I designed the User Assistance System for the sponsor company’s high availability product. High availability solutions deliver maximum data and application availability across a wide array of operating systems, applications, hardware components, and data centre locations. Since the product brings in a whole new approach to application clustering, it is necessary to introduce the user to the concepts and the potential of the product.

The User Assistance System would introduce the users to the concepts of the product, and how it would benefit their company; provide them with guidance while carrying out tasks; provide users with important information required to make decisions while conducting a task.

The project was planned around a three stage process: creating a knowledge base for the domain, user research, product study and analysis, and design exploration. The solution was designed by amalgamating the big picture and details, since they have to go hand-in-hand.

I explored an area usually handled by Technical Communicators, with little involvement of the design team. I took this challenge up to see how I could add value to this aspect as a designer and explore different media.

Carrying out a project in the real world introduces us to challenges that didn’t appear in our classroom projects. I realised how much effort our team leaders have to put in to see that all the pieces fit.