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Introduction
Published in James R. Williams, Developing Performance Support for Computer Systems, 2004
One of the major problems confronting developers and managers of performance support products is all of the different terminology used to represent similar design processes and outcomes. While coming up with unique names may help sell consulting services and books, it provides little to help developers and managers for sorting out best practices. Therefore, in this book, we will use the term “performance support system” (PSS) because this term is more general and does not assume all of the support elements are provided electronically. As noted above, a PSS may contain non-electronic elements for enhancing performance (e.g., paper performance aids). In addition, a PSS can contain any of the elements included in the various types of systems discussed in the previous paragraph. While an Electronic Performance Support System is a worthwhile goal, it is not attainable in many design environments. Electronic Performance Support Systems are typically developed to support a limited number of specific operations, whereas large software systems usually support a multitude of functions and organizations. An EPSS is so tightly integrated with the system that it is part of the interface and, therefore, requires a high level of cooperation between the developers of the EPSS and the developers of the application. It is rarely practical to develop an EPSS in a large system development environment due to the additional resource and time requirements. On the other hand, a PSS (as defined above) can be developed within any environment.
Designing an electronic performance support system for technology-rich environments
Published in Behaviour & Information Technology, 2018
An EPSS can be defined as a tool that is designed on the basis of expert opinion and the requirements of the target audience in order to improve the task achievement of the target audience, and it offers step-by-step task instructions; features an effective interface; contains a database, instruction system, consulting system, and ancillary tools; and allows online or offline access. According to McKay and Wager (2007), an EPSS must have four components. These are the database (a field where all information/materials, etc., in the system are stored), the consultation system (it provides guidance for users), the instruction system (as a field where different types of information facilitating the use of EPSS, like the help menu), and the ancillary tools (as various tools to support in line with user needs). Also, the literature identifies some conditions such as simple design (Bollen et al. 2015), providing brief specific information (Barker, Schaik, and Famakinwa 2007), providing step-by-step task instructions (Bollen et al. 2015), being easy to update (Chen 2016), development on the basis of real users’ needs (Kalota and Hung 2013), use in real job environment (Mitchell 2014; Martínez-Mediano and Losada 2017), and interaction with other information sources (Mitchem et al. 2013) that need to be taken into account when designing/developing an EPSS. Extant studies show that using an EPSS facilitates the acquisition of knowledge and skills and improves performance (Schaik, Pearson, and Barker 2002; Chang 2004; Paschall 2004; Barker, Schaik, and Famakinwa 2007; Miller et al. 2007; Kert, Uz, and Gecü 2014; Mitchem, Fitzgerald, and Koury 2016; Martínez-Mediano and Losada 2017).