Active help systems

Good on-line help systems are of crucial importance for the computer systems of the future. An increased functionality (required by the many different tasks which a user wants to do) will lead to an increased complexity. Empirical investigations have shown that on the average only 40% of the functionality of complex computer systems are used. Passive help systems (which require that the user requests help explicitly from the system) are of little use if the user does not know the existence of a system feature. Active help systems should guide and advise an user similar to a knowledgeable colleague or assistant.