User assistance is a general term for guided assistance to a user of a software product. The phrase incorporates all forms of help available to a user. Assistance can also automatically perform procedures or step users through the procedure, depending on the question that the user asked. The term is broader than
online helpOnline help is topic-oriented, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of user assistance. Most online help is designed to give assistance in the use of a software application or operating system, but can also be used to present information on a broad...
, and includes procedural and tutorial information.
User assistance provides information to help a person to interact with software.
User assistance is a general term for guided assistance to a user of a software product. The phrase incorporates all forms of help available to a user. Assistance can also automatically perform procedures or step users through the procedure, depending on the question that the user asked. The term is broader than
online helpOnline help is topic-oriented, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of user assistance. Most online help is designed to give assistance in the use of a software application or operating system, but can also be used to present information on a broad...
, and includes procedural and tutorial information.
What it does
User assistance provides information to help a person to interact with software. This can include describing the user interface, but also focuses on how to help the user to best apply the software capabilities to their needs. User assistance can be considered a component of the broader category of user experience.
Devices
User assistance employs a number of devices including help,
wizardsA wizard is a user interface element where the user is presented with a sequence of dialog boxes. Through these dialog boxes, the user is led through a series of steps, performing tasks in a specific sequence...
, tutorials, printed manuals (and their
PDFPortable Document Format is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system....
equivalents), and user interface text. User assistance professionals also contribute to enterprise knowledge bases and content management systems.
Skills required
Effective user assistance development requires a variety of communication skills. These include writing, editing,
task analysisTask analysis is the analysis of how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities,task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation, task complexity, environmental conditions, necessary clothing and equipment, and any other unique factors...
, and
subject matter expertA Subject Matter Expert is a person who is an expert in a particular area. In software engineering environments, the term is used to describe professionals with expertise in the field of application but without technical project knowledge.-Function:...
(SME) interviewing. Since the user assistance profession is directly involved with software development, the discipline often requires an understanding of
UIThe user interface is the aggregate of means by which people—the users—interact with the system—a particular machine, device, computer program or other complex tool...
design, usability testing,
localizationIn computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages and regional differences. Internationalization is the process of designing a software application so that it can be adapted to various languages and regions without engineering changes...
, testing,
quality assuranceQuality assurance, or QA for short, refers to planned and systematic production processes that provide confidence in a product's suitability for its intended purpose. Refer to the definition by Merriam-Webster for further information . It is a set of activities intended to ensure that products ...
, instructional design, scripting or programming, and accessibility.
Instruction manual
For information related to this topic, see Instruction manual (computer and video games)An instruction manual, in the context of video games, is a booklet that instructs the player on how to play the game. Manuals can be large, such as the Civilization II manual which runs hundreds of pages, or small, such as the single sheet of double-sided A5 paper included with Half-Life...
A traditional form of user assistance is a user manual, which is distributed either with the product in
paperPaper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
form or electronically. Typical features of a user manual include installation procedures, a guide to how to use the software, as well as a disclaimer stating the licencing status of the software. Details of a helpline may also be available.
External links