Redesigning Global Search for Cisco CX Cloud

Incorporating new features, efficient search, readability

Company: Cisco Systems, Inc.
Role: User Experience Designer
Versions: V2
Timeframe: June - September 2022

problem

Searching on Cisco's CX Cloud populated irrelevant search queries

Users were unable to find the help articles they were looking for.

• No customization
• Waste of time & efficiency trying to find the answer
• There is no indication of keywords or other way to refine search based on results

final solution

I was hired to redesign the search experience

I was put on this project to:

• Maximize time efficiency where we are hoping to help the user find information outside of the search page as quickly so they won’t get frustrated
• Provide valuable information so they can get the necessary information they need
• Related search queries - figure out what other questions they may have in mind when searching their original question

solution #1

Knowledge Module

I divided up the search results into  3 key areas: Knowledge Module, Related Questions, View More Details tertiary CTA

• Functionality: Provides an overview/summary of relevant information that the customer might need
• Purpose: Increase readability
• Why did I choose this approach:
  • Provides an overview/summary of relevant information that the customer might want
  • I chose this approach to allot for efficient time management
  • Increasing efficient readability
  • Personalizing content based on the customer’s search queries
• What problem does this solve? 
  • Showcases immediate information to the customer allowing the user to spend less time scrolling for relevant articles or search results

solution #2

I pitched a new 'Related Questions' results section 

I explored having a related articles section to help the user find quick relevant information to uncover additional user queries, providing relevant insights. This approach addresses users’ difficulty in finding specific information and offers more relevant insights. 

• Functionality: explore other possible further questions users might have when searching for specific results
• Purpose: Offer insights to users that are related to their search
• Why did we choose this approach? 
  • Customers are searching for a particular question, but not necessarily finding what they want
• What problem does this solve? 
  • Offering more relevant insights for users to look through & see what they are searching for

solution #3

I added 'view more details'

Often, the first-level of information (IA) is not enough for the user to figure out if the article is relevant. I wanted to provide a quick way for users to preview the article to see if it is relevant.

• Functionality: helps the user find more detailed information if the user is unable to find what they need within the knowledge module
• Purpose: Flexibility in what user wants to see
• Why did we choose this approach? 
  • After the user has a general idea (knowledge module) of what they searched for, it is best to link them directly to the article
• What problem does this solve? 
  • We don’t necessarily know what other information people want/need, therefore this solution will give user the chance to view more details by linking them externally to another page

solution #4

I expanded the scope to include other types of knowledge module like software downloads

To expand the project scope, we originally designed for product license related questions, but I wanted to further explore what a knowledge bank looks like when searching for a specific software version, what a personalized product search would look like, along with other potential self-help guides and where they’d potentially live.