Benefit analysis of user assistance improvements

In this paper, we describe a study conducted to examine the impact of changes to our user assistance model in our enterprise software systems. In this study, we examined both a traditional user assistance model, as well as our new user assistance model. In the traditional user assistance model, users of a general ledger prototype were given inline error messages and access to a PDF version of the help manual from a help icon at the top of the page. In the new user assistance model, error messages appeared in pop-up windows with links to specific areas where users could correct the errors. Fields that needed to be changed were highlighted with a red border and when clicked, a description of the required change would appear. When users needed help, they could select from lists of relevant help topics available at different levels based on where they were working in the system.