Problem Space
The context and set of conditions surrounding a problem that needs to be solved. Essential for understanding the full scope of a problem and identifying potential solutions.
The context and set of conditions surrounding a problem that needs to be solved. Essential for understanding the full scope of a problem and identifying potential solutions.
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.
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 fictional character created to represent a user type that might use a site, brand, or product in a similar way, guiding design decisions. Essential for user-centered design, ensuring that products meet the needs of target users.
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.
A strategy that focuses on identifying and addressing the specific problems or "pain points" of users in order to improve search engine rankings and attract more targeted traffic. Essential for creating content that directly addresses user needs and improves website visibility.
An approach that places the user's needs, preferences, and behaviors at the forefront of all design and development activities. Important for fostering a design culture that prioritizes user satisfaction and engagement.
A principle that suggests the simplest explanation is often the correct one, favoring solutions that make the fewest assumptions. Crucial for problem-solving and designing straightforward, efficient solutions.
The design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and the user experience. Essential for ensuring that digital products are intuitive and easy to use.
User-Centered Design (UCD) is an iterative design approach that focuses on understanding users' needs, preferences, and limitations throughout the design process. Crucial for creating products that are intuitive, efficient, and satisfying for the intended users.
A usability technique used to evaluate the findability and labeling of topics in a website's structure by having participants find specific items in a simplified text version of the site. Crucial for improving information architecture and ensuring users can navigate a website effectively.
A set of ten general principles for user interface design created by Jakob Nielsen to improve usability. Essential for evaluating and improving user interface designs.
The application of neuroscience principles to design, aiming to create more effective and engaging user experiences based on how the brain processes information. Crucial for creating designs that align with human cognitive and emotional processes.
Market Requirements Document (MRD) is a comprehensive document that outlines the market's needs, target audience, and business objectives for a product. It serves as a crucial tool for aligning product development efforts with market demands and business goals, ensuring that the final product meets customer needs and achieves market success.
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.
An approach to design that explores and creates provocative scenarios of future possibilities to stimulate discussion and critical thinking about the direction of design and society. Important for pushing the boundaries of conventional design thinking and envisioning future implications.
A theory that suggests people learn behaviors, skills, and attitudes through observing and imitating others, as well as through direct experiences. Crucial for understanding how users acquire new behaviors and designing educational or training programs.
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 application of behavioral science principles to improve the design and usability of digital products, focusing on user behavior and interactions. Important for creating user experiences that are intuitive and engaging by leveraging behavioral insights.
A role focused on overseeing the development, launch, and lifecycle of digital products, ensuring they meet market needs and business goals. Essential for integrating digital product strategy and 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 minimum difference in stimulus intensity that a person can detect, also known as the just noticeable difference (JND). Crucial for designing user interfaces that are sensitive to changes in user input and feedback.
The tendency to overestimate how much our future preferences and behaviors will align with our current preferences and behaviors. Important for understanding user behavior and designing experiences that account for changes over time.
The structural design of information environments, organizing and labeling content to support usability and findability. Essential for creating intuitive and navigable digital products.
The ability to intuitively understand what makes a product successful, including market needs, user experience, and competitive landscape. Important for making informed decisions that lead to successful product development.
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.
A user-centered approach to problem-solving that involves empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing. Crucial for developing innovative and effective solutions that meet 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.
A set of fundamental principles and guidelines that inform and shape design practices. Crucial for maintaining design consistency and ensuring high-quality outcomes.
The study of finding the best solution from a set of feasible solutions. Crucial for improving efficiency and performance in design and development processes.
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.
The process of testing product ideas and assumptions with real customers to ensure they meet market needs. Essential for reducing risk and ensuring product-market fit.
New Product Development (NPD) is the complete process of bringing a new product to market, from idea generation to commercialization. Essential for companies to innovate, stay competitive, and meet evolving customer needs through a structured approach to creating and launching new offerings.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. Crucial for improving user engagement and achieving business goals.
The process of working together with others to generate creative ideas and solutions, leveraging diverse perspectives and skills. Essential for producing innovative and well-rounded design solutions.
The principle stating that there is a limit to the amount of complexity that users can handle, and if designers don't manage complexity, users will. Crucial for designing user-friendly systems that manage complexity effectively.
The process of investigating and experimenting with new technologies to understand their potential applications and benefits. Essential for innovation and staying ahead in a rapidly changing technological landscape.
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.
Moment of Truth (MoT) refers to any instance where a customer interacts with a brand, product, or service in a way that leaves a significant impression. Crucial for identifying key touchpoints in the customer journey and optimizing them to enhance overall user experience and brand perception.
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 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.
The study of mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. Important for designing interfaces that align with how users process information and make decisions.
A creative problem-solving technique that uses metaphors to generate ideas and solutions. Crucial for stimulating creative thinking and generating innovative ideas.
A navigation system that groups related links or content into clusters for easier access. Important for enhancing user experience by simplifying access to related information.
The error of making decisions based solely on quantitative observations and ignoring all other factors. Important for ensuring a holistic approach to decision-making.
A phenomenon where users fail to notice significant changes in their visual field. Important for understanding and designing around potential user perception issues.
A cognitive approach where information is processed at a surface level, focusing on basic features rather than deeper meaning, often leading to poorer memory retention. Important for designing educational and informational content that encourages deeper processing and understanding.
Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, and Hierarchy (LATCH) is a framework for categorizing information. Useful for creating clear and intuitive information structures in digital products.
A technique that visualizes the process users go through to achieve a goal with a product or service. Essential for identifying pain points and optimizing user interactions to improve overall experience.
Designing products that leverage behavioral science to influence user behavior in positive ways. Crucial for creating products that are effective in shaping user behavior and improving engagement.
Interaction Design (IxD) focuses on creating engaging interfaces with well-thought-out behaviors. Crucial for ensuring intuitive and effective user interactions.
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.
The evaluation of products based on their ability to influence and shape user behavior. Useful for assessing how well a product guides and influences user actions and decisions.
The effort required for users to complete a task or interaction within a system. Essential for optimizing usability and minimizing user effort.
A method in natural language processing where multiple prompts are linked to generate more complex and contextually accurate responses. Essential for enhancing the capability and accuracy of AI models in digital products that rely on natural language understanding.
A cognitive bias where individuals believe that past random events affect the probabilities of future random events. Important for designers to understand user decision-making biases related to randomness.
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.
The process of continuously improving a product's performance, usability, and value through data-driven decisions and iterative enhancements. Crucial for ensuring that a product remains competitive and meets evolving user needs.
The risk that the product being developed will not deliver sufficient value to the users, meaning it won't meet their needs or solve their problems. Critical for ensuring the product will be desirable and valuable to the users, which is essential for its success.
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.