Help in the clouds

Earlier this week, Google announced the launch of the Google Apps Marketplace, promising a one-stop shop for Web-based applications. Organisations will be able to build their individual suite of Web-based applications that integrate with Google’s own applications (for example, its word-processor and email applications). The idea is that you’ll have “best of breed” applications from a range of suppliers, rather than… Read more »

Reducing IT support call times

At the Documentation Managers peer group meeting we hosted earlier this week, one manager commented his organisation was aiming to increase the average time for each support call. This was because it believed it could eliminate all the short duration calls – through redesigning the software and better user documentation. What would be left would be… Read more »

Turning technical documentation into an emotional experience (for the customer)

One of the most recent trends organisations are starting to look at is creating a “customer experience strategy”. “Customer Experience Management” is management-speak for generating customer advocacy, brand loyalty and an emotional attachment to a product or company. With so many people describing their experiences as customers via Social Web sites, Blogs and other media, it’s becoming increasingly important to ensure customers have… Read more »

Will “Context is King” apply to user assistance?

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan has written an article called “Context is King: How Videos Are Found And Consumed Online“, in which he argues: Times have changed. In fact, less and less often do consumers even seek out content by actually going to a given site. To paraphrase Jeff Jarvis, if something is important, it will find me, be it… Read more »