Search Project Management
The previous article introduced the various steps of a successful implementation of a search solution based on the Coveo™ Cloud Platform (see Search Project Overview).
This article provides high-level guidelines to help you efficiently plan and manage your search project.
Prepare for the Kick-Off Meeting
A Coveo Platform search project typically starts with a complimentary 60-minutes kick-off meeting with one or more Coveo specialists. During this meeting, you’ll walk through the various resources available at Coveo to support your project, and review design and architectural patterns.
To take full advantage of your kick-off meeting, ensure that you can produce the following:
| Artifact | Description |
|---|---|
| Visual support | Graphical representations of the planned search features (e.g., wireframes, mockups, screenshots) will ease the discussion. |
| Use cases | Functional requirements and implementation plans will help identify which features will be usable out-of-the-box, and which ones will require customization (assuming you’re planning to use the Coveo JavaScript Search Framework). |
| Deployment architecture | Environment details, such as server/hosting information, will help plan an adequate deployment strategy (see About Non-Production Coveo Cloud Organizations). |
| Project information | Project milestones, planned deployment date, and relevant metrics and information about the content to index (number of items, content location, page views, top search requests, etc.) are needed for the discussion. |
By following the recommendations that come out of your kick-off meeting right from the start of your search project, you may avoid many potential pitfalls later on.
Evaluate the Project Time Frame
Every search project is different: a simple project may require less than a week of work, while a fully integrated search experience may take up to a few months of development and configuration effort. The size and complexity of a project can drastically impact its time frame.
The following diagram illustrates the sequence of steps involved in any search project.
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Testing isn’t represented in this diagram, as it’s a recurring activity; each step should be thoroughly tested.
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While this diagram illustrates a sequential flow of activities, keep in mind that you must constantly come back to the indexing, searching, and tuning relevance steps to keep improving your solution once its initial deployment is complete.
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The above steps are part of the DEA steps of the IDEAS methodology used by Coveo Professional Services (see IDEAS Methodology).
Here are some key factors that can impact those steps (and therefore, your search project time frame):
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Number of sources to configure
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Number of items to index
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Content richness
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Number and complexity of search interfaces
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Complexity of the deployment process
Consider a Multi-Region Deployment
If keeping query times low for international end users is critical, consider a multi-region deployment. In addition to the primary deployment region, namely US East, multi-region organizations are also deployed over one or more satellite regions. When end users make queries, those queries are routed to the closest deployment region, thereby reducing query time. Multi-region deployments also benefit from increased resiliency, in that, if a satellite region encounters an issue, search queries fall back to the primary deployment region, namely US East.
Leverage the Available Coveo Resources
Coveo Community
The Coveo Community offers various useful resources:
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Learn to leverage the Coveo products.
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Ask questions and get answers from Coveo experts.
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Troubleshoot issues using Coveo Support knowledge base articles.
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Submit and up-vote Coveo product improvement ideas.
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Read blog posts written by Coveo R&D specialists.
Those resources are also accessible through search (see Coveo Community Search).
Client Executive
Your Client Executive is your main point of contact with Coveo. This person can answer all of your account-related enquiries, and redirect any other request you may have to the appropriate resource.
For technical support requests, open a case directly through the Coveo Support.
Solution Architect
A Solution Architect can assist you in making informed architectural decisions and applying leading practices for your implementation. Every project receives up to three hours of consultation with a designated solution architect. This expert is assigned during the project kick-off meeting (see Prepare for the Kick-Off Meeting).
Customer Success
The Coveo Customer Success team offers post-implementation services to help your search solution meet its objectives. Depending on your Customer Support and Success Plan (CSSP), you may or may not have access to a designated Coveo Customer Success agent (see Customer Support and Success Plans).
Training
A wide array of training courses is available for all Coveo products (see Training).
What’s Next?
If you have not already done so, you should create your Coveo Cloud organization and learn about the various Coveo Platform resources you can manage through it (see Initial Configuration).