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With the many choices that can be built into information systems, it is possible to customize such systems for users. This customization may be based on the tasks that users are accomplishing, or on the personal characteristics of users, or a combination of these factors. An experiment is reported in which detailed logging of use of experimental information systems was used to determine the optimal configuration of the systems for each user. Tasks were varied, and the cognitive abilities of users were tested to assess one important personal characteristic. The results showed that it was possible to create an optimal configuration to match the cognitive abilities of users, but that it was more difficult to assess which configuration was the best match for specific tasks. The person‐in‐task interaction proved to be the least powerful indicator of design configurations. These results suggest that usable information systems can be created for users by careful analysis of the interaction of design features with personal characteristics such as cognitive abilities.

This research took the form of an investigation into how different questions on online search request forms elicit different responses from users, and how the resulting differences in user input can influence search quality. Users of an academic library search service completed online search request forms which asked open, bibliographic and structural questions. Structural questions elicited longer responses than open questions, while bibliographic questions elicited very short responses. In some cases, the longer responses to structural questions led to the inclusion of more terms in search expressions. On average, these searches achieved lower precision. It appears that searchers who take a flexible approach to search topics are more affected by different amounts of user input than searchers who are less flexible. Because of the importance of the user‐intermediary interaction in initiating the retrieval process, online search request forms must be carefully designed. This includes selecting questions which will elicit an appropriate amount of detail about the information need.