Designing for user cognition and affect in software instructions

In this paper we examine how to design software instructions for user cognition and affect. A basic and co-user manual are compared. The first provides fundamental support for both; the latter includes a buddy to further optimize support for user affect. The basic manual was faster and judged as easier to process than the co-user manual. In addition, it facilitated re-use. Both manuals supported perceived task-relevance, self-confidence and learning equally well. Research is discussed to explicate why the design worked well and how it can be improved.