Show Me! Guidelines for producing recorded demonstrations

Abstract

Although recorded demonstrations (screen capture animations with narration) have become a popular form of instruction for user interfaces, little work has been done to describe guidelines for their design. Based on our experience in several projects, we offer a starting set of guidelines for the design of visually appealing and cognitively effective recorded demonstrations. Technical guidelines encourage users to keep file sizes small, strive for universal usability, and ensure user control etc. and provide tips to achieve those goals. Content guidelines include: create short demonstrations that focus on tasks, highlight each step with auditory and visual cues, synchronize narration and animation carefully, and create demonstrations with a clear beginning, middle, and end.