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Subject: RE: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help
I think in all these cases, we would be best sticking to navigation elements authors have control over. I am not sure search falls into that -- at least not without becoming an index. On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:36 GMT Bruce Nevin (bnevin) wrote: >Right! And also not unique to Help. > >More generally, these are all means for identifying THE relevant bit of >content and presenting it, and any other such means that can be imagined >and implemented can be "optional characteristics" of Help. That rather >vitiates the notion "optional characteristic". Google's search >algorithms (and underlying them their intensive statistical analyses of >huge bodies of content) would be very Helpful. > >The ToC can in addition be a high-level overview of the structure of a >subject matter. Other presentations, such as a radial tree or a >'mind-map' sort of graph can also serve this function. > > >________________________________ > > From: Goolsby, Chris [mailto:cgoolsby@ptc.com] > Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 2:12 PM > To: Bruce Nevin (bnevin); >dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org > Subject: RE: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help > > > > Do we want to address search at all? You talk about ToC and >Index. Maybe search is an optional characteristic? > > > > Chris Goolsby > > PTC-Arbortext > > > > From: Bruce Nevin (bnevin) [mailto:bnevin@cisco.com] > Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 12:47 PM > To: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org > Subject: RE: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help > > > > Right, modular is an ambiguous term, and inspecific. > > >> May help with a user domain separate from its >software vehicle.<< > > Do you mean that Online Help doesn't have to be >associated with a piece of software? Or do you mean that some content in >a software's Help might describe indirectly-associated concepts, >business rules and the like? > > I meant the latter, e.g. a museum exhibit. Guidance for conflict >of interest, insider trading, and the like might be examples of business >rules. I'm sure you had other examples in mind, what are they? > > > > Here's another take which I think addresses your points. > > _____________________________________________________________ > > > > What is Online Help? > > > > Essential characteristics: > > * It is user-assistance documentation. > * It is presented by a computer. > * Each topic is presented separately. (Like a website.) > * In-topic links support navigation to other topics. (Like >a website.) > * A ToC, if provided, links to topics. (Unlike that in a >book.) > * An Index, if provided, links to topics. (Unlike that in >a book.) > > > > Optional characteristics: > > * It documents a software product. > * It is integrated with the UI of that product. > * Parts of the UI may be linked to topics written about >them. (Embedded help.) > * Procedural steps may be linked to parts of the UI used >to execute them. (Online coach.) > > > > Ancillary considerations: > > * The location of the content (e.g. local disk, website, >cloud) is immaterial. > * The type of display (e.g. CLI, GUI, kiosk, audio, video, >mixed media) may constrain the content. > > > >________________________________ > > From: Tony Self [mailto:tself@hyperwrite.com] > Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 8:44 PM > To: Bruce Nevin (bnevin); >dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org > Subject: RE: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help > > Hi Bruce > > > > Here are some thoughts. > > > > >> Modular--relatively short topics<< > > Modular might not be the right term to use, because >"modular Help" is used commonly to describe multiple Help systems that >are merged at runtime to be delivered as a virtual single Help system. > > > > >> May help with a user domain separate from its >software vehicle.<< > > Do you mean that Online Help doesn't have to be >associated with a piece of software? Or do you mean that some content in >a software's Help might describe indirectly-associated concepts, >business rules and the like? > > > > I think we also need to define "online". > > > > Regards > > > > Tony Self > > > > From: Bruce Nevin (bnevin) [mailto:bnevin@cisco.com] > Sent: Friday, 21 January 2011 8:43 AM > To: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org > Subject: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help > > > > I see >http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita-adoption/DITA_Help_Technologies_Guide_Al >location ><http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita-adoption/DITA_Help_Technologies_Guide_A >llocation> that I am on the hook for a definition of Help. Here's a >quick draft for comment. > > > > > > What is Online Help? > > * User assistance documentation. > * Modular--relatively short topics, in some forms >(e.g. rollover) smaller than a topic. > * Delivered online by software, either locally or >on the web. > * Usually integrated with the UI of the software >that it documents. > > * May help with a user domain separate >from its software vehicle. > * Is a kiosk or a guide to an exhibit >online Help? > > * May be context sensitive (linked to user action >or location or the state of the application). > > These characteristics usually compel the Help developer >to address the problem of relevance that is central to all >documentation: access to the relevant topic from the context of need. > > > > All user assistance documentation is part of the user >interface; a Help system only more obviously so. > > /B >
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