Elicitation of requirements for innovative visual patent retrieval based on interviews with experts

Patent searching is a complex task and is mainly performed by experts in the field. Research shows that the integration of drawings into the search process is considered useful by experts and should therefore play a more important role in patent retrieval. In this study, experts were interviewed to find out when and in what form patent drawings should be integrated into the search process. The study combines qualitative data analysis and techniques from requirements engineering resulting in the context sensitive method called Q-rEx. The interviews were analysed with a mixed form of deductive and inductive category formation and combined with standards of patent retrieval systems. Experts want patent drawings to be more integrated in the search process to better analyse the relevance of patents. Therefore, in this study, requirements for innovative visual patent retrieval have been derived from actual user needs. The method presented in this study contributes to transparent and comprehensible user-centred elicitation of requirements regarding innovative visual patent retrieval. Not only the method needs further testing but also the integration of the requirements must be evaluated in additional user research..