User-education Guidelines for Mobile Terminals and E-services

Martin Böcker, Michael Tate, Margareta Flygt, Pascale Parodi, Bruno von Niman,

Matthias Schneider-Hufschmidt, David Williams, Pekka Ketola

(ETSI STF 285)

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Overview

Why User Guides matter Who needs them When are they needed Current problems and practice Minimum quality standards proposed

by ETSI STF 285 Scope and Examples Outlook

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The general image…

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Why user guides matter to the consumer

They are a part of the overall user experience They contribute to the user’s perception of the

product quality They help the user discover and understand

new functions Like the product itself they are designed

according to user needs

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They are one of the means for expressing brand values and messages

A function that is not known or understood will not generate ARPU

They are required (legal and regulatory requirements)

Why user guides matter to the manufacturer

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Who needs them

“No need for user guides if the UI is sufficiently self explanatory”

Yes, but mobile ICT products: are highly complex are difficult to set up have miniaturized input and output devices become even smaller even if screen resolution

increases evolve fast are used by non experts

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Who needs them?

“No need for user guides if the UI is sufficiently self explanatory”

Yes, but mobile ICT products: UI concepts are inadequately borrowed from PCs They interact with PCs and other devices (e.g. for

synchronization) Many feature concepts aren’t understood Services are often presented seamlessly The source of errors (device, service, network) is often

unclear

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Who needs them?

Users are heterogeneous Previous knowledge about features and UI concepts

differs They range from power users to one-feature-only users Users differ in their cultural background, but use ICT

products that are produced for a global market without large differences

Users differ in their physical and psychological needs and abilities (e.g. immigrants with limited local-language skills, low-literacy users, elderly or handicapped users)

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When is user education needed?

User education is needed throughout the product life cycle

Re-purchase/Upgrade

Ownership Purchase/subscribe

Pre-purchase/Pre-subscribe

Pascale Parodi (2005)

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Wider problem context

Some typical problems users have: Users fail to set up their device Users don’t know about their personal subscription User guides are needed in first-time set up and in error

situations Some features (e.g. Call Forwarding) are complex and

have consequences Little or no information available on tariffing for services

Re-purchase/Upgrade

Ownership Purchase/subscribe

Pre-purchase/Pre-subscribe

Pascale Parodi (2005)

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Wider problem context

Problems with current user guidance: User guide is incomplete The information cannot be found The language used is inadequate The structure of the guide is inadequate The explanation is too abstract The user guide is written without a specific user in mind The information cannot be perceived adequately The functionality or SW implementation is not frozen at

the time the user guide has to be completed The technical writer describes a product s/he doesn’t

really know

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Cost-benefit trade-offs

Some relevant cost-benefit trade-offs related to providing user education are: Frustration with failure to fully being able to use a

product leads to reduced ARPU and low brand loyalty Insufficient user education can lead to costs in

customer care centres Written user guides are often not up to date at time of

print Sometimes even the product is out of date at time of

shipping (SW updates) Products are sent in as faulty because users don’t

understand how they work

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Current practice

In spite of cost-benefit trade-offs: Cheapest, minimum effort solutions Very small fonts for cost saving Symbols to save space for text and costs for translating Reduced volume to save paper and reduce box sizes Wrong assumptions about what the users know User-guide related activities are outsourced No effort spent of user education for handicapped users Too little time for adjusting user guides to product changes Not all procedures are mentioned in detail Functions are described without preconditions Usability tests of user guides are the exceptions Same text different target groups and products

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STF 285

The European Commission (EC), as part of the eEurope initiative, commissioned ETSI to develop guidelines for improving user education.

STF 285 is to address: The definition of a minimum standard for user guides. Guidelines for user education using different media. User education for elderly and impaired users. The evaluation of user education.

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STF 285

The deliverable ETSI DEG 202 417 covers: An analysis of the role of user education for ICT products Generic (media-independent) guidelines Specific guidelines

• for paper-based user guides• for terminal-based user guides• for screen-based user guides• for user guides on portable media• for audio user guides

Other ways of providing user education User education and design for all Usability evaluation of user guidance

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Which media for which users / products / situations?

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Paper-based UG -- + ++ + ++ -- 0 -- -- 0 -- ++ + - - ++

SID -- ++ + + ++ + - + - + + + + - 0 ++

Web-based UG ++ + 0 + -- ++ ++ ++ + ++ -- + + 0 - ++

UG on CD-ROM -- ++ + + -- -- ++ ++ + ++ -- + + + - ++

Audio -- + + 0 + 0 -- -- -- 0 -- ++ -- ++ ++ ++

Call centre staff + ++ ++ ++ + ++ ++ -- ++ ++ 0 ++ -- ++ ++ +

User groups and fora

++ ++ ++ ++ - + + -- + + + 0 + 0 0 0

Avatars -- ++ ++ + ++ + 0 ++ - + + + + - + ++

Point of sales staff

++ + + + -- ++ 0 -- ++ ++ + + + + ++ +

Friends and family

++ + + + 0 0 - -- + + + + + + ++ --

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Media-independent guidelines

Requirements of the development process Content and structure Content Management Systems (CMS) Language and terminology Illustrations Localisation General customer requirements

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Media-independent guidelines

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Paper-based user guides

Format and layout Formal structure Consistency and logical structure Main and secondary guides Legal and regulatory

requirements The printing process

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Terminal-based user guides (Support in the Device)

Support in the device is available in many forms:

Help texts Demonstrations Interactive tutors / avatars Tips Setup / configuration wizards

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Screen / Web-based user guides

Advantages Content can be updated in

real time Text can be read in the dark Text can be searched for

easily Text can be varied in size

for partially sighted users The reader can be

automatically led through the text

The screen can be interactive

Disadvantages Everyone can read a book Computers are not always

available for use Computers are not always

connected to the web Computers are normally in a

fixed location Prolonged reading can produce

eye strain Readers scan information

rather than read in a linear fashion as they do with text

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Screen / Web-based user guides

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Other ways of providing user education

User guides on CD-ROM Audio user guides User groups and fora

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User education and Design for All

User education for Elderly users Visually-impaired users Hearing-impaired users Users with cognitive

impairments Low literacy users Users with communication

impairments Children

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Usability evaluation of user guides

Issues addressed Method Test sample Questionnaires Analysis Reporting Focussing on the specific

requirements of testing user guides

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Outlook

ETSI DEG 202 417 is available as a stable draft and will be finalised in May 2006 and published in September 2006.

Prior to publication, the document is reviewed with experts from industry and academia.

Thank you for your attention