Address information overload in tech comm

Addressing information overload helps your user assistance succeed when knowing your audience and offering correct and concise content is not enough. You can have great topics well-written and well-structured, if they’re part of an information deluge, they won’t help your users get their stuff done.

I take my cue from a post by Nathaniel Davis over at UX matters called “IA Strategy: Addressing the Signatures of Information Overload“. Nathaniel describes six such signatures. I think at least three of them have something to say why and how too much information fails in documentation, too.

1. Feedback

Feedback is the essential reality check to determine whether users suffer from information overload. Customers may report that they’re not sure they’ve found the right information or they cannot apply it efficiently. Even if the content is fine topic by topic, the bulk of information is unmanageable. In this case, consider improving search and browsability for more efficient use of the documentation.

2. The utility gap

The utility gap means that customers only use a small fraction of all the information they have at their disposal. As Nathaniel says, it’s what I have vs. what I use.

If certain user types experience utility gaps, consider addressing them with special documents. For example, you could assist novice users with a quick start document. Or address a special use case which only requires one of the many processes, plus some reference information. With topic-based authoring, it’s usually easy to create such additional documents by re-using the relevant topics. (Maybe add one or two specific “glue topics” to make sure the new document still flows nicely…)

If all users experience utility gaps, consider progressive disclosure by layering your content. The benefit of offering all content within three mouse-clicks wears off if it’s too much. Progressive disclosure structures content by providing the most essential, most frequently used topics first and more obscure information later. Make sure, however, that all topics remain searchable and findable!

3. Filter failure

Filter failure means that users lack ways to judge which information to trust and use. It’s what I can use vs. what I should use. Filter failure can be solved with tools and with content.

Customers who are confident to use their own judgment require tools to filter information. In documentation, faceted search allows users to reduce search results by categories to weed out inapplicable information.

Customers who prefer to rely on expert judgement will benefit from recommendations in the content itself. Consider adding such recommendations for certain user roles or use cases to guide customers to the most suitable information.

– Have you had symptoms of information overload in documentation? Would these strategies help users to cope? What other solutions are there? Feel free to leave a comment.

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