The Scent of Search, Take 2
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The Scent of Search Making search more usable with information scent. Tyler Tate @tylertate
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This talk was recently presented to an audience at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) near Cambridge, England.
Transcript of The Scent of Search, Take 2
The Scent of SearchMaking search more usable with information scent.
Tyler Tate@tylertate
Optimal Foraging TheoryOrganisms seek to maximise energy
intake for a given unit of time
INFORMAVOREM A N T H E
1,200 Exabytesi n 2 0 1 0
“A wealth of informationcreates a poverty of attention.”
– Herbert Simon
Information Foraging TheoryThe study of how humans interact with information.
11 tradeoff.png
12 info scent.png
13 a usability.png
13 b usability.png
13 c usability.png
13 d usability.png
13 e usability.png
How Do People Search?
People vary be their...Search expertise (familiarity with common design patterns)
Domain expertise (knowledge in a certain area)
Experts
find the current temperature
Expertise
Amateurs
lookup a protein sequence
Exploration
what is the current temperature?
Goals
Recall
book a holiday
14 a old model.png
14 b new model.png
Concept screen by IDEO
Recall vs. Exploration
Am
ate
ur
vs.
Ex
pe
rt
Recall vs. Exploration
Am
ate
ur
vs.
Ex
pe
rt
Recall vs. Exploration
Am
ate
ur
vs.
Ex
pe
rt
low com
plexity
high
complexity
moderatecomplexity
moderatecomplexity
web search
Bloomberg
booking a flight
lookup agenetic sequence
Recall vs. Exploration
Am
ate
ur
vs.
Ex
pe
rt
low com
plexity
high
complexity
moderatecomplexity
moderatecomplexity
web search
Bloomberg
booking a flight
lookup agenetic sequence
Diverse
buy a book
Information Diversity
Uniform
learn about italy
17 searchbox title.png
1. It should look like a searchbox, feel like a searchbox, and act like a searchbox.
1. It should look like a searchbox, feel like a searchbox, and act like a searchbox.
Globrix, eBay, Last.fm
2. Use autocomplete to boost user’s confidence and help prevent spelling errors.
23 search results title.png
3. Indicate the number of results
The Guardian
4. Use descriptive, 7-12 word titles
5. Highlight matching words
6. When it’s likely that the first 1-3 results are what the user is looking for, top hits provide additional info to help users make their decision.
7. Try to avoid 0-result screens
36 facets title.png
Wireframe by Greg Nudleman
8. Breadcrumbs describe what the user is looking at, how he got there, and — if a mistake was made — how to get back.
9. Clickable metadata enables organic filtering of the results
9. Filter counts give users a more complete picture of the result set
9. Filter counts give users a more complete picture of the result set
10. A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
TED
10. A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
Starbucks
10. A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
New York Times
10. A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
10. A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
IBM
IBM
Learn More
Read Peter Morville’s book “Search Patterns”http://searchpatterns.org/
Read my article “The Scent of Search”http://johnnyholland.org/2010/07/05/the-scent-of-search/
Read Marti Hearst’s book “Search User Interfaces”http://johnnyholland.org/2010/07/05/the-scent-of-search/
Check out Endeca’s design pattern libraryhttp://patterns.endeca.com/
The Scent of SearchMaking search more usable with information scent.
Tyler Tate@tylertate
