5 Whys
A problem-solving method that involves asking "why" five times to identify the root cause of a problem. Useful for designers and product managers to uncover underlying issues and improve processes and solutions.
A problem-solving method that involves asking "why" five times to identify the root cause of a problem. Useful for designers and product managers to uncover underlying issues and improve processes and solutions.
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.
A set of standards and guidelines used to ensure the integrity, security, and compliance of business processes and IT systems. Important for establishing robust governance and control mechanisms in digital product design and development.
The tendency for people to prefer things that are easy to think about and understand. Important for designing user interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use.
Any process or administrative barrier that unnecessarily complicates transactions and creates friction, discouraging beneficial behaviors. Important for identifying and eliminating unnecessary obstacles that hinder user experiences.
A dark pattern where additional costs are only revealed at the last step of the checkout process. It's essential to avoid this tactic and promote transparent pricing to build user trust.
A change management strategy that aligns people, process, and technology initiatives to improve performance and achieve business goals. Crucial for adapting to market changes and ensuring the organization's long-term success.
Often referred to as "marketing funnel", a model that represents the user journey from awareness to purchase used to analyze and optimize conversion of prospects to customers. Essential for understanding and improving the customer journey and conversion process.
A collaborative process spanning multiple stages of product/service development where stakeholders, including users, actively participate in the design and development of products or services. Crucial for creating products that meet user needs and foster innovation.
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a method used to transform customer needs into engineering characteristics for a product or service. Essential for ensuring that customer requirements are systematically incorporated into the design and development process.
Human-Centered Design (HCD) is an approach to problem-solving that involves the human perspective in all steps of the process. It ensures designs are user-friendly and meet actual user needs.
The study of the principles and practices that inform and guide the design process. Essential for understanding the foundational concepts that underpin effective design.
Business Rules Engine (BRE) is a software system that executes one or more business rules in a runtime production environment. Crucial for automating decision-making processes and ensuring consistency and compliance in digital products.
The risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, and systems. Important for identifying and mitigating potential operational threats.
Technologies that enable machines to understand and interpret data on the web in a human-like manner, enhancing connectivity and usability of information. Essential for improving data interoperability and accessibility on the web.
The process of arranging related objects in parallel or at 90-degree angles for visual organization and efficiency. Useful for designers to maintain an organized workspace, enhance visual clarity, and streamline their workflow.
The process of addressing and overcoming objections or concerns raised by prospects during the sales process. Important for closing sales and building customer trust.
Also known as Self Relevance Effect, the tendency for individuals to better remember information that is personally relevant or related to themselves. Important for designing personalized user experiences and enhancing memory retention.
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.
The process of creating and developing new products, focusing on form, function, usability, and aesthetics to meet user needs. Crucial for developing products that are both functional and appealing to users.
A cognitive bias where individuals favor others who are perceived to be similar to themselves, affecting judgments and decision-making. Crucial for understanding biases in team dynamics and decision-making processes among designers.
The ability of an organization to adapt quickly to market changes and external forces while maintaining a focus on delivering value. Essential for fostering an adaptable and resilient design and development process.
The design of environments in which people make decisions, influencing their choices and behaviors. Important for creating user experiences that guide decision-making processes effectively.
The experience of noticing something for the first time and then frequently encountering it shortly after, also known as frequency illusion. Important for understanding user perception and cognitive biases in information processing.
The day-to-day activities required to produce goods and services, manage resources, and support business functions. Essential for ensuring efficient and effective functioning of an organization.
An AI model that has been pre-trained on a large dataset and can be fine-tuned for specific tasks. Essential for developing state-of-the-art NLP applications.
The use of natural language processing to identify and extract subjective information from text, determining the sentiment expressed. Crucial for understanding public opinion and customer feedback.
A phenomenon where people are more likely to remember information when they are in the same state of consciousness as when they learned it. Important for understanding how context affects memory recall and designing experiences that facilitate better retention.
Goals, Ideas, Steps, and Tasks (GIST) is an agile planning technique to break down projects into manageable parts. Essential for organizing and executing agile projects effectively.
A concept that humans make decisions within the limits of their knowledge, cognitive capacity, and available time, leading to satisficing rather than optimal solutions. Crucial for designing systems and processes that account for human cognitive limitations and decision-making processes.
A tool used in education to help learners organize and structure new information before learning it in detail. Useful for designing educational content and onboarding materials that facilitate better learning and retention.
A visual tool in agile project management that displays tasks to be done, in progress, and completed, often using columns and cards. Crucial for visualizing workflow and managing tasks efficiently.
A phenomenon where people better understand and remember information when it is presented visually. Crucial for designing effective and engaging visual content.
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.
An ongoing process of learning and development that enables individuals and organizations to adapt to changing environments and requirements. Crucial for staying current with industry trends and improving skills and knowledge.
A Gestalt principle where the mind completes incomplete figures to form a whole, aiding in the perception of shapes and objects. Crucial for designing visual elements that are easily understood by users.
In AI, the generation of incorrect or nonsensical information by a model, particularly in natural language processing. Important for understanding and mitigating errors in AI systems.
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 process of handling changes to software, hardware, or documentation in a systematic way. Critical for maintaining consistency and ensuring system integrity.
A mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. Crucial for understanding how people make decisions and the biases that influence their choices.
Methods and techniques used to overcome mental blocks that hinder creative thinking and problem-solving. Crucial for maintaining productivity and fostering innovation in design.
A deployment strategy that reduces downtime and risk by running two identical production environments, switching traffic between them. Crucial for ensuring seamless updates and minimizing disruptions in digital product deployment.
The mathematical study of waiting lines or queues. Useful for optimizing user flow and reducing wait times in user interfaces.
Also known as Magical Number 7 +/- 2, a theory in cognitive psychology that states the average number of objects an individual can hold in working memory is about seven. Crucial for designing user interfaces that align with human cognitive limitations.
A brainstorming technique where participants write down their ideas independently before sharing them with the group. Crucial for generating a wide range of ideas and encouraging participation from all team members.
A psychological phenomenon where people follow the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation. Essential for designing interfaces and experiences that leverage social influence to guide user behavior and increase trust and engagement.
A motivational theory suggesting that individuals are motivated to act based on the expected outcomes of their actions and the attractiveness of those outcomes. Important for understanding motivation and behavior, distinct from decision-making under uncertainty.
The series of actions or operations involved in the acquisition, interpretation, storage, and retrieval of information. Crucial for understanding how users handle information and designing systems that align with cognitive processes.
The use of technology to perform repetitive tasks or processes in a workflow, liberating skilled experts from tedious activities and empowering them to focus on higher-order problem-solving and creative tasks. Crucial for streamlining operations, reducing human error, and enhancing the overall efficiency and innovation capacity of product design teams.
A cognitive approach that involves meaningful analysis of information, leading to better understanding and retention. Crucial for designing educational and informational content that promotes deep engagement and learning.
Know Your Customer (KYC) is a process used by businesses to verify the identity of their clients and assess potential risks of illegal intentions for the business relationship. Essential for preventing fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing, particularly in financial services, while also ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and building trust with customers.
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.
An approach that applies Agile principles to IT operations, emphasizing iterative development, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Essential for enhancing flexibility, responsiveness, and collaboration in product design and development processes.
The process of turning potential customers into paying customers, often measured by the conversion rate. Essential for understanding and optimizing the customer journey.
The process of systematically collecting, analyzing, and acting on feedback from users to improve products and services. Essential for ensuring that user insights are effectively integrated into the development process.
A mode of thinking, derived from Dual Process Theory, that is slow, deliberate, and analytical, requiring more cognitive effort and conscious reasoning. Crucial for designing complex tasks and interfaces that require thoughtful decision-making and problem-solving, ensuring they are clear and logical for users.
A collaborative process specific to the design phase that involves stakeholders, including users, in the refinement of user-centered design solutions. Essential for creating designs that truly meet user needs and expectations.
A rule-of-thumb or shortcut that simplifies decision-making and problem-solving processes. Essential for designing user-friendly interfaces that facilitate quick and efficient decision-making.
The process of linking language to its real-world context in AI systems, ensuring accurate understanding and interpretation. Crucial for improving the relevance and accuracy of AI-generated responses.
The process of making small, continuous improvements to products, services, or processes over time. Important for sustaining growth and maintaining competitiveness through ongoing improvements.