HELP menu shouldhave a choice of USE WIZARD, use STANDARD

[ktj]

XP PROsp2 OFFICE 2003Pro

when using the help feature it should be already customized to the feature
of OUTLOOK that is being used when you try to use help, when using the
calendar, the help menu should be about CALANDAR, and i suggest that all help
menus have a choice of wizards...described below.

When you use the help feature, the drop down menu should be a choice of
wizards to use:
HOME PC standalone
HOME PC with networking
OFFICE PC standalone workstation
etc etc.....

Once the user selects the wizard,
all selections should be about information that pertains to:
the feature being used(ie calendar)
and options for that feature(ie, change work week from 5 to 7 days, or
turning off the reminder feature for all appointments etc etc.
the first bunch of questions shoul dbe about setting up and configuring the
feature.
People should not have to jump through hoops, join 18 ellists and read
newsgrouups to learn how to customize the features of a piece of software
they have paid for.
Along with the configuration questions can be hotlinks to related
information. you should have choices as to whether the related info is
presented in NEWUSER/NOVICE mode or EXPERIENCED USER mode/EXPERT user mode.

ONce the set up questions are listed then there can be questions about the
fancy things you can do with the program....like print out calendarand where
to get cute little calendars for Johnny's classroom.

There should also be information about the ways in which the selected
feature works with other parts of the overall application, again with a
choice of the 3 user types.


THREE USER TYPES:

NEWUSER/NOVICE: = novice to computers in general, pretty much just took the
machine out of the box and pushed the button.

Assume nothing in the language used to describe steps/or else have little
pop-ups that can explain what each thing is, ie:

this is called a drop down menu. When it appears, you have to put your
mouse on the choice you want and left click it to get to the next step in the
porcess., etc etc

INTERMEDIATE USER= someone who knows about computers more or less, can
navigate around the folders and menus, but is new to this
application.Instructions shuld include hot links to more information/related
information that is written in somethingslightly less than developer/MVP
language ,and while there, will have hotlinks to more techinically detailed
KB articles etc etc.

EXPERT USER=Assumes person is familiar with registry/hardware/setting up
accounts and permissions/ is someone who is at a TECH level . For this user,
skip everything and get straight to the technical stuff if that's what they
need to know.

This way, all the user has to do isusing calendar as an example)

1. right click on help
2. select appropriate wizard
3. select area of calendar she wants help with
4. at each step of the way the user should be able to:
skip steps/go back/go forward/choose the level of info they need.

ie, an expert user on a home pc wants to know how to get rid of that damn
bell!
choices are:
turn off the sound
eliminate alarm from the given task
disable reminders altogether for any calendar function(making choices in
options menu or writing vba for it...)

I will know if this suggestion has merit for anyone who can do something
about it if it shows up in a future version of word....



----------------
This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow this
link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...9652-8b6ef5081ce2&dg=microsoft.public.outlook

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Microsoft has done *a lot* of research on how best to provide help to users.
Office online is one result, especially the communities interface and search
wizard. Office 12 will have many improvements in help - whether it's wizards
or just better help where it's needed remains to be seen.

Too many options makes it more confusing for users... and surprisingly, a
lot of people don't know if they are networked or not and consider
themselves advanced, because compared to the people they work with, they are
an expert user. A bigger problem for many people is choosing the correct
search words - otherwise you get crappy answers regardless of where you look
for assistance. What really helps Microsoft the most is answering the survey
at the end of the many help pages - was it helpful, did it answer your
question, if not, tell them so they can make it better. They do read and
more importantly, act on, the comments they get from that survey.

So... What doesn't work for you when typing the question in the ask a
question field on the right side of the menu bar? I.e., when I type "change
work week from 5 to 7 days" in the ask a question field, the 2nd result
shows how to get to the screen where you select the work days. "turning off
the reminder feature for all appointments " also gets a correct answer in
the top results. If you are looking for some other work week option or
something, click no, it didn't help and explain (the best you can) what you
expected, if the steps are confusing, tell them.


--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Subscribe to Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter:
(e-mail address removed)

 

[ktj]

Well, basically, i agree that perception of skills may and usually is
relative , but that is why i put the defiitions of the variuous skill levels
i proposed. There are not only so MS can know how much info to include, but
so that the user knows what category she fits in. Naturally, i would ssume
that the definitions used would be in a part of the information presented so
that the USER can make a choice of what level of help he needs.

I just figure
that if it were so easy and so user friendly that even the person who plugs
it in thinking it like a TV< push the button and go>,cn find what they
need....the only tech's we would need would be hardware folks, and we all;
know that's not going to happen any time soon..... :>)

I do appreciate knowihng that asnwering the blurbs at the end of the help
pages is what is especially useful.I will be very very specific from now on
when i take advantage of the opportunity to give feedback.

I actually thought i was being fairly specific with some feedback there....
On the other hand, i figure it this way....lol.....Microsoft asked me my
opinion when they put the little blurb in the help process that asks if you
want to participate, or not
I checked yes, and gave my opinion....lol.....
if i came across as being in attack mode, i'm sorry. I just wanted to be
very clear about what I was proposing.

I still do think that it would be a usefull way to organize the help section
for users..
particularly novice users.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

I do appreciate knowing that answering the blurbs at the end of the help

pages is what is especially useful.I will be very very specific from now
on
when I take advantage of the opportunity to give feedback.

I actually thought I was being fairly specific with some feedback
there....

Microsoft will eventually see the suggestion you posted here and triage it
(not sure how often they check them) - but answering the yes or no on the
pages at office online goes straight to the Help authors and that can have a
more immediate impact for other users.

BTW - sending crash reports and allowing your usage to be sent back to MS
(the thing that asks if you want to participate soon after installing
office) helps them fix bugs and improve outlook and the other office
programs. (No private data is shared with Microsoft.)


--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Subscribe to Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter:
(e-mail address removed)

 

[ktj]

Thank you again for the information. LAst night I had occasion to use the
help system looking for a very specific piece of information. At each step
along the way i was very concious(as a result of your reply) as to what was
and wasn;t working in the help directions. What i found was that many of the
directions which are specific(and I am ALL for specific...lol) couldn;t be
used because they pertained to some assumed environment that didn;t applly.
For instance....the directions on finding the font folder(lucky for me i know
where it is) include a note for 2000 users...becasue i am rujnning xp and not
2000, i skipped it. The other directions i used had me looking for stuff that
wasn;t there. I used the directions for 2000 and they were fine. The things
they said I should see, I saw. I have no idea whether this is a case of
transposed text, a simple error or what, but for a realtively new user, this
is just the sort of thing to send you in circles pulling your hair out. To my
mind, if the help direction says:
for XP users
start/control/panel/appearances and themes/fonts

the xp user should be able to follow that and not go nuts trying to find
appearances and themes...

Anyhow, what I found was :
it is not easy to write concise, accurate responses in the little DID THIS
HELP box.
It was a wake up call and i will be trying to hone my skills at descriptive
technical writing.lol

thanks for your replies and all the information.

newbie<me>>>>>>>>>>>>>>tech
nedd a couupl,e thousand less than''s.