How can I dig deeper into why SharePoint Server 2010 is giving specific results on people search? I have an example scenario where when searching on “Jerry” (without quotes) the SharePoint Enterprise Search Center returns several people results, but the first result listed does not have “Jerry” in the name, or any other visible User Profile property. There is obviously confusion as to why this person is the first result.
I looked up the nickname mapping for “jerry”, and nothing stands out that would point to why this specific individual is the first result.
How can I figure out what SharePoint is thinking here, and provide an explanation to the business?
I spent some time investigating Ranking Models in SharePoint 2010, and have discovered it is the phonetic ranking causing the odd results. If I remove phonetic ranking from the ranking model, and apply that to the search, the odd ‘non-Jerry’ result is no longer included.
I’ll take this back to the business to talk about trade-offs and what they would like to do.
Some blogs that were helpful:
Custom Ranking Models with SharePoint 2010:Â Background, Value and Administrative Overview
http://sharepointplace.blogspot.com/2010/06/custom-ranking-models-w…
How to Disable Phonetic Search in SharePoint 2010 People Search
http://www.domorewithsearch.com/how-to-disable-phonetic-search-in-s…
