User Focus
The set of documents corresponding to a user-defined composition
of concepts; initially, the entire knowledge base.
1.1.8. Describe the importance of User Documentation
Why User documentation is important?
High-quality user documentation for a software product helps
ensure customer satisfaction, and an improved customer support
experience is what ultimately leads to retention, recommendation, and
referral.
User documentation is a crucial part of a system as it is the document
that explains the working of the system to the user.
A well-made user documentation guides the user through using the
system and thus increases productivity. If the user documentation is simple, system
implementation can happen faster because users require less training to learn how to use the
new system.
Users are non-technical people, they only need to know how to use the system. Therefore, the
user documentation does not involve detailed explanations of how the system works.
A user documentation usually involves:
– Minimum hardware and software requirements
– Installation guide
– How to start the system
– How to use different features of the system
– Screenshots explaining main features of the system
– Example inputs and outputs
– Explanations of error messages and troubleshooting guides
– Information to contact the developer of the system if an undocumented question
arises.
1.1.9 Evaluate different methods of providing user documentation
Types of user documentation
• Help files
• Online support
• Printed manuals
Help files
Files supplied together with the system. They can usually be called up with a
button in the system.
• Pros and Cons:
+ Accessible at any time when using the program
+ Give general instructions on how to use the system
+ Give general instructions on how to solve some major errors
– They can only be used after system has been installed. They don't give any help when
installing the solution
– They often only deal with very general errors
– They often lack a search capability, you have to look to find help for your problem
Printed manuals
Manuals printed on paper and supplied together with the system.
• Pros and Cons:
+ They can be read through by users before starting to work with the new
system
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+ Always available
+ Give help installing the system
– Can be lost
– Often limited to a little booklet supplying little information apart from how to install the
system
– May not be updated every time the system is updated
Online support
Special web service hosted by the system's developer to provide user
documentation.
• Pros and Cons:
+ They are often extensive compared to help files
+ They get continuously revised by the systems developer to deal with the problems occurring
most often (FAQs)
+ They often provide an option for live support, talking to a real human operator if a problem
arises which the user documentation has no answer to
+ They often have search capabilities built-in so that users can easily search through them
– They are useless if users have no internet connection
– Live support does not work quite well with users unfamiliar with computers when they have
to explain their problem (”I clicked 'that' button and then something happened!”)
1.1.10 Evaluate different methods of delivering user training
Training staff in using a new system is very important as productivity
greatly depend on how familiar users are with a system. Therefore, good user
training is an essential part of introducing a new system.
Methods of delivering user training are:
• Self-instruction: Users read a manual or watch a tutorial, or randomly do
something in the system to figure out how it works. This type of training is only
suitable for experienced computer users as they are more confident to start
using an unfamiliar system alone to figure out how it works. Also, this type is
more comfortable and gives you freedom in making a study schedule.
• Formal classes: Users sit in a classroom, listen to an instructor who shows and
explains how to use the system. This type of training is useful to train large
amounts of staff as it is effective and relatively cheap, but if the size of the
classes is too big, there is little time to deal with individual problems and
questions.
• Remote/Online training: An instructor trains a single user either by being in
the same room or by some kind of remote connection (Skype, chat). This
is the most effective way of training as it can be suited to user's needs
and abilities, but is very expensive compared to other types of training.
System Back-up
A system backup is the process of backing up the operating system, files and
system-specific useful/essential data. Backup is a process in which the state,
files and data of a computer system are duplicated to be used as a backup
or data substitute when the primary system data is corrupted, deleted or lost.
What is Data Loss?
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Data loss occurs when valuable or sensitive information on a computer is compromised due
to theft, human error, viruses, malware, or power failure. It may also occur due to physical
damage or mechanical failure or equipment of an edifice.
There are two main types of causes of data loss:
Malicious activities
Deleting data accidently
not saving the data
hacking
viruses
data corruption
overheating
power failure
hardware damages
Natural disasters
flood
fires
storm
earthquakes
1.1.12 Outline the consequences of data loss in a specified situation
Real Life Statistics Regarding Data Loss
- Of businesses that have a major fire that involves the loss of data, 30% close their doors within
a year, and 70% go out of business within five years.
- 70% of small business firms that experience a data loss close their doors permanently within
one year.
- 25% of all personal computer users lose some type of data each year.
- Of companies that have a serious data loss, 94% end up going out of business, with 43% never
opening again and 51% closing within two years of the loss.
- Of the companies that lost data for more than 10 days, 93% filed for bankruptcy less than a
year later. - 50% of those companies that did not have some type of data management also
filed for bankruptcy immediately after the data loss.
- 77% of companies that use tapes to backup their information tested the tapes and found
some sort of failure with their backups.
- Most workstations are not backed up sufficiently.
The Sync Error: AMAG Pharmaceuticals
AMAG is a pharmaceutical company based in Boston with around 300 employees. As a part
of the health and pharmaceuticals industry, they’re heavily regulated, and compliance is
particularly important.
Their data loss problems began when an HR folder was moved within Google Drive, and didn’t
sync correctly. As a result, all files disappeared – including some that weren’t even owned by
the user moving the folder. The employee checked the trash bin, recycle bin, and desktop for
a copy – but the data was gone.
Luckily, Spanning Backup for Google Apps allowed AMAG to restore all files in just a matter of
clicks, exactly as they were and where they were before.
Without a backup and restore solution, the data is this important folder would have been lost
forever, putting AMAG’s compliance with regulations surrounding data availability and backup
in jeopardy.
Data Loss in School
If a school loses its online information, it can lose schedules, grades, personal information about
who works there and who studies there, and future plans for the school.
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1.1.13 Describe a range of methods that can be used to prevent data loss
Methods that are used to prevent data loss include failover systems, redundancy,
removable media, offsite/online storages.
Failover Systems
- Data is also stored in an extra system (hardware, software, network)
which starts working once an error is detected in the main system.
Redundancy
-The same data is stored in different places
-Example: RAID- Redundant Array of Independent Disks. It has different levels,
each with different methods of storing data.
Removable Media
- This includes external harddrives, disks, USB
Offsite Storage
- Local storage that does not require internet.
Online Storage
-For example Clouds. They require internet
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