Modernizing your Online HelpJosh LanninProduct Managerhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/joshlannin

Modern Online Help

Contemporary web technologies have transformed online products– but has your online help caught up? How you deliver help as part of your product can be as important as how well it is written.

Online Help Circa 2005 Online Help Circa 2013

Let’s review the best of breed features found in modern online help

Concept• Provide the ability to read and navigate

help while simultaneously using the product without switching between browser windows

Project Elements• Provide infrastructure to view

embedded into the product UX, as well as through a full screen help center experience

• Deliver help in multiple formats using adaptive UX techniques

Simultaneously Use Online Help and Your Product

Example: Facebook.com help

Concept• Facilitate discovery of help

content

Project Elements• Build UX and infrastructure to

support incremental search capabilities on the help content

Provide Incremental Search of Help

Example: Salesforce.com help

Concept• Deliver help for mobile and

tablet user experiences

Project Elements• Can be specific to mobile or

tablet applications, or simply provide the ability to easily read the documentation from these devices on their browsers

Provide Mobile and Tablet Help

Example: Google + help

Concept• Reduce documentation complexity and

facilitate faster resolution of user questions by building links between help and your product

Project Elements• Requires the ability to have URLs in the

product which can be mapped to sections of help

• When the product URL changes on a per-user or per-tenant basis, requires the help system to be able to map to those correct URLs

Build Links Between Documentation and Product UX

Example: Facebook.com help

Concept• Enable links to help based on

the context of the user in the product

Project Elements• Requires the ability to have

URLs in the documentation which can be mapped to sections of the product

Build Links Between Product UX and Documentation

Example: Drupal help

Concept• Provide engagement and

feedback on help

Project Elements• Enable users to mark content as

helpful (or not)• Enable help to be perma-linked

in the browser for future access or sharing with others

Actionable Help

Example: dropbox.com help

Concept• When using videos as part of

help, provide the ability to play them inline the containing page

Project Elements• Enable integrated video playback

using modern video embedding techniques• Eliminate pop-ups and new

browser windows to view videos

Embedded Video Playback

Example: evernote.com help

“Embedded user assistance relieves this pain point by delivering the information users need when and where they need it. Users no longer need to search for the information they need, and they often don’t even realize they are reading help… Embedded user assistance is only part of a complete documentation plan. It does not replace the need for other types of content. For example, embedded user assistance is not a good delivery mechanism for comprehensive concepts and detailed discussions of a topic with strategy and best practice guidelines.”

http://www.useraid.com/blog/2009/05/12/embedded-user-assistance/

But Wait--- Is Documentation Even Necessary in a World of Intuitive Products with Embedded User Assistance?

Concept• Embedded user assistance includes

information to help users master a product as an integrated part of their user experience

Project Elements• Ranges from context specific tips, to guided

tasks, to fully gamified user experiences

• Knows what the user hasn’t done before and introduces new features to them

• Can be more expensive to deliver and requires close coordination between development and documentation teams

Embedded User Assistance

Example: Google+ user assistance

Good help increases the satisfaction users have with your product and reduces support cases. As good as your help writers are however, you also need to consider how good you are at delivering help as part of your product experience. Now is a good time to evaluate your products help system and see how good it is at delivering on the expectations of a modern web experience.

It’s Time to Upgrade Your Help