Working with users to design online documentation

The author describes work conducted to define, through user input, an online documentation system for a computer operating system. She describes the methods used (1) to gather input from users regarding online documentation and (2) to evaluate the success of a prototype designed in response to the needs they articulated. She then reports on the successes and limitations of this approach to incorporating user input into a design process, and discusses the relationship between the analytical and the creative activities in user-centered design.<>