User Assistance and Help

Salesforce.com

Problem: Each Salesforce application screen had a barrage of options to deal with user assistance and help. We had a link to docs, another to FAQ and a separate link to communities. We also had solutions in video and blogs that cannot easily be reached. The best answer could be in communities, but we had no way to bring all together in one coherent help engagement interface. People had to pogo around all the possible channels to find a possible fix to an issue.

Solution: The screen above is a module that solves help. It starts with a unified search that taps all channels. It is followed by an ability to switch ON/OFF inline assistance. It also includes a way to identify company admins, usually the first level of informal support. We also include a module that prompts and rewards users that help others. The last item on the screen tracks any existing support cases a user might have open. We now have one link on each application screen that opens a unified help experience.

On larger screens, the help module works inline within your application screen. The goal is to keep the user in context. The long term vision of the module was to bring the actual text of the help articles into the side module so people can read help instructions as they view application screens.