Chrystyna Chymera, Corporate Communication Officer at the Electoral Commission, presented this case study of their recent search project and implementation of Funnelback website search at a Funnelback Seminar in London on the 31st of March 2010. It includes an overview of the initial requirements the organisation had for their search solution, both in terms of their business objectives and their Freedom of Information request responsibilities. As an organisation with a great deal of information and a broad range of users, they needed a search engine which could offer excellent results out of the box, as well as the ability to prioritise results and tweak rankings. A comparison of their previous search solution's results page against the improved Funnelback version provided a great demonstration of the usability and functionality features of Funnelback.

1. The Electoral Commission search project March 2010

3. The problem

6. The weight of expectation Nearly half (47%) of internet users spend over 30% of their time online searching. (Harvest Digital) ‘ Users accustomed to consumer Web search are…unhappy with the meagre, Web-style keyword search tools. In a business environment, sifting through an endless, flat list of links to find the information you need is unacceptable’ (Exalead)

7. The solution

10. Good initial results Different ways of filtering content Search term suggestions Custom features Result manipulation Flexibility Speed Value for money

11. Good initial results Different ways of filtering content Search term suggestions Custom features Result manipulation Flexibility Speed Value for money

12. Good initial results Different ways of filtering content Search term suggestions Custom features Result manipulation Flexibility Speed Value for money Users rate results Featured items – linked to search terms Most popular items Search terms highlighted File type icons Section or Type shown

13. Good initial results Different ways of filtering content Search term suggestions Custom features Result manipulation Flexibility Speed Value for money