{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T18:29:05Z","timestamp":1767637745015,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"Maximum Academic Press","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2009,7,7]],"date-time":"2009-07-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1246924800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":6062,"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/terms"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["The Knowledge Engineering Review"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1992,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>An important aspect of any interactive computer system is its ease of use. On-line assistance is a major contributor to software usability. Conventional on-line assistance includes on-line documentation, or keyword access to textual help descriptions. More sophisticated on-line assistance includes intelligent help which provides immediate assistance for a specific problem, and intelligent training whose main goal is to support the user in learning about the system. These contemporary forms of intelligent assistance represent knowledge about the particular application, the user and the particular tasks the user is to perform. In addition, they possess inferencing capabilities to model the individual user's goals, plans, intentions and knowledge. This paper provides an overview of on-line assistance research, from empirical studies that attempt to determine the nature of effective assistance, to the design of intelligent on-line assistance systems capable of tailoring the assistance to the individual user. For readers interested in more details, recommendations for further reading in the related areas of advice-giving and intelligent help, intelligent user interfaces, critiquing, intelligent tutoring systems, and on-line documentation and hypertext are given.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0269888900006445","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,7,7]],"date-time":"2009-07-07T09:35:04Z","timestamp":1246959304000},"page":"289-322","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["An overview of on-line assistance: from on-line documentation to intelligent help and training"],"prefix":"10.48130","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Barbara","family":"Wasson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sigmund","family":"Akselsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"27968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2009,7,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref046","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/7885.7886"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref040","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stehouwer M and van Bruggen J , 1986. \u201cPerformance interpretation in an intelligent help system\u201d In: Proc. 6th Annual ESPRIT Conference 248\u2013257.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-94-009-1063-8_20"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rada R and Barlow J , 1988. \u201cExpert systems and hypertext\u201d The Knowledge Engineering Review 285\u2013301.","DOI":"10.1017\/S0269888900004598"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pollack ME , 1985. \u201cInformation sought and information provided: an empirical study of user\/expert dialogues\u201d In: CHI'85 Conference Proceedings 155\u2013159, ACM.","DOI":"10.1145\/317456.317486"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref007","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/48529.48531"},{"volume-title":"Artificial intelligence and tutoring systems: Computational and cognitive approaches to the communication of knowledge","year":"1987","author":"Wenger","key":"S0269888900006445_ref053"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"vii","DOI":"10.1145\/107215","volume-title":"Intelligent User Interfaces","author":"Sullivan","year":"1991"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref055","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/48511.48514"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"McKendree J and Carroll JM , 1986. \u201cAdvising roles of a computer consultant\u201d In: CHI'86 Conference Proceedings 35\u201340, ACM.","DOI":"10.1145\/22627.22345"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref027","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0950-5849(91)90057-I"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref032","unstructured":"Lemke AC , 1989. \u201cDesign environments for high-functionality computer systems\u201d Ph.D thesis, University of Colorado."},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref031","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0269888900005567"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref025","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/69610.357985"},{"volume-title":"Programmer's Manual","year":"1987","key":"S0269888900006445_ref043"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref024","first-page":"338","volume-title":"Artificial Intelligence and Human Learning","author":"Harley","year":"1988"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref010","first-page":"423","volume-title":"Computer-supported cooperative work: a book of readings","author":"Conklin","year":"1988"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref009","first-page":"80","volume-title":"Interfacing Thought: Cognitive aspects of human computer interaction","author":"Carroll","year":"1986"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref023","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0020-7373(05)80137-3"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref008","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/7885.7886"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref019","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/123078.128727"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref039","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/129852.129861"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref042","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tuck R and Olsen DR , 1990. \u201cHelp by guided tasks; utilizing UIMS knowledge\u201d In: CHI'90 Conference Proceedings 71\u201378, ACM.","DOI":"10.1145\/97243.97254"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01449298708901851"},{"volume-title":"EUROHELP: Developing Intelligent Help Systems","year":"1990","author":"Breuker","key":"S0269888900006445_ref048"},{"key":"S0269888900006445_ref012","unstructured":"Danielsen T , Finseth W , Fl\u00e6gstad F , Hartvigsen G and Steen R , 1990b. \u201cRatatosk\u2014an adaptive user interface to computer-mediated communication\u201d In: Message Handling Systems and Application Layer Communication Protocols Proceedings 345\u2013354. 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