On comprehending a computer manual: analysis of variables affecting performance
International Journal of Man-Machine Studies
The influence of training on use of end-user software
COCS '88 Proceedings of the ACM SIGOIS and IEEECS TC-OA 1988 conference on Office information systems
Word processing techniques and user learning preferences
ACM SIGCHI Bulletin
Designing and writing online documentation: help files to hypertext
Designing and writing online documentation: help files to hypertext
The Nurnberg funnel: designing minimalist instruction for practical computer skill
The Nurnberg funnel: designing minimalist instruction for practical computer skill
CHI '90 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Smalltalk scaffolding: a case study of minimalist instruction
CHI '90 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Constructivism: new implications for instructional technology?
Educational Technology
Acquiring information in books and superbooks
Machine-Mediated Learning
Designing and evaluating documentation for IT users
Human factors for informatics usability
Cognition, computing, and cooperation
What kind of minimal instruction manual is the most effective
CHI '87 Proceedings of the SIGCHI/GI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems and Graphics Interface
Knowledge Representation and Metaphor
Knowledge Representation and Metaphor
The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction
The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction
Commentary on The Nürnberg Funnel
ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation
A window-based help, tutorial and documentation system
SIGDOC '93 Proceedings of the 11th annual international conference on Systems documentation
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Carroll's (1991) minimal manual has been considered an important advance in teaching first-time users the basics of computer programs. Unfortunately, it is not very clear what minimalism really means. Practitioners, for example, will find it difficult to create their own minimal manual because the principles of minimalism have not been described in enough detail (see Horn, 1992; Tripp, 1990). It is also not yet settled that a minimalist approach is the most effective one because critical experiments have hardly been conducted. This study therefore closely examines the minimalist principles and claims.This paper describes the basic ideas of minimalism, its design principles and how they can be operationalized. A parallel is drawn between a minimalist and constructivist perspective on learning and instruction. Like minimalism, constructivism places a high value on experience-based learning in context-rich environments. Like minimalism, it stresses the need to capitalize on the learner's prior knowledge as much as possible. And like minimalism, constructivists urge learners to follow their own plans and goals, to make inferences, and to abstract principles from what they experience (see Duffy & Jonassen, 1991, 1992).An experiment is reported that examines the claims of minimalism. Strong and significant gains on several factors were found, all favoring the minimal manual over a control (conventional) manual. The discussion points to several issues that minimalism has yet to address.