Best Practices for Embedded
User Assistance
Scott DeLoach
Founder, ClickStart
Embedded UA consultant and trainer
Certified Instructor – Flare | Captivate | RoboHelp
scott@clickstart.net
www.clickstart.net
© 2008 ClickStart, Inc. All rights reserved.

Overview
Why embedded UA is effective

 Best practices
 Types of embedded UA
 Best-in-class examples
 Context-sensitive embedded UA

Embedded UA is effective
Fact: Users will not request help or even hints,
even after making multiple mistakes.
- Aleven, et al. (2006)
Fact: Users don’t see embedded UA as \"help.\"
- Grayling (2002)
Fact: Users use embedded help.
- Martin et al. (2005)

Embedded UA best practices
 Provide information at the point of use
 Write topics to answer user questions
 Combine embedded UA with external help
 Provide focused help links ('Tell me more,' 'Tips,' 'Why?')
- Miller & Remington (2004), Reuning (2004)
 Use text links, not icon links
- McElwain, et al. (2002)
 Use unique formatting for UA links
- Spool, et al. (1998)

Combining embedded UA and external help
Context-sensitive
external help links
Functional UA
(field labels)

Combining embedded UA and external help

Types of embedded UA
Functional

Procedural

Conceptual


Functional UA - user questions
Descriptions
“What does this button do?”
Reminders
\"What does this acronym mean?\"
Examples
“What’s a good password?”
Exceptions
\"What if I have two middle names?\"
Relationships and dependencies
\"How do these settings relate to each other?\"

Functional UA - in-page content
eloan.com

Functional UA - popup layers
nationalcitymortgage.com

Functional UA - drop-down layers
movielens.com

Functional UA - drop-down layers
movielens.com

Functional UA - dedicated panel
alamo.com

Functional UA - tooltips
Microsoft Office 2007

Functional UA - best practices
Embed functional help for required fields

Provide examples - Große & Renkl (2006), Moallem (2003)

Provide minimums and maximums

Link to conceptual and procedural help topics

when needed
Group related topics


Procedural UA - user questions
Task steps
\"How do I complete my task?\"
High-level process
\"What do I do next?\"
Expectations
\"How long will this take?\"

Procedural UA - popup panel
USPS (in US post office)

Procedural UA - dedicated panel
eBay.com

Procedural UA - best practices
Embed UA for most commonly-performed tasks

Link to external help for less commonly-

performed and complex tasks
Highlight the current step to focus the user

Provide time estimates for longer tasks

Position tasks within higher-level processes


Conceptual UA - user questions
Justification
\"Why do you need this information?\"
Navigation
\"Am I on the right page?\"
Features and limitations
\"Can I save this information?\"
Goals
\"What can I do with this application?\"

Conceptual UA - overview
medassets.com

Conceptual UA - overview
medassets.com

Conceptual UA - drop-down layers
msdn2.microsoft.com

Conceptual UA - dedicated panel
bankofamerica.com

Conceptual UA - best practices
Embed vital information and warnings

Explain key tasks and why they might be

completed
Define key concepts

Link to external help topics for background,

introductory, and advanced information

Example embedded UA sites
General Procedural UA
monster.com eBay.com
Functional UA Conceptual UA
eloan.com msdn2.microsoft.com
nationalcitymortgage.com bankofamerica.com
movielens.com medassets.com
alamo.com

References
Aleven, V., McLaren, B. M., & Koedinger, K.R. (2006). Towards computer-based tutoring of help-
seeking skills. in Help Seeking in Academic Settings: Goals, Groups, and Contexts, Lawrence
Erlbaum, San Francisco.
Grayling, T. (2002). A usability test of two browser-based embedded help systems. Journal of the
Society of Technical Communication 49(2):193-209.
Martin, A. P., Ivory, M. Y., Megraw, R., & Slabosky, B. (2005). Exploring the persistent problem of user
assistance. Technical Report IS-TR-2005-08-01. University of Washington Information School.
McElwain, S, Hogan, M. & Barry, C. (2002). An experimental study of navigational guidelines and their
contribution to the usability of a website. Proceedings Of The Irish Academy Of Management Annual
Conference. Waterford, Ireland. 5-6.
Miller, C. S., & Remington, R. W. (2004). Modeling information navigation: implications for information
Architecture. Human-Computer Interaction. 19: 225-271.
Reuning, S. (2004). Giving navigation a hand: laterality and menu placement. Master’s thesis.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill + School of Information and Library Science. 44 pages.
Spool, J. A., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Snyder, C. & DeAngelo, T. (1998). Web Site Usability: A
Designer’s Guide, Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco.

References (cont)
Große, C. S. & Renkl, A. (2006). Learning from worked examples: what happens if errors are
included? In P. Gerjets, J. Elen, R. Joiner, & P. Kirschner (Eds.). Instructional design for effective and
enjoyable computer-supported learning. Knowledge Media Research Center, Tübingen.
Moallem, A. (2003). Usability of software online documentation: A user study. Proceedings of HCI
2003. 549-553.

Questions?
Scott DeLoach
Founder, ClickStart
Embedded UA consultant and trainer
Certified Instructor, Flare | RoboHelp | Captivate
scott@clickstart.net
404.520.0003
www.clickstart.net
www.clickstart.net