devcon 2013: understanding search behavior

Understanding Search Behavior:Devcon 2014 Workshop

Introductions

Spencer Tracey, Katherine Hepburn, and EMERAC 1957 film, the Desk Set

Librarians

Google page rank

Who’s Who vs. Citation Index

A language of search and discoveryHow people search and the problems they encounter have has to do with:

Skills and knowledge Needs and goals Search context

UX Design research solves problems by:

Understanding people Understanding how people think Understanding the search context

Dimensions of search experience1st Dimension – user’s skill and knowledge2nd Dimension – information seeking behavior3rd Dimension – the search context4th Dimension – modes of search & discovery

Dimensions of search experience

1st dimension: skill + knowledgeUnderstand how users skill and knowledge shape how they use your products, the problems they have, and how you can resolve those problems.

Skill using the tool

Remember: They can be competent with technology, just not your site or application

Knowledge of the domain

Tool/Domain Skills Matrix

Domain novices: Overwhelmed by too much information Easily confused Difficulty judging relevance

Technical novices: Easily disoriented Distracted by demands of the search tools Use shallow pogosticking searches

Hub and spoke search pattern

SEARCHRESULT

S

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The orienteers (double novices) Reformulate queries often Look at fewer pages Use conservative queries Afraid to venture far afield Spend more time on task

Problems for double novices Make small, incremental changes to queries Difficulty evaluating results Don’t trust results Easily confused and disoriented

Needs are cognitive and emotional:Cognitive Learning general strategies for using technology Learning how specific app or site works Learning domain terminology

Emotional Feeling distrustful of the app/site Feeling distrustful of the validity of search results Feeling afraid they’ll get lost Feeling afraid to take go down a different path

How to solve their problems?1. Breadcrumbs2. More like this / Related / Popular / Also viewed3. Already searched4. Scoped search5. Auto correct and auto suggest6. Tooltips7. Tutorial Overlays

Breadcrumbs: history or hierarchy?

Design patterns for discoveryMore like this / Related / Popular / Recommended

Scoped search

Advanced search design patterns?(faceted search)

Advanced search design patterns?(search menus)

Advanced search design patterns?(advanced filtering)

Novice users Ignore advanced searching options Narrowly focused on understanding and

assessing Do not see search links, advanced search links

or icons Do not see faceted search panels in sidebars Faceted search tends to be used by more

advanced users

Double experts are teleporters

1. Formulate better queries2. Make fewer query reformulations3. Quicker to judge relevance4. Look at more pages5. Examine results more thoroughly

Problems for experts Frustrated by any slowness Frustrated by tools for novices Frustrated by inflexible search tools Frustrated by hard-to-find advanced search Clunky UI - Advanced search kitchen sinks:

- lack information hierarchy- Over-emphasize visual design at expense of

information

How to solve their problems1. Well designed advanced search menus2. Faceted search (filter search results by facets)3. Tooltips or animations to help users find

advanced tools4. Make it possible to customize the UI to the

user’s behavior

Well designed advanced search

Tooltips

Contextual tool tips

Contextual instructions

Tutorial overlays

In betweeners: Make the UI learnable

LearnabilityThe ease with which users gain awareness of features

Design patterns1. Contextual instructions2. Immersive, full-screen overlays3. Visual design cues4. Animation: magnetism – peep outs

2nd Dimension: Information seeking behavior

“What we find, changes what we seek”

Old modelInformation seeking as linear, static process

Information foragingInformation seeking as a journey: interactively changes as we gather more knowledge

What we find changes what we seek

Information ForagingAbundance of information + Limited energy =

How much energy will it cost? What will I gain?

1.

Does a bear chase a biker in the woods?

1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKdRlWz-1pg



Information Foraging

1.

We go after patches of information, pick the best and move on to another patch

We find and forage, pick the best and quickly move on

Information glut

1.

In a glut of information, users are quickly overwhelmed

Information Foraging

1.

Result: Information Snacking

>>

Design for information foraging Information scent: cues that help users decide what to do next

Information Scent

Trigger words in natural, human language Descriptive phrases in links Long, descriptive titles for search list items, for

modules, and for sections Make sure links look clickable Search keyword or hit highlighting Visual design and layout for scanning

Information ScentStrong = confident users who stick aroundWeak = uncertain users who leave

3 Click myth

Trigger words and images

Descriptive titles – Google SRP

Descriptive titles - Zillow Primary - all info here is primary, scanned first by user

Secondary – this info is secondary in important.

Hit highlighting – (showing none)

With hit highlighting

homes for sale in Norfolk

Hit highlighting

Use clear labeling Group into user-centered categories Easy-to-remember labels and categories Natural language over numbers (city name >

ZIP) Natural language, not jargon

Labeling - Trulia

Grouping results @ Google

Paid Result

Organic Result

News

Reference sources

Group results @ Facebook

SensemakingOnce users have information, what next?

Putting it all together

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



Sensemaking

Three models for sensemaking Shoebox or junk drawer Evidence file Schemas

Shoebox or Junk Draw

Evidence File

Schemas

Design patterns help with sensemaking

Email to self/friends My account Wish lists Favorite or save listings Customized labeling and categories Social search

3rd dimension: context matters

User context shapes:

How user thinks and feels What user sees and notices How user performs a search

Four Layers of Context

Cultural layer - what is the cultural context of the search?


Work task - how does the task and user’s goals influence searching behavior


Information seeking - user exercises judgment about how, when, how long, and where to search


Information retrieval formulating queries, assessing results, and reformulating as needed

Context and shopping

Contextual layers of gift shoppingUse a buyer’s guide

Contextual layers of gift shoppingScan search results to locate potential places to find

Contextual layers of gift shoppingLocate potential gifts from the search results

Contextual layers of gift shoppingLocating potential gifts from the search results

Using PB’s search

Contextual layers of gift shopping

1. Information retrieval layer: locating potential gifts from the search results

Using PB’s search

Cultural layer

1. Cultural layer: Importance of gift giving in wider culture, sub-culture, family, organization, even team within an organization

Work task layerOne or more tasks that need to be accomplished

Wikihow guide to gift giving

Seeking layer

User’s physical context of search

Many contexts of research

Physical context of search

Physical context of search Mobile has renewed interest in topic Always been crucial to UX research

Different mobile searches by context: Google/Nielsen (March 2013).

Desktop and physical context More likely to take on different roles (work,

leisure, family, etc) Longer searching sessions Less likely to search locally

Mobile and physical context

Mobile and physical context Driven by spatiotemporal context Short seeking sessions Very focused on specific tasks Tend to be location based Leads to a dynamic and flexible search

experience

A language of search and discoveryHow people search and problems they have:

Skills and knowledge Needs and goals Search context

UX Design research solves problems by:

Understanding people Understanding how people think Understanding the search context

Given all this, we have opportunities

1. Search isn’t about individual, isolated queries2. Search is a process with user skills and

knowledge improving along the way3. Search always takes place in a context –

cultural, work task, physical4. Opportunities to help users through the

entire search journey. 5. When we help people accomplish their goals,

they feel good about our brand and that’s a + 1 for us

What about our users?

Will – first time home buyer

30s, married, one child + Preparing to retire from Navy Lives in East OV Looking for suburbs Wife, Kyla, USED TO handle

finances and home buying Kyla has significant say in the decision but lets

Will do adetail work. Will gathers options, shares them with her. Will is more interested in an investment

Desires To feel knowledgeable Good deal Agent that’s on their side “Property Virgin Lady” Wants to trust that results are for not biased to

the agent Wants an online version of a buyer’s agent Wants to trust results but tends to rely on friends

and neighbors for suggestions

Fears

Agents Sales pressure Getting ripped off Missing deals Missing dream home Ovewhelmed by tradeoffs Am I doing the best search?

ContextTends to search mostly at nightUses a laptop – couple that shares the same laptop.

Doesn’t like to search on the go. They are usually too busy to stop and look at a house.

Sometimes, they will drive by a house if it’s nearby

Problems and dislikesWorries about validity and thoroughness of resultsReformulating queriesToo much information on pageDislikes how hard it is to tell one home from another. They all start looking alike after awhile.

Dislikes having to use multiple sites. Will use one search to locate house, then Trulia to figure out what comparable prices are.

On other hand, concerned that a single site won’t have all the information.

Wants a way to search by school district. Uses Nancy Chandler for school-based search.

Wants to be able to narrow searches but tends not to because it’s easier to scan through pages

Put me in control“I want to feel like I know what I’m doing.”

“It’s frustrating to find good deals that they turn out to be fake or there’s a catch.”

“I want it to be simpler. I spend a lot of time trying to find good deals, but there’s so many results. After awhile everything looks the same.”

Make it seem easy“I just want a way to figure out what we can afford. What neighborhoods aregood picks. You know?”

“I’d like to be able to punch choices into a tool and get back a list of houses thatare a match. But all these web sites. So many details. It’s too much.”

“I feel like I have to go through pages and pages.”

Make me feel smart

“What really surprised me was how, even when it seems like they can help you, they really don’t. I usedNavy Federal. But I still felt lost andconfused about where to start.”

“I’ve been to a seminar for first time buyers. But it was run by a real estate agent. I didn’t trust I’d get the right information.”

Domain expert / Tool novice

1. Knowledgeable about domain2. Good at evaluating content3. Quickly perform in-depth research4. May use hub and spoke search pattern as

crutch

Needs:– design patterns that help user learn tool/technology– design patterns to help orient user in search funnel

Domain novice / Tool expert

1. Good at manipulating search tools2. Confident with the search process/tools – but

this can mask lack of domain knowledge3. May find it difficult to evaluate relevance of

results

Needs – design patterns to help gain domain knowledge– UX design techniques to build trust

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

Thoughts? Questions?