Cross Search Study

The Scenario

MITRE's intranet has multiple search tools with different strengths and usage patterns. As we started incorporating AI and considering new capabilities and platforms, we reached an inflection point where we needed to take a fresh look at search overall. I synthesized findings from multiple user research studies to identify key patterns and strategic opportunities for the future of search at MITRE so employees could better explore our institutional knowledge and expertise while also looking up specific content.

My Role

I designed open ended interviews to explore why employees search and what information was difficult to find, collaborating with a teammate who conducted most of the sessions. I also leveraged my recent research for our internal homepage, including a feature survey and focus groups that touched on search functionality alongside other topics. I gathered any additional search-related research and metrics I could find and reviewed several years of user feedback emails to identify recurring themes. After completing my analysis, I presented findings to leadership and search service owners and used the insights to inform my high-level concept designs for future search capabilities.

The variety of studies referenced. Source: MITRE

High-level use cases, themes, and issues from the various search studies. Source: MITRE

Components of an ideal future search flow. Source: MITRE