Friday Sessions

User Assistance Trends Panel
Panel of Pundits: Scott DeLoach, Rob Houser, Matthew Ellison, and Joe Welinske

This panel discussion opens the conference with a cutting-edge overview of the latest trends in software user assistance, highlights important tool and technologies, and offers predictions on future directions of the IT industry and the user assistance field. The panel of experts represent a wide range of thought and opinion in the world of user assistance.

An Introduction to Windows "Longhorn" Help
Kipper York, Microsoft

Microsoft is developing a completely new system for user assistance delivery for the "Longhorn" version of Windows. Kipper York, of Microsoft, will be providing a special inside look at this emerging technology. The new integrated Help experience in Windows "Longhorn" is designed to greatly improve the user assistance experience in Windows. This session offers an overview of the "Longhorn" Help technologies and the associated authoring processes. You will see a demonstration of the "Longhorn" Help and learn about its fundamental elements and new publishing paradigm.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• How a new semantic authoring model enables Help authors to create higher quality Help content, leveraging the flexibility of XML
• How a unified Help viewer pane, which is shared by all applications, provides a consistent entry point to Help
• How a new organizational structure based on common tasks, rather than application features, makes it easier for users to find the Help they need
• How active content displays the most appropriate Help content, based on the current state of the user's computer
• How a more efficient update model enables authors to follow a "newsroom" model, where authors can focus on the most immediate documentation needs of their users; and updates are created, released, and distributed with minimal overhead and with minimal bandwidth requirements

Building User Assistance Into Web-based Applications
Rob Houser, User First Services

As more applications move to the Web, many companies are assuming that their applications need the same kind of help that web sites use--either FAQs or no help at all. But most business applications don't fit the familiar shopping metaphor that supports many popular web sites and they are more complex and interactive than the typical marketing or informational site. In this session, we will discuss how to integrate user assistance with Web-based applications by looking at real-world examples. We will look at the replacements for a traditional help system, including embedded help, on-screen instructions, contextual tips and tricks, enhanced error messages, automated e-mail responses, and on-demand training. We will also discuss who is trying to take your job designing the user assistance and what you need to know to keep it.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• Why most web sites are not the same as most business applications
• How to design user assistance so it is integrated into the user experience
• What you need to do to get involved in a design team that assumes user assistance is not needed

Creating Storyboards and Prototypes
Scott DeLoach, User First Services

Prototypes and storyboards are a proven method of reducing development time and cost for computer applications, user assistance, and online training. Prototypes and storyboards can be used to settle disputes and to test different UI and UA designs, and studies have proven than they reduce development time and cost. Prototyping is also one of the four essential user-design activities as recognised by ISO standard 13407. In this session, we will discuss the difference between a storyboard and a prototype, how both are used in other professions, and how to use them to solve design problems. You will also receive time-saving prototyping and storyboarding development tools and tips and tricks for effective prototype testing.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• The difference between storyboards and prototypes
• When to create low- or high-fidelity prototypes
• Why prototyping and storyboards are useful
• 10 steps for creating prototypes and storyboards
• Development tips and tricks

XML for Help Authors
Tony Self, HyperWrite

We know that XML technologies are permeating many areas in many industries, but we need to start thinking about how it directly affects us as authors of user assistance content. Can we use XML to fully separate the authoring process from the delivery process? How will the advent of MAML (Microsoft Assistance Markup Language) affect the way we write? Should we be producing XHTML output now, and how can we convert legacy HTML to XML? Can we use XML to integrate user assistance with Web applications? Before we can see the potential for XML in our industry, it is important to understand the various pieces of the XML puzzle that are of greatest importance. In this session, we will address these questions by investigating what role XML currently plays in the Help Authoring arena, and then look at how XML could change the way we approach user assistance. We will see some practical examples of the XML in action. Building on our knowledge of CSS, we will discover we can use XML documents with XSL-T to deliver professional and innovative user assistance solutions today.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• XML principles
• Using CSS with XML
• Transforming content with XSL-T
• Where MAML and DocBook fit in the picture
• Limitations of existing Help systems, and the role of XML in Help
• User Assistance for Web Applications with XML
• XML as an authoring and integration technology

User Assistance Tool Kit
Matthew Ellison, Matthew Ellison Consulting

This session describes the set of essential tools and utilities that all user assistance professionals should have on their computer. As well as explaining the different types of tools that you'll need, the session provides guidance on selecting the specific products that address your requirements most effectively. You'll hear about HTML editors, screen capture utilities, image editors, de-compilers, and a range of other invaluable tools and utilities -- some of which are available to download for free!

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• How having the right tools for the job can save you time and money
• The seven "must have" tool types that you need in your user assistance tool kit
• The key selection criteria for each of the tool types
• The top five utilities that you can download for little or no money

Saturday Sessions

Web Technology Update
Joe Welinske, WritersUA

Open source technologies continue to grow in popularity. The many standards developed through the auspices of the World Wide Web Consortium are now integral components of today's software development. XML, XSLT, CSS, XHTML, WAI, and a host of other acronyms represent technologies that are constantly improving and evolving. Proprietary standards like MAML, DITA, Flash, Acrobat, and WebHelp are also an important part of the web technology matrix. This session is designed to brief user assistance professionals on the latest updates to relevant efforts of the W3C and other organizations.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• What versions of the various W3C technologies are now available
• How W3C technologies are currently being implemented
• About new W3C technologies that may soon be of interest to user assistance professionals
• Where W3C technologies converge and diverge from proprietary platforms and solutions
• What proprietary standards are compatible with web standards and available for user assistance development

Practical JavaScript for User Assistance
Scott DeLoach

JavaScript can be used to improve how we maintain and present our UA information. This session will begin with an overview of JavaScript and tips and tricks for writing and modifying scripts. We will then discuss how to use JavaScript to open Help topics in a popup window, a DHTML layer, and in an embedded help panel. We will also explore scripts that allow you to reuse information across multiple topics and create dynamic topics. All of the scripts will be available for you to use in your own projects.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• How to write and modify JavaScript scripts
• How to open a Help window
• How to open Help in DHTML layers or an embedded panel
• How to reuse information across topics
• How to use variables in topics
• How to store UA in a database
• How to support customizations to UA

Practical Knowledge of Authoring Microsoft HTML Help Files
Tony Self, HyperWrite

Microsoft's compiled HTML Help format, or CHM, is an intriguing and sometimes frustrating format to work with. For those of us who "migrated" to HTML Help from the WinHelp format, it is easy to see HTML Help as being inferior to WinHelp. HTML Help still doesn't have rich-text popups, for example, and secondary windows are not easy to use. And there's no such thing as a non-scroll region. However, it is a lot more productive to look at CHM as a format of boundless opportunities. Different Help authoring tools allow you to achieve realise some of these opportunities, but none expose it all. HTML Help allows you to use "bookmarklets", use dynamic HTML, embed PDF documents within the Help window, incorporate Flash tutorials, and incorporate forms and scripting. And it lets you integrate Web content with local content. (And you can have rich text popups, non-scroll regions, and window controls!) In this session, we look at practical techniques to add useful functionality to your HTML Help documents.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• Working with Windows
• Incorporating Bookmarklets and Scriptlets . Third party add-ons . Displaying different types of content . DHTML functionality
• Merging with care

Developing Show Me Demonstrations with Captivate
Rob Houser, User First Services

Show Me demonstrations are being used increasingly in user assistance as a way to move beyond wordy, text-based explanations of important and complex topics. Demonstrations allow users to see what to do (and what not to do) as if they were looking over the shoulder of an experienced user who was explaining the procedure and emphasizing valuable tips and tricks. Showing users what to do rather than just telling them increases understanding and retention, reduces the fear of failure thereby increasing motivation to try the task on their own, and reinforces best practices. Show Me demonstrations also help create more compelling user assistance, which helps improve the users' perceptions of the product. In this session, the speaker will demonstrate how to create Show Me demonstrations using Macromedia Captivate and where to put the demonstrations to improve the user experience.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• Why users need Show Me demonstrations
• When and where to use Show me demonstrations
• How to create Show Me demonstrations using Macromedia Captivate

User-centered Design for Help Systems
Scott DeLoach & Matthew Ellison

This research-based session focuses on how to meet the needs of four types of users: novices, intermediate users, advanced users, and experts. Using information drawn from fields such as learning theory, cognitive psychology, technical communication, and information design, we will present a profle of each group and explain how each group uses help systems and the type of information they need to be successful. We will also provide recommendations and best-practice examples for formatting and organizing help topics, including an in-depth analysis of the (in)famous "7 +/- 2" guideline.

— YOU WILL LEARN —

• How, when, and why people use help systems
• How different users use help systems
• The types of information best suited for each user level
• How to structure your table of contents
• When to user longer and shorter bulleted lists
• When to provide long, scrolling topics

Open Question and Answer Session
Panel: Scott DeLoach, Matthew Ellison, Rob Houser, Tony Self, and Joe Welinske

The speakers will entertain any questions that you may not have had a chance to ask during the earlier portion of the conference.

NOTE: WritersUA reserves the right to alter any part of the published program, if necessary.