[Sigia-l] Relationship between Search and Browse

[Richard_Dalton at vanguard.com]

Avi Rappoport wrote:
> I am a huge fan of faceted metadata search/browse integration, a la 
> Marti Hearst.  I think multidimensional taxonomies are the only way 
> to properly represent content, there is never a single right way to 
> address user needs.

I disagree - if user needs are predictable and few then there is often a 
"right way" to satisfy them.

Example: A user wants to know how to spell a word and knows the first few 
letters; Solution: Order the words alphabetically (a dictionary)

Example: A user is decorating a room and wants to color-coordinate with 
his/her red carpet; Solution: Order the products by color.

The trick is to identify the user needs and if they are predictable enough 
and few in number, organize your content to satisify them. If they are not 
predictable and too numerous then consider faceted or searchable schemes.

 - Richard Dalton