Organizing user information: A way to hold fewer hands

In the past few years, we have seen a rapid increase in the number of new users in the academic computing environment, and this increase is likely to continue. Several factors are involved in bringing this about: microcomputers are more accessible and inexpensive; software is easier to use; high-quality printing devices and text-processing packages make the computer a more attractive tool for preparing documents; and high-level, specialized languages make it a more practical teaching aid. In general, people are learning that the computer can be a useful tool, in many cases enabling them to perform tasks which they were not able to perform, at least not easily, before. Consequently, many of the people we deal with in the user services context are “new users” in the sense that they have had very little computing experience before coming to us.

In many ways we have not been adequately prepared to deal with this changing user community. Most of our traditional documentation, workshops and shortcourses assume a higher level of technical training than our new users possess. We in user services have the information needed by this new clientele; but it has not been in a form which is easily accessible to them. As a result, people either turn away or, in order to satisfy their own information needs, turn to the only source available to them - the user services consultant. Often, the easiest and most convenient way for new users to obtain information is simply to call or visit a consultant. Consequently, an increasing proportion of consultants' time is spent “holding hands” -that is, teaching in-office shortcourses on a one-on-one basis, giving individual “how to” demonstrations on a variety of topics, and answering long lists of questions on beginning level topics.

Of course, as user services consultants, it is our job to assist people in the use of our computer system and to teach new users how to use that system. The problem we face is that an increasing proportion of consulting time is spent in individual tutoring sessions at an elementary level and, therefore, less time is allocated to other important functions such as shortcourse and workshop development and the development of new documentation -activities which, in the long term, would benefit the new user in a more effective and efficient manner. We believe that one solution to this problem lies in organizing user information in a way which makes it more accessible and more suitable for users at a given level of experience.

In this paper, we describe a model for organizing and developing documentation and instruction which is based upon the varying skill levels of our users. This model provides a framework for defining user needs at each skill level, for identifying those areas in which documentation or instruction is lacking, and for developing new material to meet those needs.