Declarative information in software manuals: what's the use?

Declarative information is often considered to be of little value to software manual users, for two reasons: some research results state that it is consistently skipped by users, and other research results show that declarative information does not enhance task performance. This study puts these conclusions to the test, because the research underlying them does not support such general conclusions. Two experiments are conducted to collect quantitative data about the selection and use of procedural and declarative information and to investigate whether or not the use of declarative information affects task performance and knowledge. A new technique for measuring information selection was developed for this purpose: the click & read method. Introduction Examples [ 1 J and [2] contain information from the OpenSoft ExpressMail Client User’s Guide (OpenSoft Corporation, 1997). The manual fragments contain different types of information. The fmt step in creating a new folder is to determine where the folder should reside. In the folder list, select the folder in which you want the new folder to appear. Select the personal storage icon if you want the new folder to appear at the top level in the folder hiemrchy. Next, select New Folder from the File menu. Enter a name for the new folder and click OK. The new folder will appear in the directory, connected by a dotted line to the folder in which it resides. There are four standard folders which cannot be removed. They are described below. ’ Inbox All incoming e-mail is received and stored automatically in the Inbox folder. When this folder is open it will display any unread and previously read messages which have not yet been deleted or moved to other folders. Unread mail is listed in bold type face while previously read mail is listed in plain type face&. ) Pcmksion to m&e digitol/lxud copies of all or part of this mnterinl for penonnl or classroom use is granted witbout fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage, the copyright notice, the title ofthe publicotiou and its date appear, and notice is given Uint copyright is by permission ofthe ACM, hc. To copy otherwise. to republish, to post ou servers or to redistribute to lists, requires specific permission nndlor fee, SIODOC 97 Snowbird Utah USY Copyright 1997 ACM O-89791.8G1-4/97/10. ~3.50 Outbox The Outbox folder contains any messages pending to be sent. When a new message is constructed and the send button is pressed, e-mail is automatically moved and held in the outbos until it is fully delivered to the mail server. Messages which are in the process of a send attempt are italicized, The first fragment contains procedural information: it consists of conditions for actions (Yf you want the new folder to appear.“), actions (‘(select the folder in which you want the new folder to appea? ) and results from actions (“The new folder will appear in the directory.“.). The second fragment contains declarative information, which can be generally described as background information and explanations about the software and tasks. User’s questions requiring declarative information are for instance: “What are the standard folders in my mail program? ” or “How is unread mail marked? ” or “What happens with incoming mail? “. The answers to these questions emarge the user’s knowledge about the system or the task, but they do not directly support the user’s actions. The fragments illlustrate the different functions that are attributed to procedural and declarative information: procedural information directly supports actions, whereas declarative information is assumed to support comprehension and factual knowledge (e.g. Charney et. al., 1988; Alexander et. al., 1991). As software users have been reported to be interested in doing things (e.g. Mack et.al., 1983), it is hardly surprising that the need for procedural information in manuals has never come up for debate. In contrast, doubts have been raised on several occasions about the need for declarative information in software manuals. For instance, Mack et. al. observed novice word processor users carrying out several tasks. The subjects had a standard tutorial guide at their disposal. They were asked to read and think out loud. The study found that subjects tend to skip declarative information. Instead, they use their prior knowledge to make interpretations of their experiences and they look for procedures. These findings led to the development of new design principles for training materials, the Minimalist design principles (Carroll, 1990). One of these principles is to leave out most how-it-tvorks