This document provides an overview of search user experience design. It begins with an introduction to the landscape of search and frameworks for design. It then discusses patterns of search behavior and the implications for design. Specific design resources and conclusions are also mentioned. The document emphasizes understanding user needs, applying proven design methodologies, and learning from other contexts to create successful search experiences.

1. Tony Russell-Rose, PhD
UXLabs + City University London

2.  The landscape of search
 A framework for design
 Dimensions of search user experience
 Patterns of search behaviour
 Design implications
 Design resources
 Conclusions
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3. Understanding the territory
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4. Web Search  Key differences
• Multiple engines  Rich link structure
• Single source
 Redundancy
 Adversarial search &
spam
Enterprise search
• Single engine  User goals & tasks:
• Multiple sources  fact finding to
exploratory search
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5. Search Patterns,
Peter Morville 2009
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6. Disciplines and dimensions
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7. How it works
Design How it looks
• User interface design
Research • Information architecture • Visual design
• Interaction design
Design Methodology
• User-centred design
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8. Where should the Faceted
Navigation menu be located and
how should it be organised?
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9. How should we present mixed
content results to help users discover
the most relevant and useful items?
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10. User Type Objective Assets Mode of
Discovery
 Electronics Engineer  “Find part #35456…”  Products  Analyzing
 Purchasing Agent  “Discover compatible  Rich Media  Comparing
 Novice Shopper parts …”  Textual Info  Evaluating
 Technical Enthusiast  “Understand part  Relationships  Exploring
… obsolescence …”  Community  Locating
… … …
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11. Users vary in their level of knowledge, confidence & attitude
Novice KNOWLEDGE Expert
Uncertain CONFIDENCE Confident
Novice Casual Purchasing Maintenance Tech Electronics News
Shopper News Agent Technician Enthusiast Engineer Analyst
Reader
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12. Objectives vary in breadth & complexity
I need to discover
compatible parts
that work for my I need to
I need to find assembly understand part
part number obsolescence &
2335456 manage our
Electronics risks
Engineer
BREADTH
Focused Broad
Simple Complex
COMPLEXITY
I want to buy
I want to buy I want an affordable
shoes that
the new Harry entertainment system
match my
Potter book for my family
interview suit
Novice
Shopper
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13. Simple COMPLEXITY Highly Faceted
Homogeneous Diverse
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14. Marchionini, 2006
• Lookup
• Learn
• Investigate
Spencer, 2006 Morville, 2010
• Known-item • Quit
• Exploratory • Narrow
• Don’t know what • Expand
you need to know • Pearl-growing
• Re-finding • Pogo-sticking
• Thrashing
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15. Locating Verifying Monitoring Comparing Comprehending Exploring
Scenarios
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16. • To find a specific (possibly known) item
Locating • e.g. I need to find a new part with particular technical attributes
and then source it from the most qualified supplier –
Engineering
• To confirm or substantiate that an item or set of items meets
Verifying some specific criterion
• e.g. How can I determine if I am looking at the latest
information for a part or supplier? - Supply Chain Specialist
• To maintain awareness of the status of an item or data set for
Monitoring purposes of management or control
• e.g. I need to monitor at risk/failing customers/dealers so I can
prompt my Account Reps to fix the problems - Sales Manager
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17. • To examine two or more items to identify similarities & differences
Comparing • e.g. I need to compare our module set teardowns with competitive
teardown information to see if we’re staying competitive for cost,
quality and functionality – Engineering
• To generate insight by understanding the nature or meaning of an
item or data set
Comprehending • e.g. I need to analyze and understand consumer-customer-market
trends to inform brand strategy & communications plan – Director,
Brand Image
• To proactively investigate or examine an item or data set for the
purpose of serendipitous knowledge discovery
Exploring • e.g. I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can
negotiate better terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk
based on market indices - Procurement
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18. • To critically examine the detail of an item or data set to identify
patterns & relationships
Analyzing • e.g. I need to know the cost drivers for a part such as materials that
impact cost. Is the relationship a correlation or step function for a
part cost driver? – Engineering
• To use judgement to determine the significance or value of an item
or data set with respect to a specific benchmark or model
Evaluating • e.g. I need to determine my current state in my prints so I can
evaluate if I have price variation to negotiate a better price –
Procurement
• To generate or communicate insight by integrating diverse inputs to
Synthesizing create a novel artefact or composite view
• e.g. I need to prepare a weekly report for my boss (sales mgr) of how
things are going - Account Rep
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19. Lookup
• Locating
• Verifying
• Monitoring
Investigate
Learn
• Analyzing
• Comparing
• Evaluating
• Comprehending
• Synthesizing
• Exploring
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20. Mode chains and sequences
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21. Analyzing Comparing Evaluating
 Engineering: Compare our module set teardowns with
competitive teardown information to see if we’re staying
competitive for cost, quality and functionality.
 Portfolio Manager: Compare a lead's performance claims
with relevant benchmarks to assess the lead's claims
 Cost Estimators: Analyze & understand gaps between
current costs of commodity versus best in class
manufacturing costs
▪  Patentability search?
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22. Exploring Analyzing Evaluating
 Core Engineer: Identify opportunities to optimize use of
tooling capacity for my commodity/parts
 District Manager: Identify sales opportunities and
targets (increased key customer market share across
categories/brands; upsell-cross sell; promotional targets
 Category Manager: Evaluate & optimize our product
portfolio: Which products should we de-list and retire?
What new products should we be making/selling?
▪  Validity search?
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23. Analyzing Comprehending Evaluating
 Engineering: Track module cost versus functionality over
time to determine trends.
 Portfolio Manager: Understand a lead's underlying positions
so that I can assess the quality of the investment opportunity
 Procurement: Understand the cost drivers for a commodity
so I can negotiate better terms with my suppliers and
forecast business risk based on market indices
▪  Freedom-to-operate search?
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24. Monitoring Analyzing Evaluating
 SVP Sales: Monitor how well we are tracking to
revenue and margin targets by division
 Core Engineer: Monitor global commodity use in
relation to plan/guidelines to identify gaps that
require corrective action
 Financial Analyst: Monitor & assess commodity
status against strategy/plan/target
▪  Patent watch?
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25. Analyzing Comparing Synthesizing
 Director, Brand Image: Analyze and understand
consumer-customer-market trends to inform brand
strategy & communications plan
 Engineering: Find out how many parts I have in my
module set of parts and find ways to reduce cost across
them
 Core Buyer: Formulate scope & strategy for sourcing
and gap closure
▪  Gap analysis (SOTA search)?
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26. Verifying
Analyzing Comprehending Synthesizing
Comparing Evaluating
Monitoring Analyzing
Exploring
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27. Applying the insights
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28. Usability,
intuitiveness,
engagement Power, flexibility,
sophistication
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41. 41

42.  Think facets,
not forms
 Stay on the
page
 Keep it
lightweight
 React
immediately
Designing Web Interfaces ,
Bill Scott & Theresa Neil,
2009
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43. 43

44.  Map discovery modes to screen components
 Avoid “one size fits all”
 Create views by combining components
 Communicate conceptual relationships through
Gestalt principles of organization (e.g. similarity,
closure, proximity, etc.)
 Compose applications by combining views
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45. Page 1 Page 2 Page 3
 Purpose Page 4.A | Page 4.B
 Supports exploration, S earc h
Metric s B ar
comparison and visualization View 1 View 2 View 3
B readc rumb
 Modes
 Locating R es ults T able
 Verifying
 Evaluating
 Analyzing
 Exploring G uided C hart C hart
Navigation
 Components
 Breadcrumb View 1 View 2 View 3
 Faceted Navigation
 Metrics Bar
 Results Table C ros s T ab
 Chart R ange F ilter
 Cross Tab
R ec ord Detail
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46.  Purpose Page 1 Page 2 Page 3
 Present global
overview / summary Metric s B ar Metric s B ar
of key metrics
Metric s B ar Metric s B ar Alerts
 Modes Metric s B ar Metric s B ar
 Monitoring
 Exploring
Metric s B ar
Metric s B ar C hart Alerts
 Components Metric s B ar
 Metrics Bar
 Alerts
 Chart
 Cross Tab C ros s T ab
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47.  Purpose Page 1 Page 2 Page 3
 Explore unstructured data
S earc h
 Modes B readc rumb R es ults L is t
 Comprehending
 Exploring
 Synthesizing
C ompare
 Components
 Search G uided
Navigation Record Detail Find Similar
 Breadcrumb
 Faceted Navigation
 Results List
 Compare R ec ord Detail
 Record Detail
 Find Similar
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48. Data
Source
B
analyze
evaluate c ompare
Data Data
Source Source
A C
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49. Data
Source Metrics Metrics Metrics
C Bar
Data Bar
Data Bar
Data
A B C
analyze
monitor
evaluate c ompare
Data Data
Source Source
A B
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50. Explore
Monitor
Compare
Comprehend
Analyze
Evaluate 50

51. Building on the foundations
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52. Identify need for Identify the people who will
human-centred design use the product, what they will
use it for, and under what
conditions they will use it
Evaluation — ideally through
usability testing with actual
users — is as integral as Understand & specify
quality testing is to good
software development
context of use
System satisfies
Evaluate and modify specified requirements Specify requirements
designs to drive design
Build in stages, from Identify the business
rough concepts to a Produce design solutions requirements and user goals
complete design which meet requirements that must be met for the
product to be successful
* ISO 13407: Human centred design processes for interactive systems (renamed as ISO 9241-210)
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55. Final thoughts and reflections
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56. Don’t think user interface…
• …think user experience
Look for patterns of search behaviour
• Identify discovery modes & workflows
Learn from other design contexts
• Apply ideas from the wider search landscape
Stand on the shoulders of giants
• Use proven design processes, methodologies & resources
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57. Tony Russell-Rose, PhD
Vice-chair, BCS IRSG
Chair, IEHF HCI Group
 Email: tgr@uxlabs.co.uk
 Blog: http://isquared.wordpress.com
 LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/tonyrussellrose/
 Twitter: @tonygrr
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