This report sets out the principles and practice of specifying and selecting intranet or enterprise search software, based on the practical experience of the author.
Many organizations just want a search engine to work the way Google does. This report discusses the differences between web and enterprise search, and as well as search engine software applications outlines the capabilities of the Google and Thunderstone search appliances. The IT requirements of an enterprise search application are discussed and the use of personas to develop user requirements is described.
The report will be of value to any manager seeking to ensure that employees are able to find the information they need to make effective business decisions.
An appendix provides an extensive list of web sites, blogs and reports.
| Executive Summary | 2 |
| Biographical note | 5 |
| Acknowledgements | 5 |
| Chapter 1 - The business of search | 6 |
| 1.1 | The business of search | 6 |
| 1.2 | The requirements for enterprise search | 7 |
| 1.3 | The development of text retrieval | 8 |
| 1.4 | Desktop search | 8 |
| 1.5 | Out-of-the-box search applications | 8 |
| 1.6 | Google and Thunderstone search appliances | 9 |
| 1.7 | Portal-enabled search | 9 |
| 1.8 | Open source search software | 9 |
| 1.9 | Federated searching | 10 |
| 1.10 | Search and CMS implementation | 10 |
| Chapter 2 - The technology of searching | 11 |
| 2.1 | The Eureka! Factor | 11 |
| 2.2 | Search metrics | 11 |
| 2.3 | The components of a search application | 12 |
| 2.3.1 | Content acquisition | 12 |
| 2.3.2 | Indexing | 12 |
| 2.3.3 | Taxonomies and classifications | 13 |
| 2.3.4 | Query management | 14 |
| 2.3.5 | Result formatting | 14 |
| 2.3.6 | Visualization | 14 |
| 2.3.7 | Document access | 15 |
| 2.4 | Search performance management | 15 |
| 2.5 | Searching multiple languages | 15 |
| 2.6 | IBM and UIMA | 15 |
| 2.7 | Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) | 16 |
| Chapter 3 - Specifying search requirements | 18 |
| 3.1 | The purpose of search | 18 |
| 3.2 | How do people search? | 18 |
| 3.3 | Using personas to specify user requirements | 19 |
| 3.3.1 | Determine initial user segmentation | 20 |
| 3.3.2 | Conduct focus groups | 20 |
| 3.3.3 | Define scenarios | 20 |
| 3.4 | Document audit | 21 |
| 3.5 | Concurrent users | 21 |
| 3.6 | Document security | 21 |
| 3.7 | IT architecture considerations | 22 |
| 3.8 | Scalability | 22 |
| 3.9 | The need for a team effort | 23 |
| Chapter 4 - Search interface design | 24 |
| 4.1 | Supporting information discovery | 24 |
| 4.2 | The importance of usability testing | 24 |
| 4.3 | Presentation of search results | 24 |
| 4.4 | Presentation of selected documents | 26 |
| 4.5 | Accessibility Issues | 27 |
| Chapter 5 - Developing the business case | 27 |
| 5.1 | Introduction | 27 |
| 5.2 | Understanding the costs | 27 |
| 5.3 | Making a business case | 28 |
| Chapter 6 - Selecting a search engine | 30 |
| 6.1 | Knowing what you don’t know | 30 |
| 6.2 | Developing the Request for a Proposal (RFP) | 31 |
| 6.3 | Information from the vendor | 32 |
| 6.4 | Open source software | 32 |
| 6.5 | Pilot testing | 32 |
| 6.6 | Schedule for the selection process | 33 |
| Chapter 7 - Implementing a search engine | 35 |
| 7.1 | Implementation never stops | 35 |
| 7.2 | Project communication | 35 |
| Enterprise search - ten critical success factors | 36 |
| Appendix 1 - Web resources | 37 |
| Web sites | 37 |
| Blogs | 37 |
| Product comparisons | 38 |
| Search technology | 38 |
| Conferences | 39 |
| Articles on Enterprise Search | 40 |
| Consultants | 40 |
| Appendix 2 - Books and reports | 41 |
