Search User Interfaces
Marti A. Hearst
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRES
WWW.CAMBRIDGE.ORG
$50

I can still remember, as if it were yesterday, seeing a demonstration of an online information retrieval service in 1976. Ever since, I have had a keen interest in search user interfaces and
have done my best to keep up with published research on search usability. However, there have been many times when I had no experimental evidence to support a position I was taking on the subject. Now Hearst has come to my aid. In her book Search User Interfaces, she collates research from about 600 papers and reports. I now find some of my assumptions are supported, while others are seriously challenged.

The 12 chapters in this book cover the entire range of search interface research and practice, including query specification, the presentation of search results, query reformulation, integrating navigation with search, personalization, and information visualization for search interfaces. I was especially interested in the chapter on models of the information-seeking process, as here in particular the relevance for enterprise search is equal to that for web search. However, this book is not just about web search; rather it is concerned with any information retrieval application.

Do not assume for one moment that this is only a dry, academic study of the subject. What comes through is a passion for effective search interfaces expressed in very elegant and readable writing. There are many illustrations of commercial and experimental search interfaces, and the references date right up to the early part of 2009. Search vendors should certainly read and heed this book, but so should anyone selecting a search engine or conducting and interpreting usability tests. Read it and I guarantee that you will see search engine interfaces in a totally different light.

Global Intranet Trends for 2010
Jane McConnell
NETSTRATEGY/JMC
WWW.NETJMC.NET/INTRANET-TRENDS
$750

There are at least two intranet mysteries: The first is how we managed before McConnell started up her survey in 2006, and the second is how each year since she manages to enhance the quality and the value of her "Global Intranet Trends" report. This year the number of respondents has increased to nearly 300, which provides a very sound foundation for analysis. The 2010 report steps up a gear and moves from analysis to synthesis, extending the value of the report beyond benchmarking into supporting the longterm strategic development essential to sustain intranet value to the organization.

This year, the report structure is a little different, with the strategic issues placed at the beginning. Then comes a fascinating section entitled the Workplace Web, which is considered from business, people, and enterprise perspectives. This is followed by chapters on social media, the measurement of impact and value, and branding issues, and it ends with a very interesting section on the future intranet manager.

The quantitative data is significant of course, but what makes this report so valuable is the way that comments from the respondents are interlaced into the report. If intranets could speak for themselves, this is what they might say. In addition, there are segmental analyses on large and small organizations and on the differences between the public and private sectors. The trends are now becoming very evident, and the questionnaire is clearly one that respondents feel it is important to the community to complete in as much depth as they can.

Overall there is good news about the positive impact that intranets are having on organizations, but there are also warnings about expectations that might not be met in adopting social media and horror stories about the performance of search. The quality of the presentation of the results also continues to improve, and the overall design of the report is elegant and readable. It will certainly gain the attention of the senior managers who should be doing more to support the efforts of underresourced intranet teams.

This year, I feel that McConnell has found her voice, and we would all do well to listen to the messages she sends out in this report, presenting five trends that, from the research evidence, will be a feature of great intranets over the years ahead. You will have to read the report to find out what they are--and indeed, you should.