Who are the users of a video search system? Classifying a heterogeneous group with a Profile Matrix

Formulating requirements for a video search system can be a challenging task when everyone is a possible user. This paper explores the possibilities of classifying users by creating a Profile Matrix, placing users on two axes: experience and goal-directedness. This enables us to describe the characteristics of the subgroups and investigate differences between the different groups.We created Profile Matrices by classifying 850 respondents of a survey regarding a requirements study for a video search system. We conclude that the Profile Matrix indeed enables us to classify subgroups of users and describe their characteristics. The current research is limited to descriptions of subgroups and analysis of differences between these subgroups. In the future, we want to research what these differences mean with regard to the users’ performance and acceptance of a video search system and explore the use of a profile matrix for other types of search systems.