A Model for Estimating the Savings from Dimensional versus Keyword Search

Inefficient and ineffective search is widely recognized as a problem for businesses. The shortcomings of keyword searches have been elaborated upon by many authors, and many enhancements to keyword searches have been proposed. To date, however, no one has provided a quantitative model or systematic process for evaluating the savings that accrue from enhanced search procedures. This paper presents a model for estimating the total cost to a company of relying on keyword searches versus dimensional searches. The model is based on the Zipf-Mandelbrot law in quantitative linguistics. The model shows that a surprisingly small number of searches are required to justify the cost associated with encoding the metadata necessary to support a dimension search engine. Our results imply that it is cost effective for almost any business organization to implement a dimensional search strategy.