eLearningbyDana

Help & Support Resource

A resource people can access when they need assistance, answers, troubleshooting, or guidance while completing a task or using a product, system, or process.

Help & Support Resource

Give people a place to turn when they need help.

A help and support resource gives people access to answers, guidance, troubleshooting, or other assistance when they need help completing a task or using a product, system, or process.

These resources are often used at the moment a question or problem occurs. The person may not want a lesson—they may simply need to find the right answer and continue working.

Effective support content is easy to find, easy to understand, and focused on the situations people are most likely to encounter.

Support Resources Help People Move Past a Question or Problem

The resource should help someone get from “I’m stuck” or “I need information” to a useful next step.

Find an Answer Explain a feature, rule, term, requirement, process, or other information someone needs to understand.
Solve a Problem Help someone identify what went wrong and determine what to check, change, or try next.
Complete a Task Provide instructions, examples, or reminders when someone needs help performing part of the work.
Know Where to Go Next Direct people to the correct person, resource, process, or escalation path when the issue cannot be resolved independently.
Design support around the questions and problems people actually experience—not around the structure of the source material.

Help and Support Can Appear in Many Places

The best format depends on what people need help with, where they are working, and how quickly they need an answer.

Frequently Asked Questions Provides direct answers to common questions in a format people can quickly scan or search.
Knowledge Base or Help Center Organizes searchable articles, instructions, explanations, policies, troubleshooting content, and related support topics.
Embedded or Contextual Help Places guidance inside a system, application, workflow, or digital tool near the point where help may be needed.
Troubleshooting Resource Helps someone identify a problem, check possible causes, and determine an appropriate next action.
Support Page or Resource Hub Brings related help options together so people can find instructions, contacts, links, tools, or additional assistance.

The Right Answer Is Only Useful if People Can Find It

Support resources are often used under time pressure, so organization, wording, searchability, and maintenance matter as much as the content.

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Use the words people are likely to search for. Write headings and labels around real questions, tasks, symptoms, and problems rather than internal terminology alone.
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Make answers easy to scan. Use clear headings, short sections, direct wording, lists, and visible next steps when they help.
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Keep the resource close to the work. Whenever possible, place help where people naturally look for it rather than expecting them to remember where support lives.
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Provide a next step when the answer is not enough. Make escalation paths, related resources, contact options, or additional support easy to identify.
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Plan for updates. Assign ownership and review support content when systems, policies, processes, or products change.

Sometimes People Need Support More Than They Need More Training

A recurring question does not automatically mean another course is needed. First determine what is making the work difficult.

Useful Question

Does this person need to learn and practice something—or do they mainly need a reliable answer when the situation occurs?

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A support resource may be enough when... the information can be looked up, the task is infrequent, details change, or people mainly need an answer at the moment of need.
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Training may still be needed when... people must build judgment, practice a skill, understand concepts, or perform successfully without relying on help.
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Sometimes both are the right answer. Learning builds capability, while help and support resources give people a dependable place to turn after training.
Support content is part of the performance environment. The goal is not simply to provide more information—it is to help people continue the work successfully.

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