

         Some difficulties in using the software have not been foreseen by its designers, so help for them will not be provided

         The help given will not always be appropriate to solve the problem

         Certain features of help will be disruptive or annoying to users.

We shall return to these hypotheses to discover which of them were addressed in the experimental program, and which of these were completely or partially confirmed.

If you liked this, why not treat me to a coffee (or a bone for Kafka)? Thanks, mate!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS