Online Help to the Use of Software for General Public: Specific Design Issues and Potential Solutions

Despite long-standing research efforts, online help systems are as yet unable to satisfy the needs of novice users, and the users tend to ignore them. This article first demonstrates the necessity of online help in getting familiar with the use of new software, however intuitive it might be. The main issue addressed is whether online help systems are meant to remedy the flaws in the software design or to meet the actual needs of novices. The discussion involves both empirical results and theoretical arguments. In the second part, are analyzed the major specific difficulties with which are confronted the designers of online help in view of understanding why the critical online help is seldom used by novices.