Comments on: When users don’t want help http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2009/02/19/when-users-dont-want-help/ musings on technical communications Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:40:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Margaret http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2009/02/19/when-users-dont-want-help/comment-page-1/#comment-10941 Margaret Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:46:15 +0000 http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/?p=307#comment-10941 I think this is another aspect of the trend to considering every interaction a user has with a software product or an online site, and with all its related adjuncts like the Help, the documentation, FAQs, even online or help desk telephone support, in other words, every interaction that a person has with a product or a company, as part of the "User Experience". I've been following the http://www.uxmatters.com web site, which has a variety of columnists and usability experts writing on different aspects of such interactions. I recommend that you check it out. I think this is another aspect of the trend to considering every interaction a user has with a software product or an online site, and with all its related adjuncts like the Help, the documentation, FAQs, even online or help desk telephone support, in other words, every interaction that a person has with a product or a company, as part of the “User Experience”.

I’ve been following the http://www.uxmatters.com web site, which has a variety of columnists and usability experts writing on different aspects of such interactions. I recommend that you check it out.

]]> By: Kai http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2009/02/19/when-users-dont-want-help/comment-page-1/#comment-10888 Kai Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:23:23 +0000 http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/?p=307#comment-10888 Well, I was going to mention the thought-provoking article "What if readers can't read?" at http://www.hyperwrite.com/Articles/showarticle.aspx?id=84 until I saw that you had dumped it into the WriterRiver, so you know that one already. Apart from that, the perennially excellent Kathy Sierra site CPU comes to mind with posts such as - Attenuation and the suck threshold http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/10/getting_users_p.html - Helping users "feel the fear and do it anyway" http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2007/03/helping_users_f.html - The best user manuals EVER http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2007/03/the_best_user_t.html Well, I was going to mention the thought-provoking article “What if readers can’t read?” at http://www.hyperwrite.com/Articles/showarticle.aspx?id=84 until I saw that you had dumped it into the WriterRiver, so you know that one already.

Apart from that, the perennially excellent Kathy Sierra site CPU comes to mind with posts such as
- Attenuation and the suck threshold http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/10/getting_users_p.html
- Helping users “feel the fear and do it anyway” http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2007/03/helping_users_f.html
- The best user manuals EVER http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2007/03/the_best_user_t.html

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