Beyond "One-Size-Fits-All": Understanding the Diversity in How Software Newcomers Discover and Make Use of Help Resources

For most modern feature-rich software, considerable external help and learning resources are available on the web (e.g., documentation, tutorials, videos, Q&A forums). But, how do users new to an application discover and make use of such resources? We conducted in-lab and diary studies with 26 software newcomers from a variety of different backgrounds who were all using Fusion 360, a 3D modeling application, for the first time. Our results illustrate newcomers' diverse needs, perceptions, and help-seeking behaviors. We found a number of distinctions in how technical and non-technical users approached help-seeking, including: when and how they initiated the help-seeking process, their struggles in recognizing relevant help, the degree to which they made coordinated use of the application and different resources, and in how they perceived the utility of different help formats. We discuss implications for moving beyond "one-size-fits-all" help resources towards more structured, personalized, and curated help and learning materials.

[1]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  ToolClips: an investigation of contextual video assistance for functionality understanding , 2010, CHI.

[2]  Pamela Jordan.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques , 1994 .

[3]  Andrew Dillon,et al.  Designing Usable Electronic Text, Second Edition , 2004 .

[4]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  Community enhanced tutorials: improving tutorials with multiple demonstrations , 2013, CHI.

[5]  Zoran Budimac,et al.  E-Learning personalization based on hybrid recommendation strategy and learning style identification , 2011, Comput. Educ..

[6]  Nicholas J. Belkin,et al.  Ask for Information Retrieval: Part II. Results of a Design Study , 1982, J. Documentation.

[7]  Susan T. Dumais,et al.  The vocabulary problem in human-system communication , 1987, CACM.

[8]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  A survey of software learnability: metrics, methodologies and guidelines , 2009, CHI.

[9]  John Rieman,et al.  A field study of exploratory learning strategies , 1996, TCHI.

[10]  Krzysztof Z. Gajos,et al.  Crowdsourcing step-by-step information extraction to enhance existing how-to videos , 2014, CHI.

[11]  Stephen J. Westerman,et al.  Individual differences in human-computer interaction , 1993 .

[12]  Nicholas J. Belkin,et al.  Ask for Information Retrieval: Part I. Background and Theory , 1997, J. Documentation.

[13]  R. Felder,et al.  Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education. , 1988 .

[14]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  An Investigation of Metrics for the In Situ Detection of Software Expertise , 2015, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[15]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  A multi-site field study of crowdsourced contextual help: usage and perspectives of end users and software teams , 2013, CHI.

[16]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  Investigating How Online Help and Learning Resources Support Children's Use of 3D Design Software , 2018, CHI.

[17]  Krzysztof Z. Gajos,et al.  Learnersourcing Subgoal Labels for How-to Videos , 2015, CSCW.

[18]  Caitlin Kelleher,et al.  Stencils-based tutorials: design and evaluation , 2005, CHI.

[19]  David G. Novick,et al.  Why don't people read the manual? , 2006, SIGDOC '06.

[20]  Adam Fourney,et al.  InterTwine: creating interapplication information scent to support coordinated use of software , 2014, UIST.

[21]  David K. Farkas,et al.  The role of balloon help , 1993, ASTR.

[22]  Lena Mamykina,et al.  Design lessons from the fastest q&a site in the west , 2011, CHI.

[23]  Nathaniel Hudson,et al.  Understanding Newcomers to 3D Printing: Motivations, Workflows, and Barriers of Casual Makers , 2016, CHI.

[24]  Andrew Dillon,et al.  Designing Usable Electronic Text: Ergonomic Aspects Of Human Information Usage , 1994 .

[25]  John Millar Carroll.  The Nurnberg Funnel: Designing Minimalist Instruction for Practical Computer Skill , 1990 .

[26]  John M. Carroll,et al.  Training wheels in a user interface , 1984, CACM.

[27]  Mira Dontcheva,et al.  Pause-and-play: automatically linking screencast video tutorials with applications , 2011, UIST.

[28]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Usability engineering , 1997, The Computer Science and Engineering Handbook.

[29]  Björn Hartmann,et al.  Delta: a tool for representing and comparing workflows , 2012, CHI.

[30]  Andrea Bunt,et al.  Task-centric interfaces for feature-rich software , 2014, OZCHI.

[31]  David G. Novick,et al.  The micro-structure of use of help , 2009, SIGDOC.

[32]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  IP-QAT: in-product questions, answers, & tips , 2011, UIST.

[33]  Holger Winnemöller,et al.  DiscoverySpace: Crowdsourced Suggestions Onboard Novices in Complex Software , 2016, CSCW Companion.

[34]  John Millar Carroll.  Interfacing Thought: Cognitive Aspects of Human-Computer Interaction , 2003 .

[35]  Kinshuk,et al.  An Approach for Detecting Learning Styles in Learning Management Systems , 2006, Sixth IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT'06).

[36]  Tovi Grossman,et al.  Chronicle: capture, exploration, and playback of document workflow histories , 2010, UIST.

[37]  Andrea Bunt,et al.  Characterizing Web-Based Tutorials: Exploring Quality, Community, and Showcasing Strategies , 2014, SIGDOC.

[38]  Andrew Dillon,et al.  User analysis in HCI - the historical lessons from individual differences research , 1996, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[39]  Mehrbakhsh Nilashi,et al.  Collaborative filtering recommender systems , 2013 .

[40]  Andrea Bunt,et al.  Understanding the Roles and Uses of Web Tutorials , 2013, ICWSM.

[41]  David G. Novick,et al.  The macro-structure of use of help , 2009, SIGDOC.

[42]  S. Gall,et al.  Chapter 2 Help-Seeking Behavior in Learning , 2007 .

[43]  V. Aleven,et al.  Help Seeking and Help Design in Interactive Learning Environments , 2003 .

[44]  David G. Novick,et al.  Help-based tutorials , 2008, SIGDOC '08.

[45]  Adam Fourney,et al.  These Aren't the Commands You're Looking For: Addressing False Feedforward in Feature-Rich Software , 2015, UIST.

[46]  Jacob O. Wobbrock,et al.  LemonAid: selection-based crowdsourced contextual help for web applications , 2012, CHI.

[47]  Marc Rettig,et al.  Nobody reads documentation , 1991, CACM.

[48]  Andrea Bunt,et al.  Switter: Supporting Exploration of Software Learning Materials on Social Media , 2016, Conference on Designing Interactive Systems.

[49]  Andrea Bunt,et al.  TaggedComments: promoting and integrating user comments in online application tutorials , 2014, CHI.

[50]  Joanna McGrenere,et al.  Investigating interruptions in the context of computerised cognitive testing for older adults , 2012, CHI.

[51]  Angela Patrick,et al.  One proven methodology for designing robust online help systems , 1993, SIGDOC '93.