Blane C. Holden’s Portfolio

PORTFOLIO SAMPLE 4:
Online Help

Purpose
This sample online help module was initially part of an assignment for ENGL415, Online Document Design. My responsibility was to learn a program, MakeitOne's MP3 Album Maker, and then to design and build an online help system using Adobe RoboHelp and other tools. Using these tools, I created a stand-alone help tool that can be used by novice–experienced software users. The end product is an example of what can be built into any software project to assist users of various levels of experience, via onscreen printed and audio-visual instructions.

• Adobe RoboHelp 7
  
• Adobe Captivate
  
• Microsoft Word
  

Target Audience
For this portion of the project, the target audience was determined to be novice users learning to use an MP3 audio device. The class as a group brainstormed important topics that should be included for users at the beginning level, including definitions of MP3 files.

Design and Production Considerations
While the initial topic list was generated in a committee environment similar to any design team's initial planning, the final list of topics and content was my responsibility. After reviewing my notes made while testing and learning the software, I narrowed the list of topics to include those I felt most important for new users to understand so that they could gain the most utility with the least effort.

I wrote most of the copy using Microsoft Word for its ease of use and built-in assistance tools. I also felt that most any production team would have access to Microsoft Word. Adobe RoboHelp was selected because it is an industry standard used for creating online help modules. Using RoboHelp also meant that I could transfer and update the module as needed.

Later, I added a video presentation of the "Unpacking an Album" topic to show how much can be gained for users by a simple "show me" option for a difficult topic. Again, I chose a standard tool, Adobe Captivate, because it integrates well with RoboHelp and should be familiar to industry professionals.

Conclusion
An online help module is essential for software tools today. It is easily and inexpensively updated and allows users to access pertinent information where they are using the tool, while reducing their reliance on expensive 1-800 helpdesk call centers. This example shows how well I can create an online help module as a standalone tool. Building one as an integral part of the design team would make it that much more effective and functional.