Portfolio: ACM — Guided navigation in DL search

ACM's Digital Library (DL) has the full text of everything that ACM has ever published. At the 10-year mark, it was time to update the search experience with guided navigation.

Guided navigation shows relevant search categories on the search results page. Results update immediately when the user makes a selection. Contrast this with advanced search, which requires an understanding of the search parameters and values.

We began by reviewing our personas to be sure we understood the users and their needs. Through research into guided navigation and the available tools, we developed a model that suited the user and business needs. A round of usability testing helped refine both the design and the personas.

See other work for ACM.

Try it yourself

See a live search result page with guided navigation assistance on the left side. The search result page changes when you click on a refinement (select publication name "interactions") or remove an existing one. See how easy it is to refine the search or remove refinements if they're not appropriate.

One study participant simply said that it's a lot better than the traditional search method. Others said that it would help them learn more about a topic.

John R. White, CEO of ACM says, The Digital Library has become ACM's most significant product and service. More than anything else, the Digital Library reflects the dimensions, the brand, the quality—the essence—of ACM.

Example of the UI

These are screen shots of a search on "navigation on the web":

Here are initial results, with the first of 6,813 matches.
Narrow the search by opening the PUBLICATIONS group of refinements...

Beta version of the new acm.org home page

...Now click on "interactions" to see just what has been published in that magazine on the topic...

The old home page

...The results are updated immediately, reducing the result set from 6,813 to 181.
Refine further or browse this list.

The old home page

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