A Taxonomy of Enterprise Search and Discovery by Tony Russell-Rose.
Abstract:
Classic IR (information retrieval) is predicated on the notion of users searching for information in order to satisfy a particular “information need”. However, it is now accepted that much of what we recognize as search behaviour is often not informational per se. Broder (2002) has shown that the need underlying a given web search could in fact be navigational (e.g. to find a particular site) or transactional (e.g. through online shopping, social media, etc.). Similarly, Rose & Levinson (2004) have identified the consumption of online resources as a further common category of search behaviour.
In this paper, we extend this work to the enterprise context, examining the needs and behaviours of individuals across a range of search and discovery scenarios within various types of enterprise. We present an initial taxonomy of “discovery modes”, and discuss some initial implications for the design of more effective search and discovery platforms and tools.
If you are flogging software/interfaces for search/discovery in an enterprise context, you really need to read this paper. In part because of their initial findings but in part to establish the legitimacy of evaluating how users search before designing an interface for them to search with. They may not be able to articulate all their search behaviors which means you will have to do some observation to establish what may be the elements that make a difference in a successful interface and one that is less so. (No one wants to be the next Virtual Case Management project at the FBI.)
Read the various types of searching as rough guides to what you may find true for your users. When in doubt, trust your observations of and feedback from your users. Otherwise you will have an interface that fits an abstract description in a paper but not your users. I leave it for you to judge which one results in repeat business.
Don’t take that as a criticism of the paper, I think it is one of the best I have read lately. My concern is that the evaluation of user needs/behaviour be an ongoing process and not prematurely fixed or obscured by categories or typologies of how users “ought” to act.
The paper is also available in PDF format.
[…] taxonomy of web search (2002) by Andrei Broder is cited by Tony Russell-Rose in A Taxonomy of Enterprise Search and Discovery, which Tony proposes to extend to the […]
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