Wolters Kluwer - eJournals Platform - Search Improvement
Summary:
Company and Year: Wolters Kluwer Health (2018)
Product: CMS-based platform product, used to publish 300 online medical journals
My Role: Strategist, UX Lead, UX Researcher, UI Designer, Analytics
Tools: Sketch (Design), Skype (User Interviews), Omniture (Analytics)
Deliverables: End User Research Reports; Management Presentations; Analytics Reports; UI Design Improvements; General Leadership
The Business Ask:
"Users say search sucks.* How can we improve search on the whole platform, so medical journal users can actually find what they're looking for?"
*actual quote
What I Did:
Not only did this project save the company from losing a $300,000 customer, it also caused our central search platform product to roll out our team's improvements to other products within the larger corporation.
- Competitive analysis
- Search Query analysis
- Definition of primary Search Patterns
- User interviews
- Definition of Use Cases, and desired Content Type Weighting for algorithm changes
- Presentation of research results throughout the organization, to ensure the project happened
- Visual UI design improvements
- Cross-team collaboration with Central Solr Search team for Algorithm improvements
- Coordination with Content, Tech, and Senior Stakeholders
- User validation of updated algorithm and visual design improvements
Designs and Process:
3 Things I Learned:
- Knowing your Primary Use Cases prevents "loudest voice in the room" debates before they can begin. A spreadsheet with charts and graphs based upon Search Logs will end a business debate in 2 seconds flat.
- If something needs to be done for your users, and no one else steps forward -- lead the initiative yourself.
- With enough sweat and dedication, you can make a difference in people's lives. Our search works better than our competitors. You're welcome, Healthcare Professionals and Medical Librarians. ;)