How Online Help is Created

Online help, otherwise known as "user assistance" or just "help", gets much less attention than it deserves. Often you won't even notice it exists until you start having problems with your computer software. But when trouble starts, you can rest assured that the answers to your problems are likely just a few clicks away. Just look for the Help menu in your software application.

Have you ever wondered where all of this helpful information comes from?

The vast majority of online help is written by help authors. These authors are also sometimes called technical writers, user assistance experts, or help developers. But regardless of the title they all do basically the same job. They document how your computer software works, and then convert that documentation into an organized electronic format that can be accessed via the Help menu.

Often online help is written in cooperation with subject matter experts (SMEs). These SMEs are often the computer programmers and software engineers that designed the software. The help authors will interview the SMEs to learn the technical details behind the functionality of the application, and then use writing and editing skills to translate the technical jargon for ordinary users.

Online help can be created using a variety of tools. RoboHelp, MadCap Flare, and Author-it are a few popular choices. These applications allow online help authors to convert documentation into a format that can be viewed from the software's Help menu. Often these tools store documentation in a standardized format, such as HTML or XML. A good tool can drastically reduce the amount of manual formatting necessary to turn text into help.

The information available from the Help menu is often organized into procedures, reference information, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and definitions. Usually these topics can be navigated via an index and table of contents. Additionally, you may also find tutorials, examples, wizards, and other useful forms of online help.

A career as an online help author usually requires a degree in English, Journalism, or Computer Science. Strong writing and editing skills are essential, as is a proficiency with computers. Advanced computer skills will give writers an advantage over the competition and ease communication between writers and SMEs. Many online help authors also find it beneficial to apply for membership with the Society for Technical Communication (STC), especially for networking purposes and sharing of knowledge.

The next time you run into problems using your computer software, hopefully you can find the answers you need on the Help menu. If so, offer up a silent thanks to the authors that worked so hard to provide you with those answers.