UWS005 – Alternative Search Engine Investigation Data Source Owners Discussion Craig Middlemass University Website Programme 13 November 2012

Agenda Introduction to UWS005 Information Architecture and Strategy - NEW Use Cases for improved searches Discussion on current search tools Next Steps

Why have we started 2010 Survey Results – 26% of staff think the search is “not good” or “awful” Search results are not always what the user is looking for 2nd most accessed page following the University homepage No consistent approach to Information Architecture Cookie legislation meant we had to change Review stats from the project proposal (mean position of wanted search results is 6.3 in the list, 26% of staff don’t link the current site, 2nd top page in UoE) Opportunity presented by cookie legisation, we need to adopt a paid for cookie-less search so might as well make the most of a paid for service

What the project is about Investigation What is out there What do we think we’ll use How does it work Recommendation What’s best practice / strategy for the University Costing How much (staff and financial)

Information Architecture (IA) and Strategy What do UWS do (Top 200) Do you manage content? Do your users need to find information easily? Do you manage a search engine? Yes? Then you could benefit from having an Information Architecture and Strategy Transparency of tools and how they fit the strategy. Top 200 searches entered and map authorative content to ensure that is displayed to search users next time It is proposed that the University aspires to: Deliver more useful results to website users more quickly Prioritise results to promote University strategic objectives Prioritise development and curation of content based on user demand illustrated in search term logs

What’s On Offer – Auto Population / Auto Correct Presents lists of indexed content as suggestions Automated tools, easy to switch on but can provide unregulated results Security consideration is ensuring that secure content is not index and presented as part of autopopulation Identifies mis-keying and presents suggested correction

What’s On Offer – Synonyms Driven by administrator input can re-point users to relevant content based on associated search terms Require input of synonyms and maintenance not a one off job

What’s On Offer – Spotlight and Boost and Bury Added by administrators spotlight can highlight key search results Requires management of spotlights – again not a one of jobs Some providers offer heavy boost and bury which allows content to be promoted above the normal weightings Boosted Results Buried Results

What’s On Offer – Faceting and Filtering Allow separation and refinement of search results, rather than searching again

What’s On Offer – Dashboards and Widgets Full dashboard or elements (widgets) can be embedded in other sites and searches

What’s On Offer – Structured and Unstructured Searches Now more than just web content can be connected to an indexing service to provide search results to drive the main university website as well as used in other microsites. Security consideration when connecting to data sources to ensure secure content is not indexed or presented to searches

What do you use What searches do you use What’s good and what’s bad about them How can we get you involved in the future Is there anything you really want from a search engine

Next Steps The Business Case must include Procure or Enhance? A clear recommendation about which technology should be used How much it will cost to run the service on an on-going basis (technical cost) A viable process for how the search could be managed in a devolved editorial environment How much it will cost for continuous editorial maintenance (business cost) Procure or Enhance? Get the community involved

THANKS Any last questions? Project Website https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/uws005