Narrative descriptions of how users might interact with a product or system to achieve specific goals, used to inform design and development. Important for understanding user needs and ensuring the design supports their tasks and goals.
Application Release Automation (ARA) is the process of automating the release of applications, ensuring consistency and reducing errors. Crucial for accelerating the delivery of software updates and maintaining high-quality digital products.
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospective customer who has shown interest in a company's product or service and meets specific criteria indicating a higher likelihood of becoming a customer. Essential for prioritizing leads and optimizing the efficiency of sales and marketing efforts by focusing resources on prospects most likely to convert.
A structured routine for continuous improvement based on a scientific approach to problem-solving and process optimization. Crucial for fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within product design teams.
A principle in lean management aimed at reducing non-value-added activities to improve efficiency. Important for optimizing processes and resource use.
The core values outlined in the Agile Manifesto, including individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change. Fundamental for guiding agile practices and fostering an agile mindset.
The accumulated consequences of poor design decisions, which can hinder future development and usability. Crucial for understanding and addressing the long-term impact of design choices.
Lifetime Value (LTV) is a metric that estimates the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account throughout their relationship. Crucial for informing customer acquisition strategies, retention efforts, and overall business planning by providing insights into long-term customer profitability.
Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task (HEART) is a framework used to measure and improve user experience success. Important for systematically evaluating and enhancing user experience.
A user experience design methodology focused on rapid iteration, collaboration, and learning through experimentation. Essential for creating user-centered designs efficiently and effectively.
A collaborative tool used to visualize what a user thinks, feels, says, and does to better understand their experiences and needs. Essential for gaining deep insights into user behavior and guiding design decisions.
A field research method where researchers observe and interview users in their natural environment to understand their tasks and challenges. Crucial for gaining authentic insights into user behavior and needs.
A Japanese word meaning inconsistency or variability in processes. Helps in recognizing and addressing workflow imbalances to improve efficiency.
A usability evaluation method where evaluators walk through tasks to identify potential user difficulties. Essential for improving user interfaces and ensuring usability.
A research method where participants record their activities, experiences, and thoughts over a period of time, providing insights into their behaviors and needs. Important for gaining in-depth, longitudinal insights into user experiences.
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.
A strategic approach where multiple potential solutions are tested to identify the most promising one. Crucial for innovation and reducing risk in decision-making.
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.
The compromises made between different design options, balancing various factors like usability, aesthetics, and functionality. Essential for making informed decisions that optimize overall design effectiveness.
Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA) is a four-step management method used for continuous improvement of processes and products. Essential for implementing and maintaining continuous improvement in business and design processes.
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.
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.
Elements of a service or product that are not visible to the user but are essential for delivering the front-stage experience. Crucial for understanding and designing the full user experience, including behind-the-scenes elements.
A clear, concise description of the issue(s) that need to be addressed, focusing on the specific challenge and its impact. Essential for guiding problem-solving efforts and ensuring a clear understanding of the issue at hand.
A visual technique used in Agile development to arrange user stories in a way that helps teams understand the user journey and prioritize work effectively. Crucial for ensuring that development efforts are aligned with user needs and priorities throughout the project.
A qualitative research method involving direct conversations with users to gather insights into their needs, behaviors, and experiences. Essential for gaining deep insights into user perspectives and informing design decisions.
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.
The practice of drawing inspiration from sources outside of one's field to generate creative ideas. Useful for fostering creativity and innovation in design and product development.
The tendency to believe that large or significant events must have large or significant causes. Important for understanding cognitive biases in decision-making and designing systems that present accurate causal relationships.
The practice of guiding and inspiring teams to create effective, user-centered design solutions that align with business goals. Crucial for fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence in design practices within organizations.
Research focused on understanding and improving information architecture (IA), ensuring that information is logically and intuitively organized for users. Crucial for optimizing the organization and accessibility of information.
A practice of performing testing activities earlier in the software development lifecycle to identify and address issues sooner. Essential for improving software quality, reducing defects, and accelerating development cycles in digital product design.
An approach to design that actively involves all stakeholders (e.g., employees, partners, customers) in the design process. Crucial for creating designs that truly meet user needs and expectations.
A framework inspired by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, applied to user experience design, prioritizing basic functionality and reliability before enhancing usability and delight. Essential for creating well-rounded and satisfying user experiences.
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.
A statistical rule stating that nearly all values in a normal distribution (99.7%) lie within three standard deviations (sigma) of the mean. Important for identifying outliers and understanding variability in data, aiding in quality control and performance assessment in digital product design.
An informal usability testing method where random passersby are asked to try out a product or feature and provide feedback. Essential for quickly identifying usability issues with minimal resources.
A testing method where the internal structure of the system is not known to the tester, focusing solely on input and output. Essential for validating the functionality of digital products from an end-user perspective.
A strategic planning tool that outlines the future direction of a project or product using Kanban principles, emphasizing continuous delivery and improvement. Important for aligning team efforts and maintaining focus on long-term goals.
The tendency for individuals to give positive responses or feedback out of politeness, regardless of their true feelings. Crucial for obtaining honest and accurate user feedback.
A prioritized list of tasks, features, and technical debt items that need to be addressed by the engineering team. Essential for managing and organizing work in software development projects.
A research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment. Crucial for gathering authentic data and insights into real-world behaviors and interactions.
A testing method that examines the code, documentation, and requirements without executing the program. Important for identifying defects early in the development lifecycle, improving the quality and reducing the cost of digital products.
A prioritized list of work items or tasks that need to be completed, commonly used in agile project management. Essential for managing tasks and ensuring that development teams focus on the most important work items.
A simple description of a feature from the perspective of the user, typically used in Agile development to capture requirements and guide development. Crucial for ensuring that development efforts are aligned with user needs and priorities.
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.
A strategy used to determine the proportion of various SMEs needed to support a pipeline of work. Important for optimizing resource allocation, enhancing efficiency, and ensuring teams have the appropriate support based on design demand and complexity.
A design philosophy that emphasizes core design principles over rigid adherence to standardized processes. Essential for maintaining creativity and innovation in large-scale, process-driven environments.
A set of fundamental principles and guidelines that inform and shape user research practices. Crucial for maintaining consistency and ensuring high-quality user insights.
A meeting where the Agile team discusses and decides what tasks will be completed in the upcoming sprint, establishing a clear plan for the sprint's duration. Crucial for ensuring the team is aligned and has a clear understanding of the work to be done in the sprint.
An approach where designers and non-designers work together throughout the design process to create user-centric solutions. Crucial for creating more inclusive and effective design outcomes.
The structural design of information environments, organizing and labeling content to support usability and findability. Essential for creating intuitive and navigable digital products.
A time-boxed period during which specific work must be completed and made ready for review, used in Agile project management. Crucial for managing workload and ensuring continuous delivery and improvement in Agile projects.
Cost of Delay (CoD) is a metric that quantifies the economic impact of delaying a project, feature, or task. Important for making informed decisions about project prioritization and resource allocation.
The process of testing and evaluating a design to ensure it meets user needs and business goals before final implementation. Crucial for ensuring that designs are effective and meet intended objectives.
A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used. Important for designers to foster creative problem-solving and innovation.
A research method where participants take photographs of their activities, environments, or interactions to provide insights into their behaviors and experiences. Important for gaining in-depth, visual insights into user contexts and behaviors.
Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) is an iterative four-step management method used for continuous improvement of processes and products. Essential for quality control and operational efficiency.
A series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, creating a pattern found in nature and various fields. Useful for understanding natural growth patterns, efficient estimation techniques, and its relationship to the aesthetically pleasing Golden Ratio.
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is a methodology that uses visual modeling to support system requirements, design, analysis, and validation activities throughout the development lifecycle. Essential for managing complex systems, improving communication among stakeholders, and enhancing the overall quality and efficiency of systems engineering processes.