As software products have evolved and established themselves within the consumer markets, so have the help systems which are integrated into the software applications and operating systems. Pressing "F1" for help, has become the recognized industry standard for users seeking assistance.

Although online help is often considered an easily accessible reference to the user interface, these days the term stands for considerably more. Today's online help systems tend to offer a broader scope of embedded user assistance, including product introductory tours, tutorials and other supporting information. Apart from the primary purpose of providing tasked based assistance, a well designed help system will not only offer the user the right information they need but also effectively promote your other products, technologies or services and thereby support your sales channel.

Online help is an integral part of the user experience and cannot be ignored in your product offering.

The Challenges

Due to the rapidly evolving landscape within software systems, creating, maintaining and keeping up with technology, means that providing online help remains a real challenge for businesses. The myriad of formats, software tools and know-how that's required to produce effective systems means that considerable planning needs to be undertaken to avoid time consuming and costly mistakes.

Worse than not providing online help at all is a system which is unusable or a hindrance. Frustrated users will result in lost sales, potential referrals or at worst, product returns or legal challenges.

Consult with the Experts

IDS has over a decade of experience in developing online help systems. Our consultants and writers are specialists within this field and can offer you the right kind of solution.

Your Needs ..	IDS can help..
Not sure where to start ?	We design and build online help systems from the ground up. Our consultants can offer assistance in choosing the right development tools for your business, support your people or create and manage the entire project for you.
Updating an old project	We have worked with all industry help formats and development tools such as Robohelp, HDK, XDK and so on. Our specialists can assist in bringing old projects or content up to date with recent standards. We also provide training for your staff on how to manage or integrate new technologies and help systems.
Insufficient know-how or resources	We can provide the needed resources or staff, assist in recruitment or consult with you to get you up to speed.

We also offer:

• Technical writing services for the production of materials such as user / administration guides, product brochures, white papers or specifications.


• Developer services for the automation of common documentation processes and tasks.


• Documentation management services to assist in the versioning and tracking of all your communication assets.


• Multimedia Projects Management through our partners. From sales support CD/DVDs through to videos and corporate presentations, we can ensure that everything ties in with your product and service documentation.