MicroMentor: Peer-to-Peer Software Help Sessions in Three Minutes or Less

Nikhita Joshi, Justin Matejka, Fraser Anderson, Tovi Grossman, George Fitzmaurice

January 2020 · Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

Abstract

While synchronous one-on-one help for software learning is rich and valuable, it can be difficult to find and connect with someone who can provide assistance. Through a formative user study, we explore the idea of fixed-duration, one-on-one help sessions and find that 3 minutes is often enough time for novice users to explain their problem and receive meaningful help from an expert. To facilitate this type of interaction, we developed MicroMentor, an on-demand help system that connects users via video chat for 3-minute help sessions. MicroMentor automatically attaches relevant supplementary materials and uses contextual information, such as command history and expertise, to encourage the most qualified users to accept incoming requests. These help sessions are recorded and archived, building a bank of knowledge that can further help a broader audience. Through a user study, we find MicroMentor to be useful and successful in connecting users for short teaching moments.

DOI PDF

Figures

Submit a Help Request Answer Community Questions Connect with a Helper for 3 Minute Help Sessions Figure 1. MicroMentor system enabling rapid help via short 1-on-1 help sessions.

Figure 2. Question times in the formative study, many were successfully answered (rated 4 or 5) in 1 and 3 minutes.

Figure 3. Reported stress levels for each time limit, note that 3 minutes has only slightly higher stress than no limit.

Figure 4: Responses to whether or not the asker felt their questions were successfully answered.

Figure 5: The view the asker sees when submitting a request, showing the topic and supplementary content.

Figure 6: Settings page where users can specify their expertise, availability, and additional skills.

Figure 7. Receiving a help request in two ways, through a push notification, or by browsing a list of open questions.

Figure 8. A live help session with active video chat, screen sharing, annotation tools, and a countdown timer.

Figure 9. Archive view, where users can search through past help sessions, read the transcript, connect with the helper and share the video with others.

Figure 10: Timeline of an average help session, from the time posting the question to when the call ends.

Figure 11. Asker and helper's ratings (out of 5 stars)

Figure 12: Alternative design for ‘premium’ help sessions that could incentivize greater participation from experts.

BibTeX

@inproceedings{10.1145/3313831.3376230,
 abstract = {While synchronous one-on-one help for software learning is rich and valuable, it can be difficult to find and connect with someone who can provide assistance. Through a formative user study, we explore the idea of fixed-duration, one-on-one help sessions and find that 3 minutes is often enough time for novice users to explain their problem and receive meaningful help from an expert. To facilitate this type of interaction, we developed MicroMentor, an on-demand help system that connects users via video chat for 3-minute help sessions. MicroMentor automatically attaches relevant supplementary materials and uses contextual information, such as command history and expertise, to encourage the most qualified users to accept incoming requests. These help sessions are recorded and archived, building a bank of knowledge that can further help a broader audience. Through a user study, we find MicroMentor to be useful and successful in connecting users for short teaching moments.},
 address = {New York, NY, USA},
 author = {Joshi, Nikhita and Matejka, Justin and Anderson, Fraser and Grossman, Tovi and Fitzmaurice, George},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
 doi = {10.1145/3313831.3376230},
 isbn = {9781450367080},
 keywords = {mentoring, quick help, one-on-one help, software learning},
 location = {Honolulu, HI, USA},
 numpages = {13},
 pages = {1–13},
 publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
 series = {CHI '20},
 title = {MicroMentor: Peer-to-Peer Software Help Sessions in Three Minutes or Less},
 url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376230},
 year = {2020}
}