Dr. Tony Russell-Rose, FBCS CITP
UXLabs, London UK
Tony Russell-Rose, PhD
Director, UXLabs
~20 years experience in applied research + technology innovation at
HP Labs, BT Labs, Canon, Reuters, Microsoft, Endeca
PhD in natural language interfaces, MSc in human-computer
interaction, first degree in engineering (human factors)
Author of “Designing the Search Experience: the information
architecture of discovery”, Elsevier 2012
3 patents for search user interface design. 60+ scientific and
technical papers on information retrieval and user experience
Honorary Visiting Fellow at City University London, Centre for
Interactive Systems Research
Vice-chair of the BCS Information Retrieval specialist group. Chair of
the IEHF HCI group. Founding chair of Search Solutions conference
Industry Expertise
Government
Media & publishing
Healthcare
eCommerce
Business intelligence
Domain Expertise
Search & information
retrieval
Speech & language
interfaces
Information architecture
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“This a huge change to the overall user experience. It transforms the way we think, and opens opportunities to use search in a disruptive fashion. I love it!”
“Personally, I think people will get annoyed with it. The interface itself isn't
anything new, and it’s an outdated concept. When you think about state-of-the-art search, it should be less about searching and more about finding.”
“I’m excited to see how this will affect our searching habits. It has proven to be very useful and intuitive in my research work. In fact, it has also opened perspectives that I would otherwise have missed. Fantastic!”
“I can't stand it - it’s a hindrance not an aid. It slows me down. It is an unnecessary feature that has ruined the interface. I am so annoyed that I have to manually turn this nonsense off”
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Where should the Faceted Navigation menu be located and how should it be organised?
Where should the Faceted Navigation menu be located and how should it be organised?
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How should we present mixed content results to help users discover the most relevant and useful items?
How should we present mixed content results to help users discover the most relevant and useful items?
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TaskUser Mode
Analyze
Compare
Evaluate
Explore
Locate
…
Context
Spatio-temporal
Social
Environment
Information Assets
The latest Harry Potter
book…
Shoes to match my
interview suit …
An affordable
entertainment system …
Electronics Engineer
Purchasing Agent
Novice Shopper
Technical Enthusiast
…
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Literary mode:
a broad, but identifiable literary method, mood, or
manner that is not tied to a particular form or genre
(Wikipedia)
Discovery mode:
a broad, but identifiable discovery activity that is
not tied to a particular context or domain
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End user information needs:▪ Find best offers before the others do so I can have a high margin
▪ Get help and guidance on how to sell my car safely
▪ Understand what is selling by area so I can source the correct stock
▪ See year-on-year ad spend trends for TV and online
▪ etc.
Moderated, normalised, prioritised
Enterprise search + site search
Locate Verify Monitor Compare Comprehend
Scenarios
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Partially inductive
Apply known models
Partially deductive
Identify new types of
behaviour
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“While our goal over the long term may be a parsimonious few, highly effective tactics, our goal in the short term should be to uncover as many as we can... Then we can test the tactics and select the good ones. If we go for closure too soon… we may miss some valuable
tactics.” - Marcia Bates, 1979
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“Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in manufacturing and the field so that I can determine if I should replace the part” – Engineering
“Understand a lead’s underlying positions so that I can assess the quality of the investment opportunity” – Portfolio manager
“Understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk” – Procurement
Comprehend: To generate independent insight by understanding the nature of
meaning of an item or data set
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“Gain visibility into the parts my colleagues are using in order to find the best possible part for my assembly” –Engineering
“Identify dealers at risk of failing and at risk of de-branding based on performance problems” – Account rep
“identify problem/success areas and where to intervene and reward” – SVP sales
Explore:
To investigate an item or data set for the purpose of knowledge discovery
Lookup
• Locate
• Verify
• Monitor
Learn
• Compare
• Comprehend
• Evaluate
Investigate
• Explore
• Analyze
• Synthesize
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My Twitter home page allows me to: Monitor tweets,
followers, interactions
Explore trends, topics, suggestions
Locate tweets, people, hashtags
Synthesize new tweets, retweets
The modes provide the verbs
e.g. Explore <object> in order to achieve <goal>
Objects can be people, events, topics, processes…
But languages also have a grammar…
Scenario analysis: multiple modes
Framework reveals common patterns
Repeating sequences of 2-3 modes
Composite chains
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Replace a problematic part (from sourcing, cost, or technical perspective)…
… with an equivalent or better part
… without compromising
quality or cost
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Analyze
Compare
Evaluate
Exploratory search Identify opportunities to optimize use of tooling capacity for my
commodity/parts
Strategic oversight Monitor & assess commodity status against strategy/plan/target
Strategic insight Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the
quality of the investment opportunity
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EvaluateEvaluateAnalyzeAnalyzeExploreExplore
EvaluateEvaluateAnalyzeAnalyzeMonitorMonitor
EvaluateEvaluateComprehendComprehendAnalyzeAnalyze
Insight-driven search
Assess the proper market value for my car
Opportunity-driven search
Find useful stuff on my subject topic
Qualified search
Find a van that meets a customer's requirements
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ComprehendComprehendAnalyzeAnalyzeExploreExplore
EvaluateEvaluateLocateLocateExploreExplore
VerifyVerifyLocateLocate
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A common Twitter sequence: Explore an author’s
profile & activity
Analyze their activity, followers, tweets
Evaluate the author and their relevance/value
= Exploratory SearchEvaluateEvaluateAnalyzeAnalyzeExploreExplore
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Comprehend
Locate
Verify
Evaluate
AnalyzeExplore Comprehend
Analyze Comprehend
Compare
Verify
Synthesize
Evaluate
Monitor Analyze
Explore
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Site search
Emphasizes ‘Lookup’ modes
▪ e.g. Locate, Verify
Enterprise search
Emphasizes ‘Investigate’ modes
▪ e.g. Analyze, Evaluate
More diverse patterns
Longer, composite chains
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Discovery modes
• A lens for understanding information-seeking behaviour
• A language for describing composite patterns
• Can be applied both analytically and generatively
Site Search vs. Enterprise Search
• Common modes, but different patterns
• Shorter chains, less embedding
Implications
• We need to see ‘search’ as part of a broader task lifecycle
• Simplistic metrics may not measure anything of value
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http://designingthesearchexperience.com
Morgan Kaufmann,
December 2012
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Dr. Tony Russell-Rose, FBCS CITP
Director, UXLabs
Web: http://uxlabs.co.uk
Email: [email protected]
Blog: http://isquared.wordpress.com
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonyrussellrose
Twitter: @tonygrr
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