OVERVIEW Searches in
User Documents (manuals, etc.) often fail because the Reader uses different
words for a concept than the author uses. Since the Reader's words do not
appear in the document, the document search mechanism cannot find them,
resulting in frustration. This article describes a User-friendly technique for
improving searches, without having to change the Users' behavior or the search
software.
YOUR READERS' WORDS People use the
words that they know when they speak, write, or search. It's folly to try to
force the Reader to use the writer's terminology; the Reader simply might not
know the "proper" term. Forced to use unknown words, the Reader will find the
User Document to be arrogant, or at least difficult to use.
For
example, a User Manual for a word processing program will probably use the word
"formatting" when dealing with character fonts and size, as well as page
layout. But suppose that your Reader uses the word "appearance" to refer to
these topics. How can we get the search mechanism to provide the correct result
if the Reader searches for "appearance"?
THE TECHNICAL ANSWER:
A THESAURUS SEARCH The technical solution would be to convert the
document search software from being an "exact term" search to a "Thesaurus
Search." In a Thesaurus Search, the User enters a word that he/she knows, and
the search returns synonyms or references to the synonyms in the document. Thus
a properly set up Thesaurus Search should return references to "formatting" if
the Reader searches for "appearance."
Unfortunately, the Thesaurus
Search is rarely available, and creating one would require changes to the
existing search program. A low tech solution may be the best answer.
THE ANSWER: SYNONYMS For this technique, you need to put
synonyms of the author's word ("formatting") on the pages that you want the
search to find. Such synonyms may include "appearance," "design," and "layout."
This is a simple, effective solution.
You can find appropriate
synonyms by using the thesaurus that is a component of most word processors and
of many libraries. Select the synonyms that your Readers are likely to use.
"Likely to use" is based on your analysis of your Reader.
This leads
us to the next question: How do you put the synonyms on the page?
DON'T USE HIDDEN TEXT Technically savvy writers may ask
"why not use hidden text for the synonyms?" The benefit is that hidden text
will not "clutter up" the page.
So, if in the sections of the User
Document where "formatting" is presented, the writer put the word "appearance"
as hidden text (assuming the search utility would find this hidden
information), then the following will happen:
1. The Reader
searches for "appearance."
2. The search takes the Reader to
the "formatting" section of the document.
3. The Reader wonders
"How did I get here?" The word that he/she searched for ("appearance") does not
appear on the page, since it is hidden.
Given that a goal of a
User Document is to answer the Reader's questions, then doing anything that
causes him/her to ask another question ("How did I get here?") is
counter-productive. Hidden synonyms are not the best answer.
THE ELEGANT SOLUTION: "YOU MAY KNOW THIS AS..." Hiding the
synonyms is not a good idea. It's better to let the Reader know what's going
on. The easiest way is to add a line of text on the page where the topic
appears. This line of text begins with the phrase, "You may know this as..."
To continue our "formatting" example, our explanatory synonym phrase
becomes, "You may know this as appearance, layout, or design." A search for
"appearance" brings the Reader to the "Formatting" section.
Upon
seeing the phrase "You may know this as appearance, layout, or design," the
Reader knows why the search found this location. The search satisfied the
Reader, and did not add uncertainty to the situation.
THE
BOTTOM LINE The goal of all good User Documents is to improve the
Reader's experience with the product. By using synonyms for "technical" terms,
the writer makes the Reader's document searches more effective, since the
needed topics will be found using the Reader's words.
By not hiding
the synonyms, the Reader is not confused as to why he/she arrived at that place
in the document. The result is a better experience with the document and the
product.
About the Author: Barry Millman, Ph.D., has a
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (1966, Carnegie Institute of
Technology) and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Psychology (Human Information Processing,
University of Calgary). He has been a consultant for over 25 years, an
instructor, course developer, and award-winning speaker. For the past seven
years he has been researching and creating resources to help organizations
create great User Documents.
Visit:
http://www.greatuserdocs.com/ for resources to help you
create the User Documents that your Product needs and your Users deserve.
