Search Insights 2021: vendor-neutral advice and expertise

I am delighted to announce the publication of Search Insights 2021: an edited collection of timely, vendor-neutral advice and expertise from some of the world’s foremost experts on search and information retrieval. It covers a broad range of topics, from enterprise search to eCommerce. In contrast to traditional (‘sponsored’) analyst reports, this publication is wholly independent and CC licensed.

This report embodies the collective expertise of 11 search implementation specialists working across the globe. It offers vendor-independent advice and guidance that has been acquired through a range of projects over many years, and I am honoured to be a part of this network.

Read Full Post »

Search Insights 2019: vendor-neutral advice and expertise

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But occasionally, an opportunity comes along that represents a uniquely valuable proposition, with no expectation of anything in return (apart from your time and attention). One such opportunity is the Search Insights Report.

This document embodies the collective expertise of a group of eight search implementation specialists working in Europe and North America. The report is a response to those from analyst companies such as Gartner and Forrester which show little understanding of the world of enterprise, e-commerce and larger-scale web site search from an implementation perspective. The objective was to share vendor-independent experience that they have gathered in a wide range of projects over the last decade, and I am honoured to have been invited to offer my own views as a guest contributor.

Read Full Post »

Designing faceted search (training course in London)

In case you missed it last time (since it filled up pretty quickly), there’s another chance to catch my full-day designing search tutorial in London on May 10. I’ll be presenting a full day course called Search Usability: Filters and Facets, which focuses on faceted search and provides deeper coverage of the key topics along with a variety of new practicals and group exercises.

For further details and registration, see the UKeIG website. In the meantime, I’ve appended further details below.

Hope to see you there!

Read Full Post »

Search Usability: Filters & Facets

In case you missed it last time (since it filled up pretty quickly), there’s another chance to catch my full-day designing search tutorial in London on October 12. I’ll be presenting a full day course called Search Usability: Filters and Facets, which focuses on faceted search and provides deeper coverage of the key topics along with a variety of new practicals and group exercises.

For further details and registration, see the UKeIG website. In the meantime, I’ve appended further details below.

Hope to see you there!

Read Full Post »

Designing Search: training course in London, May 25

In case you missed it last time (since it filled up pretty quickly), there’s another chance to catch my full-day designing search tutorial in London on May 25. I’ll be presenting a full day course called Search Usability: Filters and Facets, which focuses on faceted search and provides deeper coverage of the key topics along with a variety of new practicals and group exercises.

It’s also very competitively priced from just £180 per person – contrast that with a rate of ~£659 a day for this comparable offering!

For further details and registration, see the UKeIG website. In the meantime, I’ve appended further details below.

Hope to see you there!

Read Full Post »

Search usability: filters and facets (training course in London)

In case you missed it last time (since it filled up pretty quickly), there’s another chance to catch my faceted search tutorial in London on May 14. I’ll be presenting a full day course called Search Usability: Filters and Facets, which provides detailed coverage of the key topics along with a variety of new practicals and group exercises.

It’s also very competitively priced from just £180 per person – contrast that with a rate of ~£550 a day for this comparable offering!

For further details and registration, see the UKeIG website. In the meantime, I’ve appended further details below.

Hope to see you there!

Read Full Post »

Search Interface Design (workshop at ESE 2014)

I’m pleased to say that on Monday 28 April I’ll be leading a workshop at Enterprise Search Europe on the subject of Search Interface Design. It’ll be held at the Park Plaza Victoria London, and will consist of a mix of formal presentations, group work and discussion. It’s a chance to discuss with like-minded folks your own challenges in the world of search interface design and usability, and to share ideas, best practices and solutions. I’ve appended a longer abstract below. If you have any queries, just drop me a line.

Hope to see you there!

Read Full Post »

A language for search and discovery

Around this time last year I gave a talk at AMR 2012 on the topic of Understanding and Designing for Consumer Search Behaviour. Since then I’ve been working with colleagues Joe Lamantia and Stephann Makri on an overview paper that summarises the work and illustrates its application to a well-known social media platform. I’m pleased to say that this paper is now finally available as an extended blog post (below) and as a rather more convenient pdf. As always, comments & feedback welcome 🙂

Read Full Post »

Tabs, facets & views: getting the interaction right

As the dominant interaction paradigm used throughout the world of eCommerce, faceted search provides a framework that supports the exploration and selection among thousands – if not millions – of diverse items. But sometimes faceted search needs to be combined with other types of UI control to provide alternative ways to view and organise content. In these cases, the interplay between the various components can be deceptively complex, and small details can make a significant difference to the overall user experience. In this post, we consider some of the issues and examine a number of design solutions.

Read Full Post »

Joining the Search Circle

One of the benefits of working on events like Enterprise Search Europe is that occasionally we get privileged access to new products and services in the community. Inevitably, a proportion of these don’t always live up to the hype, but now and then we do encounter one that has real promise: I’m talking about Martin White‘s Search Circle, which describes itself as “the first subscription information service for managers and developers with responsibility for enterprise search and website search applications“. I’ve seen advance copies of the first issue of Search Log and the first two Search Notes, and they are both well researched, well written, and full of original insights. I am particularly looking forward to the issues on Big Data and Enterprise Search and Enhancing Website Search. Good luck to Martin in this endeavour!

Related Posts:

1. Designing Search Usability (tutorial at SIGIR 2013)
2. Who needs scientific merit when you’ve got sponsors
3. Search that sucks
4. The Information Architecture of Discovery
5. Search and the Rorschach ink blot: do you see what I see?

Read Full Post »