Affinity Diagram
A tool used to organize ideas and data into groups based on their natural relationships. Essential for designers and product managers to synthesize information and generate insights.
A tool used to organize ideas and data into groups based on their natural relationships. Essential for designers and product managers to synthesize information and generate insights.
The mathematical study of waiting lines or queues. Useful for optimizing user flow and reducing wait times in user interfaces.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept in educational psychology that describes the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance and support. Crucial for designing effective educational experiences and scaffolding that promote optimal learning and skill development.
The process of making predictions about future trends based on current and historical data. Useful for anticipating user needs and market trends to inform design decisions.
The phenomenon where taking a test on material improves long-term retention of that material more than additional study sessions. Crucial for designing educational tools and methods that enhance learning and retention.
A creative thinking technique where the typical process is reversed to generate new ideas by considering the opposite of conventional assumptions. Useful for fostering innovation and challenging existing assumptions in problem-solving.
The capability of a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of some of its components, ensuring that user experience is not significantly affected by errors or issues, similar to Postel's Law. Essential for designing reliable and resilient systems, such as a form that normalizes user input for compatibility rather than returning an error (e.g., unconstrained phone number format).
Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) is a set of attributes that enhance the accessibility of web content for people with disabilities. Essential for making web applications more usable and inclusive.
Numeronym for the word "Modularization" (M + 12 letters + N), dividing a system into separate, interchangeable modules that can be developed, tested, and maintained independently. Important for improving maintainability and scalability of systems.
The study of the practices and possibilities of music, covering elements like rhythm, melody, harmony, and form. Essential for understanding musical structure, composition, and performance.
The Principle of Front Doors is an information architecture guideline that acknowledges multiple entry points into a website or system. Crucial for ensuring that all entry points provide a coherent and navigable experience.
The ease with which users can find new features or content within a product. Essential for enhancing user engagement and product usability.
Obstacles to effective communication that arise from differences in understanding the meanings of words and symbols used by the communicators. Crucial for designing clear and effective communication systems and avoiding misunderstandings.
A search system that allows users to narrow down search results by applying multiple filters based on different attributes or categories. Essential for improving user search experience and efficiency.
A graphical representation of a user or their character in digital environments. Crucial for personalizing user interactions and enhancing engagement.
A professional who designs, builds, and maintains systems for processing large-scale data sets. Essential for enabling data-driven decision-making and supporting advanced analytics in organizations.
The process of identifying user needs and market opportunities to inform the development of new products or features. Crucial for ensuring that products are user-centered and meet real market demands.
A decision-making strategy where individuals are prompted to make a choice rather than defaulting to a pre-set option. Useful for increasing user engagement and ensuring intentional decision-making.
A small, specialized market segment focused on a particular product or service, often characterized by a unique demand. Essential for targeting specific customer needs and achieving higher margins with less competition.
The series of stages a product goes through from initial concept to market release, including planning, design, development, testing, and launch. Essential for understanding the full lifecycle of product creation and bringing products to market efficiently.
A holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system's constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of larger systems. Essential for solving complex problems and designing systems that account for interdependencies and dynamics.
The study of complex systems and how interactions within these systems give rise to collective behaviors. Useful for understanding and managing the complexity in design processes and systems.
A theoretical approach that focuses on observable behaviors and dismisses internal processes, emphasizing the role of environmental factors in shaping behavior. Foundational for understanding how external factors influence user behavior and for designing behavior-based interventions.
A cognitive shortcut that relies on the recognition of one option over another to make a decision, often used when individuals have limited information. Crucial for designing interfaces and experiences that facilitate quick and effective decision-making.
A method of testing two identical versions of a webpage or app to ensure the accuracy of the testing tool. Important for validating the effectiveness of A/B testing tools and processes.
An organization that applies behavioral science to policy and practice to improve public services and outcomes. Important for understanding practical applications of behavioral science in policy and public services.
A philosophy that emphasizes reason and logic as the primary sources of knowledge and truth. Useful for understanding the foundations of logical thinking and decision-making in design and development.
A specific organization of colors, which helps in the representation of color in both physical and digital forms. Crucial for accurate color representation and consistency across different mediums.
A decision-making strategy where individuals allocate resources proportionally to the probability of an outcome occurring, rather than optimizing the most likely outcome. Important for understanding decision-making behaviors and designing systems that guide better resource allocation.
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a graphical representation for specifying business processes in a workflow, using standardized symbols and notations. Essential for creating clear, standardized diagrams that facilitate understanding and communication of business processes in digital product design.
A practice by Google where the mobile version of a website becomes the starting point for what Google includes in its index and the baseline for determining rankings. Crucial for ensuring websites are optimized for mobile users and perform well in search rankings.
A cognitive bias where new evidence or knowledge is automatically rejected because it contradicts established norms or beliefs. Important for recognizing resistance to change and designing strategies to encourage openness to new ideas among designers.
A cognitive bias where individuals with low ability at a task overestimate their ability, while experts underestimate their competence. Crucial for designers to create educational content and user interfaces that accommodate varying levels of user expertise.
The practice of preserving a user's data and settings between sessions in an application. Crucial for enhancing user experience by providing continuity and personalization.
Numeronym for the term "10,000 Concurrent Clients", the challenge of optimizing network software to handle ten thousand simultaneous client connections. Important for ensuring scalability and performance in high-demand scenarios.
Specific attributes used to enhance the accessibility of web content and applications by providing additional information to assistive technologies. Crucial for making dynamic web content more accessible to users with disabilities.
A phenomenon where new information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information, affecting memory retention. Crucial for understanding memory dynamics and designing educational or training programs.
The percentage of visitors to a website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page. Important for understanding user engagement and the effectiveness of a website's content and design.
User interfaces that change in response to user behavior or preferences to improve usability and efficiency. Crucial for creating personalized and efficient user experiences.
A strategic management template for developing new business models or documenting existing ones, detailing elements like value proposition, infrastructure, and customers. Important for understanding and designing business strategies that align with product and user experience goals.
The set of shared values, practices, and goals that characterize a startup company. Important for fostering innovation, agility, and a collaborative environment within product design teams.
The Principle of Choices is an information architecture guideline that emphasizes providing users with meaningful options to navigate and interact with a system. Crucial for enhancing user experience by ensuring users can easily find what they need without being overwhelmed.
Small rewards or incentives given to users to encourage specific behaviors or actions. Important for motivating user engagement and fostering desired behaviors.
A method for organizing information based on five categories: category, time, location, alphabet, and continuum. Useful for creating clear and effective information architectures.
A consensus-building technique where participants show their level of agreement or support by raising zero to five fingers. Useful for quickly gauging team agreement and making collaborative decisions in product design and development meetings.
The initial interaction a customer has with a brand. Important for understanding the beginning of the customer journey.
A problem-solving approach that involves breaking down complex problems into their most basic, foundational elements. Crucial for developing innovative solutions by understanding and addressing core issues.
Call to Action (CTA) is a prompt that encourages users to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. Crucial for guiding user behavior and increasing engagement or conversions on digital platforms.
In-product assistance provided within the context of a specific task or screen, tailored to the user's current needs. Important for enhancing user experience by providing timely and relevant assistance.
A psychological principle where people are more likely to be influenced by those they like. Important for understanding social influences and improving user engagement and marketing strategies.
An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of a brand's name, used as a logo or branding element. Important for creating a simplified and recognizable brand identity.
A technique for creating interactive web applications by exchanging data with the server in the background without reloading the entire page. Essential for enhancing user experience by making web applications more dynamic and responsive.
The integration and application of knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines to enhance understanding and innovation. Crucial for fostering a holistic approach to problem-solving and design.
A statistical technique that uses random sampling and statistical modeling to estimate mathematical functions and simulate systems. Useful for risk assessment, decision-making, and performance optimization in digital product design.
The theory that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning, often used to understand and influence behavior change. Important for designing interventions that promote positive behavior change.
A technique or tool used to lock oneself into following through on a commitment, often by adding a cost to failing to do so. Useful for designing interventions that help users stick to their goals and commitments.
A metaphor for a balanced approach to product development, considering three core aspects: business viability, technical feasibility, and user desirability. Crucial for ensuring comprehensive and balanced product decisions.
A brainstorming technique where participants draw their ideas instead of writing them down. Important for stimulating creative thinking and visual problem-solving.
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) is an agile project delivery framework focused on delivering business value early and continuously. Essential for ensuring that projects align with business goals and user needs through iterative processes.
Emotional states where individuals are calm and rational, often contrasted with hot states where emotions run high. Important for understanding decision-making processes and designing experiences that accommodate both states.