To help our graphic designers, product managers, and business analysts solve user problems and better understand our users, I created a series of trainings and workshops. The goal was to communicate the findings of user and usability research to the team.

1. Understanding the Search
Experience @ ACME.com

2. In Part 1, we looked at:
• How search behavior is based on
user domain knowledge, skill with
search tools, and thinking styles
• How Will, a first time home buyer,
has problems because of he lacks
both domain knowledge and search
skills
• How to meet Will’s needs with
interaction design patterns

3. Overview
1. Language of search and discovery
 Skills and knowledge
Needs and goals
Search context
 Stage in the search lifecycle
2. How users search at ACME
3. Design solutions
 Now
 Future

4. Dimensions of search experience
1st Dimension – user’s skill and knowledge
2nd Dimension – user’s goals for the information
3rd Dimension – user’s context
4th Dimension – user’s search mode

5. Once information is found:
• Must make sense of it
• Understand how to use

6. Berry picking

7. Berry picking
Information seeking is a journey.
It changes as more knowledge is
accumulated.

8. Information Foraging
• There is an abundance of information … but we
have limited energy to look for information
• Users rather spend less time searching even if it
means not fully understanding all the
information found.
1.

9. Information Snacking
VS
Minimum effort for maximum benefit

10. Information Scent
In order to spend less time searching,
requires using certain tools.

11. Information Scent
• Helps users to find information that is useful
and relevant by using trigger words and
related terms.
• When strong, users are confident in their
search
• When weak, user are uncertain and likely to
give up

12. Information Scent - examples

13. Information Scent - examples

14. How to leave an information scent
1. Descriptive titles
2. Hit highlighting
3. Clear labeling

15. Descriptive Titles
When a site returns search results, those results
should be titled to optimize the information scent:
• long, descriptive titles
• meaningful words
• natural language
• avoid jargon

16. Descriptive titles - Google

17. Descriptive titles @ ACME

18. Descriptive titles @ ACME
 Maybe we should add a descriptive title to the SRP?

19. Descriptive titles - Zillow Primary - all info here is primary,
scanned first by user
Secondary – this info is secondary in importa

20. Hit Highlighting
• Each result is accompanied by a text
description
• If present, search terms are highlighted in the
description
• Highlighting draws user’s attention
• Improves user’s confidence in the results
• Helps users assess validity

21. homes for sale in Norfolk

22. No hit highlighting

23. With hit highlighting

24. Use clear labeling
• Results are grouped into user-centered
categories: based on what’s important to users
• Easy-to-remember neighborhood or subdivision
names, city names, or geographical names
(e.g., north side) make more sense and are
easier to remember than addresses and ZIP
codes
• Color might be important when searching for
clothing, not important when searching on
homes

25. Labeling - Trulia

26. Group results @ Google
Paid Result
Organic Result
News
Reference
sources

27. Group results @ Facebook

28. Sensemaking
• How users attempt to understand
information they find during search
•Places information in terms users can
understand and from which they gain
insight
•Refines understanding of information

29. Types of Sensemaking
• Shoebox
• Evidence File
• Schemas

30. Shoebox (or junk drawer)
•Store information in one place without
analyzing or categorizing

31. Evidence File
•Gathered information is examined and
placed in separate location
•Offshoot of the shoebox approach but
with analysis a crucial component

32. Schemas
• Using schemas provides a wide view
of how information fits together
• Using this helps to explore various
relationships between information.

33. Putting it all together

34. Putting it all together

35. Searching & cognitive abilities
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvtJ-zyE3Uk&feature=youtu.be

36. 3rd dimension – Context matters

37. User Context
 Shapes the user’s experience – how
she thinks and feels about what she
is doing, seeing
 Shapes what she sees and notices
 Shapes how user performs a search

38. What influences the context?
1. Task - What is the larger goal or desired
outcome?
2. Spatiotemporal - what time is it? where is
the user located?
3. Personal – attitudes, preferences, mental
state (e.g., stressed, tired, bored?)
4. Social – role(s), status, relationships with
others
5. Environment – physical factors such as
lighting conditions, temperature, humidity

39. Four Layers of Context

40. Four Layers of Context
Cultural layer - what is the cultural context of the
search?

41. Four Layers of Context
Work task - how does the task and user’s goals
influence the user’s context?

42. Four Layers of Context
Information seeking - user exercises judgment
about how, when, how long, and where to
search in order to accomplish the work task

43. Four Layers of Context
Information retrieval involves the concrete
task of formulating queries, assessing results,
and reformulating as needed

44. Example: Context and shopping

45. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Cultural layer:
Importance of gift
giving in wider
culture, sub-
culture, and/or
family, office,
organization,
neighborhood,
etc.

46. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Work task layer: one or more tasks that need to be
accomplished to achieve goal
Wikihow guide to gift giving

47. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Information seeking: performs searches to find
a gift and narrow down choices

48. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Information seeking:
reading buyer’s guides for advice

49. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Information retrieval layer: scanning search results to
locate a gift to view, explore, buy

50. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Information retrieval layer: locating potential gifts from
the search results
Landing page from Google SERP

51. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Information retrieval layer: locating potential gifts from
the search results
 Using PB’s search

52. Contextual layers of gift shopping
1. Information retrieval layer: locating potential gifts from
the search results
 Using PB’s search

53. Physical context of search

54. Physical context of search

55. Physical context of search
• Contextual research – standard UX technique
• Search always involves physical context
• Mobile has renewed interest in topics
Different mobile searches by context: Google/Nielsen (March 2013).

56. Spatial, temporal, topical context

57. Spatial, temporal, topical context
Spatial context: relevance of results shaped by:
1. current physical location
2. predicted physical location
Temporal context: relevance of results shaped by:
1. how new (or old) content is

58. Desktop and physical context
• More likely to take on different roles (work,
leisure, etc)
• Longer searching sessions
• Less likely to search locally

59. Mobile and physical context

60. Mobile and physical context
• Driven by spatiotemporal context
• Short seeking sessions
• Focused on specific tasks
• Tend to be location based
• Leads to a dynamic and flexible search
experience

62. Given all this, we have opportunities
1. Search isn’t individual + isolated queries
2. Search is a process that occurs over time,
across space (with user skills and knowledge
improving)
3. Search is users with goals in cultural and
social context – not individuals in isolation
4. ACME.com has an opportunity to help users
through the entire search journey.
5. Users accomplish goals, feel good about
ACME.com brand, + 1 for ACME.com

63. For more research-based insights
about redacted users, check out
the UX insights portal:
http://insights.redacted.com
Thoughts? Questions?