HITS, Microsoft's internal human insight system: From research library to living body of knowledge

Key Insights

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  Microsoft’s HITS indexes individual research observations and insights instead of entire reports for more precise and instantly accessible knowledge.

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  HITS supports durable knowledge by connecting research findings over time, preventing repeated studies on already known issues.

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  A layered knowledge model in HITS reflects raw data, information, knowledge, and wisdom to progressively synthesize research.

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  Every claim, insight, and recommendation in HITS has a unique URL, enabling traceable citations and easier collaboration.

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  HITS accommodates both tactical evaluative research and foundational generative research by linking discrete insights and enabling reference to richer narrative formats.

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  There’s a concept of insight durability and deprecation in HITS, allowing the community to peer review and track the lifespan of insight validity.

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  HITS is used across functions including researchers, designers, and product managers, balancing openness with content quality controls.

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  The search engine in HITS uses full-text search complemented with entity recognition, enabling flexible topic discovery with topic hubs.

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  The system fosters connection by tracking who publishes in specific research areas, supporting follow-ups and cross-team collaboration.

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  Building and maintaining HITS is resource intensive and requires cultural alignment, but custom solutions outperform generic content management tools at Microsoft’s scale.

Notable Quotes