single search for your phone - presented at trln annual meeting 2014
DESCRIPTION
Presented at TRLN Annual Meeting in 2014 this is an overview of work we've done to design a library single search application applying responsive design techniques to make the application usable on mobile and desktop devices. We also describe a new feature we call "stratified typeahead" to suggest groups of results live as people enter text into the search box.TRANSCRIPT
A Single Search Box For Your Phone
(and other screens)Kevin Beswick & Cory Lown
NCSU LibrariesTRLN Annual Meeting - July 2014
2007 2009 2011
Increasing traffic to mobile site
Frequent mobile site activities
Mobile site not meeting all needs.
14% of people redirected to the mobile site opted to switch back to the desktop site.
What they did next… Search
Search 51%
Reserve a room 12%
Hunt Library Info 6%
Library Hours 5%
Journal Title Lookup/Search
3%
everything else... 22%
Context
● Evidence of increased mobile traffic● Search a popular activity from mobile● When mobile site failed, desktop search was
the most frequent next step.
Opportunities
● Get out of the business of building and maintaining separate mobile/desktop versions of apps
● Rethink single search based on years of usage data
● Apply responsive design to single search for use on phones, tablets, laptops, desktops.
● Re-architect the search application using a modern web application framework
Desktop Single Search Usage
Mobile usage is different
Stratified Typeahead
Examples in the Wild - Twitter
Examples in the Wild - LinkedIn
Stratified Typeahead in QuickSearch
Stratified Typeahead in QS (Mobile)
QuickSearch Typeahead Result Categories
● Known result types - Best Bets, FAQs, Spaces○ A click will lead directly to content
● Search suggestions - drawn from TRLN catalog typeahead○ A click will lead to search results page
● Content types very easily interchangeable
Why Stratified Typeahead in QuickSearch?
● Makes searching even quicker● We think it is cognitively easier to
understand results if they are pre-organized into categories○ Similar to the existing categorized design of
QuickSearch
● Encourages exploration of other content types, resources
Typeahead & Problems Introduced by Responsive Design
● Above / Below the Fold○ Provides a view of result types that may appear
lower on the search results page
● Improves mobile device experience○ Saves typing time
○ Allows users to access specific content faster without loading a search results page
Typeahead User Research
● Usability testing conducted on the typeahead feature before launching
● Users liked that it saved them time, was easy to use, and quick to respond
● Reordered content types based on user feedback
● Also uncovered several smaller issues that were able to be fixed before launch
Early Typeahead Usage Stats
Early Typeahead Usage Stats
Next Steps for QuickSearch
● Observe Fall semester usage, compare to previous usage data○ Explore opportunities for improvement
● Apply machine learning principles to predict how result categories should be arranged on the search results page
Thank You
Cory Lown <[email protected]>Digital Technologies Development LibrarianNCSU Libraries
Kevin Beswick <[email protected]>NCSU Libraries’ Fellow