The goals and methods of computer users
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TL;DR
The focus of this study is on the help users give to each other, and suggestions are made for decreasing the costs to users of good guidance and increasing the quality of low-cost guidance.
Abstract
Computer users who are not professional programmers need guidance in order to make effective use of computer systems. In practice, they seek this guidance from many sources; the focus of this study is on the help users give to each other. Three groups with differing histories of guidance-seeking were studied. Their goals and methods in computing and in guidance-seeking were found to be oriented towards achieving a satisfactory (rather than an optimum) balance between the costs to them, in terms of time and personal factors, and the benefits, namely a discipline-oriented solution to their problems. Suggestions are made for decreasing the costs to users of good guidance and increasing the quality of low-cost guidance.