Successful Enterprise Search by Design

Be the Hero, not the Goat

AgendaSearch is a user experienceBad search = low productivityWhy configure searchWeb search is not Enterprise searchConfiguration Framework

–Define Problem space–Define Scope–Content is king, Context is the realm–Build something beautiful–Build something meaningful–Must haves – Nice to Haves

Key Takeaways

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SEARCH IS A USER EXPERIENCE

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A Frustrating Experience

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A Bad Experience

Loss of capacity for discernment• 36% did not go beyond the first 3 search results • (not pages…results on page 1)• 91% did not go beyond the first page of search

results• 55% selected irrelevant results 1 or more times

Searchers do not know “how to search”• 56% constructed poor queries• Proficiency with the machine does not translate into

proficiency with the software

Searchers get lost in the data• 33% had difficulty navigating/orienting search results• 28% had difficulty maintaining orientation on a

website

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A Weakening Experience

Loss of capacity for discernment• 36% did not go beyond the first 3 search results

– not pages…results on page 1• 91% did not go beyond the first page of search

results• 55% selected irrelevant results 1 or more times

Searchers do not know “how to search”• 56% constructed poor

queries• Proficiency with the machine

does not translate into proficiency with the software

Searchers get lost in the data• 33% had difficulty

navigating/orienting search results

• 28% had difficulty maintaining orientation on a website

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Difference in Looking for Information

Human Retrieval•Contextual•Free form•Navigational or informational •Focused and random– Berrypicking

•Constrained– By technology– By biology

Machine Retrieval•Literal•Directed•Rigid– One way– Sequential

•Constrained– By size of index– By nature of

instructions

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Difference In Relevance PerceptionThought-Processing Biped Relevance•Emotional•Environmental

Good means pleasing, honest, truthful, operates

with integrity

Machine Relevance•Literal•Logical

Good means fulfills a programmed criteria based

on computational mathematics

"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it.”

Justice Potter StewartMiller v California (1973)

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WEB SEARCH IS NOT ENTERPRISE SEARCH

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Web Has Machine RefinementsSemantic• Authority• Contextual relatedness• Phrase indexed based on popular searches:

Index, categories, keywords, document-specific data

• Similarity estimation: Compares a “sketch” or compact representation for document and uses an established similarity threshold to delete duplicate entries

Prediction• Orion Algorithm: Search engine algorithm uses

vector space analysis that combines vector positioning with previous user action– Google 2009– Microsoft Powerset Acquisition

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Web Relies Heavily on Relevance Inputs

Behavior that influences relevance• Query• Click through• Time on page• Path

Social Influences• Likes• Comments• Recommendations• Retweets• Click-throughs

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Bad Search = Low Productivity

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Many Voices Same ConclusionEnterprise searchers spend longer looking

because “they know it is there somewhere”• IDG: 2.5 hours/week/employee• Ford:5-15% of time on non-productive information

related activitiesCoping mechanisms for poor enterprise

search• Recreate • Use older assets• Interrupt a co-worker• Start without info needed• Don’t start

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Configuring Enterprise Search

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Your Manager Saw the Demos

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The OOB Experience Won’t Cut It

It is not what the vendor used in the demo

No matter what “they “ say

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Governance Does Not Optimize Search

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Controlled Vocabulary Will Not Optimize Search

And neither will a taxonomy

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CONFIGURATION FRAMEWORK

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Know What Problem You’re Solving20

Define Problem SpaceObjectives• Find out: who is searching • Find out: what they are looking for • Find out: How they are searching (what

keywords/phrases, how often they iterate, etc)

• Find out: What drives their determination of relevance

Tools• Site analytics • Search logs • User/stakeholder interviews

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Don’t Boil the Ocean

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Define the ScopeObjectives• Define the search requirements

• Find out: What to crawl? • Find out: Where the content lives? • Find out: how to index Map internal and

external resources• Discover the sacred cows

Tools• Discovery workshop• Infrastructure review • Client/stakeholder interviews

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No…They Don’t

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Use Content Enrichment MethodsObjectives• Have a content Strategy

• Reduce the amount of content• De-dupe and Archive

• Describe content in effective, machine-readable fashion

• Build content relationships (relational content models)

• Sustain best practices through educationTools• User surveys• Content Audit• Content Creator Workshop• Managed properties• Define custom entities

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Content StrategyIntersection of what you have/do with how customers look for what you have/doUse online tools to mine customer search behaviorCheck to see if you have relevant content and fill gaps

ToolsCore Metadata Google Insights for SearchSite analyticsContent audit

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Relational Content Modeling

ToolsGuided ToursProduced ViewsTask List Drop DownsRelated LinksBest Bets

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Build Something Meaningful

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StructureObjectives•Compensate for lack of link relevance

o URL Depth: the further from the homepage, the less important it must be

o Click Distance: the further from an authority page, the less important it must be

•Create Meaningful URLso Keywords found in URLs are weighted for

relevanceo Hyphens as separators is best

Tools• Flat structure within CMS• Analytics• Cross linking

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Build Something Desirable

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Design Relevant User ExperienceObjectives• Wean users from Google Web search

performance expectations• Encourage and enable better query

construction through abstraction

Tools• Filters• Facets• Subscription• Clustering

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Provide User Assistance

ToolsSuggestions as query is entered• At page search box• On search page

Augmented Search results• Preview in browser• Contact information

Did You Mean (spell check)Best Bets

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Give the User Some Control

Tools• Facets• Filters• More Like This…

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Post Launch

Analytics/Reports are your friendsZero results are the road to PerditionRefine, iterate, tuneUser feedback is not a one-time affair 34

Evaluate/Review/Refine methodsObjectives• Keep ahead of user satisfaction by fixing

problems early• Obtain client feedback on performance• Be agile: review and tune accordingly• Benchmark success

Tools• Establish benchmarks on what represents

success• Search logs • Power user feedback• Periodic company-wide survey feedback

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Key TakeawaysSearch is a user experience Users bring outside expectations and behaviors inside the enterpriseEnterprise search engines are not smartOOB is not what you paid for

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End Result Will Be

Getting more from less by …making what you have

work smarter

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Thank You

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