A method of Semiotic engineering for the online help systems construction

Online help systems are typically used (if at all) as a last resource in interactive breakdown situations. In this paper, we present a semiotic engineering method for building online help that uses fairly known design models. We discuss the benefits of having designers explicitly communicate their design vision to users and the need or opportunity to foster new cultural attitudes towards online help. We show how, as a direct communication channel from designers to users, it opens new possibilities for interaction that can be skillfully used by designers. By exploring such possibilities, designers and users may bring about more positive attitudes towards online help and counter the feeling of technological exclusion which many users express.

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