Towards Flow-Based User Assistance

Flow theory is a psychological concept that is gaining interest in e-learning. It is a concept that should be also considered in the fields of User Assistance and Technical Communication. Flow is akin to sportsmen being “in the zone” – flow is the situation where people are happiest when they are completely engaged in a task. Online Help… Read more »

How software users become champions

Matthew Syed is a British sports journalist and former three times Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who has been investigating what is needed to make people excellent at doing any task involving complexity. He argues that natural talent, your genes, are far less important than many people think. What’s important is practising what you can’t quite do…. Read more »

Will the growth of tablet and mobile phone based reading lead to the return of Clippy?

Microsoft Clippy (aka “Office Assistant” or “Clipit”) is a feature remembered by many users of Microsoft Word. It assisted users by way of an interactive animated character, which interfaced with Office’s online Help. Although the concept of “embedded” or “persistent” Help was good, its application in the real-life working environment was not well received. With more and more… Read more »

What does the iPad 3 mean for Technical Authors? Part 2: Hardware

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the iPad as a medium for delivering User Assistance. In this post, we’ll look at the iPad’s hardware, with a view for it being used by Technical Authors to create User Assistance.  In further posts, we’ll look at iPad software Technical Authors can use. iPad as a tool for Technical Authors… Read more »

User documentation from an accountant’s perspective

My first job out of college was in financial auditing, and I’ve often found the time I spent learning the ways of the accountant useful in understanding business fundamentals. So how does User Assistance (user documentation) appear through the prism of accountancy? Is it an asset? Assets are things you buy that have a value… Read more »