I gave a presentation titled "Why users can't find answers in help" to the Silicon Valley STC chapter yesterday. As promised, here's a recording of the presentation: Audio recording Listen here: Presentation slides Here are links to the slides: PowerPoint (pptx) Zipped PowerPoint (zip) I actually use Illustrator to create the slides and then export the images and import them into PowerPoint. If you just want the Ill...
A reader recently asked, Hi Tom, Do you collect user guides, instruction booklets/leaflets, manuals etc that you think are a good example and use them for ideas and inspiration? Would you say this is a good practice to keep up for a professional technical writer? As an aspiring technical writer, I believe it is useful and really helps me with ideas to convey information. User Manuals of electronic tech gadgets: I always keep, even if I n...
I'm giving a presentation to the STC Silicon Valley chapter on October 21 titled "Why Users Can't Find Answers to Their Questions in Help Content." Here are the details: Date and Time Monday, October 21 6:00–7:00pm: social networking 7:00–8:00pm: my presentation Location Harry's Hofbrau 1909 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94063 (650) 366-3733 (There's a side room in this restaurant where we can meet.) Cost Free You don't hav...
From my recent survey on why users can't find answers in help, many users voted on the following reason: The answer is buried in a long page, but the user only spends 2 minutes max on a page scanning. (survey results) The page may be 1,500 words long, but the user spends just a few seconds quickly scanning the page and misses the answer. In an earlier post, I talked about using subheadings as a way to overcome the problem of page leng...
Search engine optimization 1.0 → How to Search Engine Optimize (SEO) Your Help Documentation 1.1 Introduction, frames, iframes, and tech comm tools (search engine optimization) 1.2 Single sourcing and duplicate content (search engine optimization) ...
I'm continuing my series of posts addressing why users can't find information in help and what to do about it. The following reason received a high number of votes: The answer is an isolated task, but the user needs a more connected beginning-to-end workflow. This answer has received 66 votes. So far, the highest number of votes any response received is 78. (By the way, if you haven't taken the survey, you can still do so here at the in...
A reader asks, I find your advice extremely helpful, thanks! Where can I get instruction to learn how to do 10-A tech writing deliverables, Is there a guide or open course university to show you how to write online help, how to guides, quick start tutorials or video tutorials? Thanks, It's not often that someone asks for advice for such all-encompassing instruction in tech comm, so I thought I'd take a stab at actually answering it. Exa...
Software Development Times has an interesting article on about APIs: If you believe a recent report from analysis firm Gartner, in just two years, we'll be overrun by citizen developers (normal, untrained computer users) building 25% of new business applications. A major facilitator for these newbies? Some have posited that cloud-based API mash-ups would be so easy to use, toddlers would soon be selling mobile apps. But now, San Francisc...
One traditional stereotype about technical writers is that they work long hours in isolation, almost like a hermit in a lone cell immersed in deeply technical material, trying to make sense of it all by themselves. We know that stereotype is a recipe for failure. Collaborating and sharing information across departments is essential for creating the right content. But exactly how we are to collaborate across departments isn't as well defin...
In my recent tech comm poll about why users can't find information in help, one of the top answers was the following: The answer isn't in the help because the help sticks only with obvious information. No doubt at some point in your life, you've clicked a help file and browsed around only to find that the information is too basic and simple to answer any real troubleshooting questions you have have. Through repeated experiences like thi...
My recent poll on why users can't find answers in help material surfaced an interesting paradox. Consider these two reasons: The answer is buried in a long page, but the user only spends 2 minutes max on a page scanning. The help has been fragmented and dispersed over many small topics so the help is a maze. In other words, help is either too long so users can't find the answer, or help is too short so users can't find the answer....
In my recent poll about why users can't find the answer to help, one of the top answers (so far) is the lack of examples: The help doesn't provide concrete examples that make the concepts understandable. (View total votes.) I've long been a fan of examples in help documentation, but I didn't suspect they played such a large role. In fact, one rarely hears any presentations or reads blog posts on using examples. It's time to give this t...
I'm preparing for an upcoming presentation at a local STC chapter in the SF Bay area. I'm hoping to get some feedback before I finalize this presentation, so if you have some ideas, I'd love to hear from you. Here's my draft: Why Users Can't Find Answers to Their Questions in Help Content One of the main goals of help material is to help users find answers to their questions, but so often this doesn't happen. Users foray into the help ...
One of the forms of writing I like most is the essay, which is a form that has strong origins with 16th-century Michel de Montaigne. Montaigne saw essays as a kind of attempt or test of an idea and his judgement about it (see Montaigne's Moment). Since I like the essay format, it's not surprising that I also like to test content. In fact, testing content constitutes one of the main characteristics of good technical writing. By testing con...
I recently listened to an O'Reilly programming videocast interview with Travis Lowerdermilk about his new book, User-Centered Design: A Developer's Guide to Building User-Friendly Applications. During the videocast, Travis notes that according to Jakob Nielsen, you need only 5 users to identify most of the problems with a UI design. Lowdermilk acknowledges that the idea has been challenged by some, including Jared Spool and others (see Wh...
