HBS SEARCH Accomplishments and Future Challenges

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HBS SEARCHAccomplishments and Future Challenges

• Andy Breeding
• KLS - Web and Intranet Services
• January 15, 2008

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Search Status Quo 2005

• Out-of-the-box Ultraseek
• No optimization, no customization
• Fraction of HBS content indexed / searchable
• User sentiment
• seach sucks
• why cant it be more like Google
• Proliferation of different search tools

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Lots of search tools needed
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Our Vision One Search Box to Rule Them All

• The long term goal enterprise search
• One-stop searching
• Google-like simplicity
• Handle refinement / navigation on results page

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Step 1 Index more content

• Spider HBS web content outside of HBS.EDU
• Harbus.org (student newspaper)
• Club and affiliated sites

• Spider HBS content located in other applications
• Faculty and staff phone book
• Alumni Class Notes application

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Step 2 Optimize and clean-up search indexes

• Work with content owners to create good HTML page
  titles
• Faculty Publications pages
• 20th Century Leadership database
• Address MS-Office / PDF files too
• Eliminating duplicate search results / use
  filters
• Adjusting Relevance per collection / source /
  file path

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Step 3 Create Best Bets for Most Frequent Queries
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Query refinement options
Query resubmit options
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Expanding the Net Further Brokered Search

• When direct indexing isnt practical
• Harvard.edu search
• HBS VideoTools
• MBA Event Calendar
• A query is handed off to another search engine
• Results are returned behind the scenes
• Ajax-like support of asynchronous search
  processes

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Intranet Query Balanced Scorecard
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Here is an example of a customized intranet SERP
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Other search related activities

• Ultraseek Guided Nav Pilot
• Search analytics

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Search Analytics
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Best Bet Clickthrough as a of Queries
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Visits, Queries, Clickthroughs up in Q2
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WIS ongoing work relative to search

• Building/ revising search solutions or instances
• Maintaining search processes / admin
• Maintaining / adding to best bets
• Working with site owners to improve search
  (adding content, best bets, changing UI)
• Piloting new tools / search options

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The State of Search

• Web content search is in good shape
• A good start on enterprise search
• Ultraseek is approaching commercial end-of-life.
• Autonomy, Endeca, FAST, Google all viable options

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Challenges and Opportunities

• Migration from Ultraseek timing and details
• Expore Autonomy that comes bundled w/Vignette
• Further metadata enhanced search (faceted search)
• Exposing application content to search APIs,
  STDs
• Database vendor search integration
• Desktop search combine web, HBS, and personal
  search
• Google integration
• Using search analytics in design and content
  development
• New analytics tool will let us compare
  external/internal search
• Need user research to help ID next focus areas
• Search experience standards across HBS
• Better best bets support
• Video and audio search

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Backup Slides
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