Garbage In-Garbage Out (GIGO) is a principle stating that the quality of output is determined by the quality of the input, especially in computing and data processing. Crucial for ensuring accurate and reliable data inputs in design and decision-making processes.
A step-by-step guide that helps users complete a complex task by breaking it down into manageable steps. Crucial for improving usability and ensuring users can successfully complete multi-step processes.
A cognitive bias where people prefer a greater variety of options when making simultaneous choices compared to sequential choices. Important for designers to consider user preferences for variety when designing choice architectures and product offerings.
Visual cues or instructions integrated into an interface to guide users on how to use certain features or functionalities. Important for improving user onboarding and enhancing the user experience.
The tendency to attribute intentional actions to others' behaviors, often overestimating their intent. Important for understanding and mitigating biases in user interactions and feedback.
A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app to see which performs better in terms of user engagement or conversions. Crucial for designers and product managers to test variations and optimize user experience and performance.
A problem-solving process that includes logical reasoning, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking. Important for developing efficient and effective solutions in digital product design and development.
A cognitive bias that causes people to believe they are less likely to experience negative events and more likely to experience positive events than others. Crucial for understanding user risk perception and designing systems that account for unrealistic optimism.
A method used to create detailed narratives of potential future events to explore and understand possible outcomes and inform decision-making. Essential for strategic planning and anticipating the impact of different decisions or changes.
A cognitive bias where people place too much importance on one aspect of an event, causing errors in judgment. Important for understanding decision-making and designing interfaces that provide balanced information.
A framework that combines multiple theories to explain and predict behavior, focusing on intention, knowledge, skills, environmental constraints, and habits. Crucial for designing interventions that effectively change user behavior.
A brainstorming technique that involves listing all possible attributes of a product or problem to generate new ideas and solutions. Useful for generating creative solutions and improving product features.
A qualitative research method where a small group of people discuss a product, service, or concept to gather diverse insights and opinions. Important for gaining in-depth understanding of user perceptions and needs.
The ability of users to influence the behavior and outcomes of a system or product, allowing them to interact with it according to their preferences. Essential for creating user-friendly interfaces that allow for flexibility and customization.
The tendency for individuals to continue a behavior or endeavor as a result of previously invested resources (time, money, or effort) rather than future potential benefits. Important for understanding decision-making biases and designing systems that help users avoid irrational persistence.
A cognitive bias where individuals give stronger weight to payoffs that are closer to the present time compared to those in the future. Important for understanding user time-related decision-making and designing systems that encourage long-term thinking.
A psychological state where individuals lose their sense of self-awareness and personal responsibility in groups, often leading to atypical behavior. Crucial for understanding group dynamics and designing experiences that promote positive group interactions.
A psychological principle where people place higher value on objects or opportunities that are perceived to be limited or rare. Important for understanding consumer behavior and designing marketing strategies that leverage perceived scarcity.
The behavior of seeking information or resources based on social interactions and cues. Important for understanding how users gather information in social contexts and designing systems that support collaborative information seeking.
The study of the principles that govern human behavior, including how people respond to stimuli and learn from their environment. Crucial for designing user experiences that anticipate and influence user behavior.
The style and attitude of the communication in a product, reflecting the brand's personality and affecting how messages are perceived by users. Important for creating a consistent and engaging user experience that aligns with the brand identity.
A tendency for respondents to answer questions in a manner that is not truthful or accurate, often influenced by social desirability or survey design. Important for understanding and mitigating biases in survey and research data.
A parameter that controls the randomness of AI-generated text, affecting creativity and coherence. Important for fine-tuning the behavior and output of AI models.
A research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment. Crucial for gathering authentic data and insights into real-world behaviors and interactions.
The perseverance and passion for long-term goals, often seen as a key trait for success. Important for understanding and fostering resilience and persistence in design and product development.
Redundant, outdated, or unnecessary code or design elements that accumulate over time in a system. Important for identifying and removing to maintain clean, efficient, and maintainable systems and interfaces.
Also known as Expert Review, a method where experts assess a product or system against established criteria to identify usability issues and areas for improvement. Essential for leveraging expert insights to enhance product quality and usability.
A principle often used in behavioral economics that suggests people evaluate options based on relative comparisons rather than absolute values. Important for understanding decision-making and designing choices that highlight beneficial comparisons.
The phenomenon where people remember information better when it is presented through multiple sensory modalities rather than a single modality. Crucial for enhancing memory retention and understanding through multimodal presentations.
A usability testing method that measures the first click users make on a webpage to determine if they can successfully navigate to their goal. Essential for evaluating and improving the navigational structure of a website.
A theory that describes how individuals pursue goals using either a promotion focus (seeking gains) or a prevention focus (avoiding losses). Crucial for designing motivation strategies and understanding user behavior in goal pursuit.
A tendency to avoid making decisions that might lead to regret, influencing risk-taking and decision-making behaviors. Crucial for understanding decision-making processes and designing systems that minimize regret.
The process of breaking down decisions into smaller, manageable stages to simplify the decision-making process. Useful for guiding users through complex decisions in a structured manner.
A heuristic where individuals evenly distribute resources across all options, regardless of their specific needs or potential. Useful for understanding and designing around simplistic decision-making strategies.
The phenomenon where people continue a failing course of action due to the amount of resources already invested. Important for recognizing and mitigating biased decision-making.
A cognitive bias where individuals tend to avoid risks when they perceive potential losses more acutely than potential gains. Important for understanding decision-making behavior in users and designing systems that mitigate risk aversion.
A dark pattern where the product asks for the user's social media or email credentials and then spams all the user's contacts. Recognizing the harm of this practice is important to protect user trust and avoid spamming their contacts.
Numeronym for the word "Internationalization" (I + 18 letters + N), enabling localization for different languages, regions, and cultures without requiring extensive rework. Important for expanding product reach to global markets.
A theory that emphasizes the role of emotions in risk perception and decision-making, where feelings about risk often diverge from cognitive assessments. Important for designing systems that account for emotional responses to risk and improve decision-making.
An established company or market leader that holds a significant market share and has a strong presence in the industry. Important for understanding the dynamics between established players and new entrants in a market.
AI systems designed to generate creative content, such as art, music, and literature. Important for exploring new forms of artistic expression and automating creative processes.
A logical fallacy where people assume that specific conditions are more probable than a single general one. Important for understanding and addressing cognitive biases in user behavior.
The practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks, unauthorized access, and data breaches. Essential for safeguarding sensitive information, maintaining user trust, and ensuring the integrity and functionality of digital products and services.
Knowledge Organization System (KOS) refers to a structured framework for organizing, managing, and retrieving information within a specific domain or across multiple domains. Essential for improving information findability, enhancing semantic interoperability, and supporting effective knowledge management in digital environments.
A cognitive process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions, often contrasted with convergent thinking. Essential for fostering creativity and innovation in problem-solving and design.
An event where developers, designers, and other stakeholders collaborate intensively on software projects, typically within a short timeframe. Important for fostering innovation, team collaboration, and rapid prototyping of new ideas in digital product development.
The phenomenon where the credibility of the source of information influences how the message is received and acted upon. Crucial for designing communication strategies that leverage trusted sources.
A type of artificial intelligence capable of generating new content, such as text, images, and music, by learning from existing data. Important for automating creative processes and generating novel outputs.
A risk management model that illustrates how multiple layers of defense (like slices of Swiss cheese) can prevent failures, despite each layer having its own weaknesses. Crucial for understanding and mitigating risks in complex systems.
A theory suggesting that information processed at a deeper, more meaningful level is better remembered than information processed at a shallow level. Crucial for designing educational and informational content that enhances retention and understanding.
Product Development is the process of bringing a new product to market or improving an existing one. Crucial for innovation, meeting customer needs, and maintaining a competitive edge.
A cognitive bias where people are less likely to spend large denominations of money compared to an equivalent amount in smaller denominations. Useful for designers to understand consumer behavior and design pricing strategies that consider spending biases.
The process of tailoring a product or experience to meet the individual needs and preferences of users. Essential for enhancing user engagement and satisfaction by delivering relevant experiences.
Features or elements added to enhance the functionality or user experience of a system. Crucial for improving user engagement and satisfaction by adding valuable enhancements.
The act of persuading individuals or organizations to act in a certain way based on moral arguments or appeals. Useful for designing persuasive communications and ethical influence strategies.
An ongoing process of learning about user needs and validating assumptions through continuous research and experimentation. Crucial for staying responsive to user needs and improving products iteratively.
Quantitative data that provides broad, numerical insights but often lacks the contextual depth that thick data provides. Useful for capturing high-level trends and patterns, but should be complemented with thick data to gain a deeper understanding of user behavior and motivations.
A detailed description of a system's behavior as it responds to a request from one of its stakeholders, often used to capture functional requirements. Essential for understanding and documenting how users will interact with a system to achieve their goals.
Measurements that track the effectiveness of each stage of the funnel, such as conversion rates and drop-off points. Crucial for identifying areas of improvement in the customer journey.
A cognitive bias where the total probability assigned to a set of events is less than the sum of the probabilities assigned to each event individually. Important for understanding how users estimate probabilities and make decisions under uncertainty.