Re: html-help question

[Kris Olberg <kjolberg -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeroen Hendrix <jhe -at- POLYDOC -dot- COM>
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU <TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
Date: Thursday, August 27, 1998 11:19 AM
Subject: html-help question


[snip]
>A. Has anybody else done something alike? How did you proceede?
>B. What Help Authoring Tool or compiler would you recommend for this job?
>C. How do you manage version control - maintenace of the help files.


I believe that User Interface Engineering (UIE) has found in one form or
another that writing a generic skeleton and then filling in the blanks has
some problems, mainly because navigation is tied to content. They found that
users trying to locate info at web sites in which this approach is used to
supply/update content fare significantly worse than at those sites where the
links (hotspots, etc.) are tied to the content. In fact, the latest Eye for
Design, a newsletter done by UIE, reported their research found that links
with a high "signal-to-noise ratio" led users to locate info faster and more
reliably. The newsletter does a good job of illustrating what this means;
roughly, "signal" words are those that are relevant to (or relate to) the
topic. (BTW, they define a link as not only as the hotspot itself but also
some surrounding text according to defined rules.)

Based on the above, I'd suggest you obtain the content first and then build
the structure and navigation around it.

Regarding authoring tools and version management tools or methods, you have
not provided enough requirements information for me to identify the best
fits. You need to identify your requirements first. Then compile a list of
potential tools/methods. Lastly, pick what fits best. Here are some of the
requirements you should identify for authoring tools:

- delivery platforms (Win16, Win32, UNIX, OS/2, etc.)
- amount of retrievability aids needed (heavy indexing, lots of cross
references, etc.)
- native format of info (Word, Frame, WordPerfect, WordStar, ASCII text,
etc.)
- will native format be retained and info only imported into authoring tool?
- physical environment in which info will be deployed (machine shop, office,
bank teller's station, cashier's station, etc.)
- will users have a mouse only, keyboard only, or both?
- will users mostly read online or print?
- distribution channels (diskette, CD-ROM, bulletin board, Internet, etc.)
- relative size of information (500KB files, 10MB files, etc.)

And for version mgmt tools:

- authoring platforms (Win16, Win32, UNIX, OS/2, etc.)
- does authoring occur on a network?
- do you support several versions at the same time? If so, tool must be able
to label versions and allow you to retrieve based on a label.
- will you need to share files amongst authors? If so, tool must support
multiple checkouts and merging.
- do you need audit capabilities? If so, tool must have robust history/audit
feature.

Best of luck!

Regards...Kris
-----------------------------
kolberg -at- healtheon -dot- com
kris -at- olberg -dot- com

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