A psychological theory that predicts an individual's behavior based on their intention, which is influenced by their attitudes and subjective norms. Important for understanding and predicting user behavior and designing interventions to influence actions.
The study of how individuals make choices among alternatives and the principles that guide these choices. Important for designing decision-making processes and interfaces that help users make informed choices.
Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse (SCAMPER) is a creative thinking technique that encourages innovation in a product or process. Useful for generating new ideas and improving existing products or processes.
A phenomenon where the success or failure of a design or business outcome is influenced by external factors beyond the control of the decision-makers, akin to serendipity. Important for recognizing and accounting for external influences in performance evaluations to ensure fair assessments and informed decisions.
Interference in the communication process caused by ambiguity in the meaning of words and phrases, leading to misunderstandings. Crucial for designing clear communication channels and reducing misunderstandings in user interactions.
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.
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 demonstration of the new features and functionalities of a product release, typically used to showcase progress and gather feedback before the official launch. Crucial for validating product features and gathering stakeholder feedback before a full release.
Content or functionality that is built into a platform or device rather than being provided by an external application. Important for ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance.
A framework suggesting there are two systems of thinking: System 1 (fast, automatic) and System 2 (slow, deliberate), influencing decision-making and behavior. Crucial for understanding how users process information and make decisions.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
A graphical representation of a user or their character in digital environments. Crucial for personalizing user interactions and enhancing engagement.
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.
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.
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 type of data visualization that uses dots to represent values for two different numeric variables, plotted along two axes. Essential for identifying relationships, patterns, and outliers in datasets used in digital product design and analysis.
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 research approach that starts with a theory or hypothesis and uses data to test it, often moving from general to specific. Essential for validating theories and making informed decisions based on data.
A research method that focuses on understanding phenomena through in-depth exploration of human behavior, opinions, and experiences, often using interviews or observations. Essential for gaining deep insights into user needs and behaviors to inform design and development.
The study of finding the best solution from a set of feasible solutions. Crucial for improving efficiency and performance in design and development processes.
A cognitive bias where people tend to believe that others are more affected by media messages and persuasive communications than they are themselves. Important for understanding media influence and designing communications that account for this bias in user perception.
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.
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 squeeze page is a type of landing page designed to capture a visitor's email address or other contact information. Highly effective for building an email list by offering a valuable incentive in exchange for the user's details.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the final phase of the software testing process where actual users test the software to ensure it meets their requirements. Crucial for validating that the software functions correctly in real-world scenarios before its release.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
A range of values, derived from sample statistics, that is likely to contain the value of an unknown population parameter. Essential for making inferences about population parameters and understanding the precision of estimates in product design analysis.
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.
Small rewards or incentives given to users to encourage specific behaviors or actions. Important for motivating user engagement and fostering desired behaviors.
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.
The mathematical study of waiting lines or queues. Useful for optimizing user flow and reducing wait times in user interfaces.
A method for organizing information based on five categories: category, time, location, alphabet, and continuum. Useful for creating clear and effective information architectures.
Also known as the 68-95-99.7 Rule, it states that for a normal distribution, nearly all data will fall within three standard deviations of the mean. Important for understanding the distribution of data and making predictions about data behavior in digital product design.
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.
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.
The initial interaction a customer has with a brand. Important for understanding the beginning of the customer journey.
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.
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.
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.
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.