Other Help Metaphors - Long

[Jim Shaeffer <jims -at- spsi -dot- com>]

Double-posted to HATT and TECHWR-L in response to a comment about 
the importance of the "bookish" elements in Help. (I can't find 
the original post.) 

Premise: When designing online user assistance, there is no 
requirement that it be book-like. The use of the book metaphor 
in WinHelp, with its table of contents and index, is an accident 
of history. Other metaphors would be just as valid/invalid and 
useful/obstructive. Hypothetical examples follow.

A Spread Sheet (or Database) Metaphor
Content is in cells. Additional cells in the same row (record) hold 
keywords and metadata. Users can use multiple sorts and sub-sorts to 
arrange the help information in any sequence they desire. Users 
could have access to some columns to add their own keyword lists, 
creating customized sorts and searches for their own purposes. 
Variables are a natural part of the interface, making customization 
a trivial issue (in part). Users have access to a macro language 
that lets them mine and repurpose the help to create new sequences 
for custom training and orientation of users or other special 
purposes. 

A VCR Metaphor
Frames and scenes instead of topics and browse sequences. Don't 
agonize over the proper names for an interface element, just show 
the user how to interact with it. Fast Forward and Reverse rapidly 
to scan for Help that looks like the screen you're puzzling over on 
the computer. Random access? There have been random access VCRs and 
lots of random access laser disks, CD-ROM videos and DVDs. The Help 
Writer would be a Video storyboarder and designer. Images would be 
central to the work, not peripheral. 

A Filing Cabinet (or Library) Metaphor
The Help System is a container that can hold any type of file or 
multimedia. Most of the material in the system was not created by 
a Help Author, but by the technical experts and product designers. 
The help contains the technical specifications, GUI design 
documents, etc. The Help Writer is a librarian who organizes, 
indexes and abstracts all this stuff. The librarian also structures 
task oriented procedural sequences that link to the deeper 
technical background. (Can you say "knowledge management"?

Jim Shaeffer (jims -at- spsi -dot- com)

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