I think in all these cases, we would be best sticking to navigation elements authors have control over. I am not sure search falls into that -- at least not without becoming an index.
On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:36 GMT Bruce Nevin (bnevin) wrote:
>Right! And also not unique to Help.
>
>More generally, these are all means for identifying THE relevant bit of
>content and presenting it, and any other such means that can be imagined
>and implemented can be "optional characteristics" of Help. That rather
>vitiates the notion "optional characteristic". Google's search
>algorithms (and underlying them their intensive statistical analyses of
>huge bodies of content) would be very Helpful.
>
>The ToC can in addition be a high-level overview of the structure of a
>subject matter. Other presentations, such as a radial tree or a
>'mind-map' sort of graph can also serve this function.
>
>
>________________________________
>
> From: Goolsby, Chris [mailto:]
> Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 2:12 PM
> To: Bruce Nevin (bnevin);
>
> Subject: RE: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help
>
>
>
> Do we want to address search at all? You talk about ToC and
>Index. Maybe search is an optional characteristic?
>
>
>
> Chris Goolsby
>
> PTC-Arbortext
>
>
>
> From: Bruce Nevin (bnevin) [mailto:]
> Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 12:47 PM
> To:
> Subject: RE: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help
>
>
>
> Right, modular is an ambiguous term, and inspecific.
>
> >> May help with a user domain separate from its
>software vehicle.<<
>
> Do you mean that Online Help doesn't have to be
>associated with a piece of software? Or do you mean that some content in
>a software's Help might describe indirectly-associated concepts,
>business rules and the like?
>
> I meant the latter, e.g. a museum exhibit. Guidance for conflict
>of interest, insider trading, and the like might be examples of business
>rules. I'm sure you had other examples in mind, what are they?
>
>
>
> Here's another take which I think addresses your points.
>
> _____________________________________________________________
>
>
>
> What is Online Help?
>
>
>
> Essential characteristics:
>
> * It is user-assistance documentation.
> * It is presented by a computer.
> * Each topic is presented separately. (Like a website.)
> * In-topic links support navigation to other topics. (Like
>a website.)
> * A ToC, if provided, links to topics. (Unlike that in a
>book.)
> * An Index, if provided, links to topics. (Unlike that in
>a book.)
>
>
>
> Optional characteristics:
>
> * It documents a software product.
> * It is integrated with the UI of that product.
> * Parts of the UI may be linked to topics written about
>them. (Embedded help.)
> * Procedural steps may be linked to parts of the UI used
>to execute them. (Online coach.)
>
>
>
> Ancillary considerations:
>
> * The location of the content (e.g. local disk, website,
>cloud) is immaterial.
> * The type of display (e.g. CLI, GUI, kiosk, audio, video,
>mixed media) may constrain the content.
>
>
>
>________________________________
>
> From: Tony Self [mailto:]
> Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 8:44 PM
> To: Bruce Nevin (bnevin);
>
> Subject: RE: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help
>
> Hi Bruce
>
>
>
> Here are some thoughts.
>
>
>
> >> Modular--relatively short topics<<
>
> Modular might not be the right term to use, because
>"modular Help" is used commonly to describe multiple Help systems that
>are merged at runtime to be delivered as a virtual single Help system.
>
>
>
> >> May help with a user domain separate from its
>software vehicle.<<
>
> Do you mean that Online Help doesn't have to be
>associated with a piece of software? Or do you mean that some content in
>a software's Help might describe indirectly-associated concepts,
>business rules and the like?
>
>
>
> I think we also need to define "online".
>
>
>
> Regards
>
>
>
> Tony Self
>
>
>
> From: Bruce Nevin (bnevin) [mailto:]
> Sent: Friday, 21 January 2011 8:43 AM
> To:
> Subject: [dita-adoption-help] definition of Help
>
>
>
> I see
>http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita-adoption/DITA_Help_Technologies_Guide_Al
>location
><http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita-adoption/DITA_Help_Technologies_Guide_A
>llocation> that I am on the hook for a definition of Help. Here's a
>quick draft for comment.
>
>
>
>
>
> What is Online Help?
>
> * User assistance documentation.
> * Modular--relatively short topics, in some forms
>(e.g. rollover) smaller than a topic.
> * Delivered online by software, either locally or
>on the web.
> * Usually integrated with the UI of the software
>that it documents.
>
> * May help with a user domain separate
>from its software vehicle.
> * Is a kiosk or a guide to an exhibit
>online Help?
>
> * May be context sensitive (linked to user action
>or location or the state of the application).
>
> These characteristics usually compel the Help developer
>to address the problem of relevance that is central to all
>documentation: access to the relevant topic from the context of need.
>
>
>
> All user assistance documentation is part of the user
>interface; a Help system only more obviously so.
>
> /B
>
