Search Result Display Segmentation for Web Admins

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Websites face challenges in presenting search results effectively, as existing search functionalities often display different types of resources in the same manner, making it difficult for users to quickly find desired resources without the need for complex programming edits.

Innovation Solution

An administrator can configure search functionality using user interfaces to display different types of search results uniquely, allowing for customization without editing formal programming language code, by using template modules that transform datasets into presentation strings specific to each content resource type.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the search functionality displays all search results in the same manner, then the system is simple to implement, but users cannot quickly find desired resources of different types

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource finding efficiencyVSAvoidsearch result display complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The search result display is segmented by resource type, with each type (e.g., documents, videos, images) having its own dedicated display section. This allows users to quickly locate desired resources by type while maintaining system manageability through modular segmentation of the display interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different display qualities and formats are applied to different sections of search results based on resource type. Each resource type receives customized display treatment (e.g., thumbnails for images, play buttons for videos, text snippets for documents) rather than a uniform display approach, improving user efficiency without requiring complex programming edits.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Adaptability or versatility

If the administrator edits formal programming language code to configure search functionality, then the search functionality can be customized, but the configuration process becomes complex and requires programming expertise

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesearch result display customizationVSAvoidconfiguration ease

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

A visual configuration interface acts as an intermediary between the administrator and the underlying programming code. The administrator can configure search result displays using intuitive visual elements and templates without directly editing code, while the system automatically translates these visual configurations into the necessary programming instructions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The manual code-editing process is replaced with a visual configuration system that uses drag-and-drop interfaces, template selections, and property editors. This substitutes the mechanical act of coding with more accessible visual operations, maintaining customization capability while dramatically improving ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS10817516B2Result types for conditional data display

Publication Date: 2020.10.27 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

A set of user interfaces is provided to an administrator of a website. The user interfaces enable the administrator to configure search functionality of the website to present different types of search results differently. For instance, the administrator can use the user interfaces to configure the search functionality to present different properties for search results belonging to different result types.