Design Theory
The study of the principles and practices that inform and guide the design process. Essential for understanding the foundational concepts that underpin effective design.
The study of the principles and practices that inform and guide the design process. Essential for understanding the foundational concepts that underpin effective design.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) Goals are a framework for setting and achieving clear objectives. Essential for setting clear and actionable objectives in personal and professional contexts.
An approach to design that challenges assumptions and provokes thought by creating speculative or provocative artifacts. Crucial for stimulating critical thinking and innovation in design.
Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) is a framework that focuses on understanding the tasks users are trying to accomplish with a product, emphasizing their goals and motivations over product features. Crucial for designing products that meet real user needs and motivations.
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.
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.
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.
Quantitative data that provides broad, numerical insights but often lacks the contextual depth that thick data provides. Useful for capturing high-level trends and patterns, but should be complemented with thick data to gain a deeper understanding of user behavior and motivations.
An iterative design process that focuses on the users and their needs at every phase of the design process. Crucial for creating products that are effective, efficient, and satisfying for the end users.
An iterative design process that uses algorithms and computational tools to generate a wide range of design solutions based on defined constraints and goals. Crucial for exploring innovative and optimized design solutions.
Fundamental guidelines that inform and shape the design process, ensuring consistency, usability, and effectiveness in product creation. Essential for creating coherent, user-centered designs that align with organizational goals and user needs.
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 prioritization method that assigns different weights to criteria based on their importance, helping to make informed decisions and prioritize tasks effectively. Crucial for making objective and balanced decisions in project management and product development.
Systematic errors in AI models that arise from the data or algorithms used, leading to poor outcomes. Important for ensuring fairness and accuracy in AI systems.
A problem-solving process that includes logical reasoning, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking. Important for developing efficient and effective solutions in digital product design and development.
A writing style where the most important information is presented at the beginning, followed by supporting details in order of decreasing importance. Crucial for creating clear and effective information hierarchies in content design.
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.
The implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy or limited solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer. Essential for understanding and managing the long-term impacts of short-term technical decisions.
A practice of performing testing activities in the production environment to monitor and validate the behavior and performance of software in real-world conditions. Crucial for ensuring the stability, reliability, and user satisfaction of digital products in a live environment.
A lead that has successfully become a customer. Crucial for measuring the effectiveness of marketing and sales strategies.
The extent to which individuals or organizations plan for and consider the long-term consequences of their actions. Crucial for designing strategies and products that are sustainable and adaptable over time.
An agile methodology that separates product discovery and product delivery into parallel tracks to ensure continuous learning and delivery. Essential for balancing innovation and execution in agile product development.
Research conducted to assess the effectiveness, usability, and impact of a design or product. Essential for validating design decisions and improving user experiences.
The organizational structure and dynamics of teams within a company, designed to enhance collaboration and delivery. Important for optimizing team performance and project outcomes.
A business strategy where the product itself is the primary driver of customer acquisition, retention, and expansion, often through user experience and engagement. Essential for leveraging the product to drive business growth and achieve market success.
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.
A cognitive process where ideas are brought together to find a single, best solution to a problem. Important for problem-solving and decision-making in design processes.
Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) is an acronym for describing the challenging conditions of the modern world. Important for understanding and navigating dynamic and unpredictable environments.
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.
The Principle of Objects is an information architecture guideline that treats content as living, distinct entities with behaviors and attributes. Crucial for creating modular, reusable, and flexible content structures.
A framework for assessing and improving an organization's ethical practices in the development and deployment of AI. Important for ensuring that AI systems are developed responsibly and ethically.
A marketing strategy that uses user behavior data to deliver personalized advertisements and content. Important for improving user engagement and conversion rates by providing relevant and timely information to users.
Tell, Don't Ask (TDA) is a design principle in software engineering that promotes encapsulation by having objects handle their own data and actions. Essential for maintaining object-oriented integrity and reducing dependencies in the code.
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.
Providing clear, concise, and relevant navigation options to help users find what they need quickly. Crucial for improving user experience and efficiency in digital products.
A product development methodology that emphasizes shaping work before starting it, fixing time and team size but leaving scope flexible to ensure high-quality outcomes. Crucial for managing product development efficiently and delivering high-quality results within constraints.
A tendency to avoid making decisions that might lead to regret, influencing risk-taking and decision-making behaviors. Crucial for understanding decision-making processes and designing systems that minimize regret.
Voice of the Customer (VOC) is a process for capturing customers' expectations, preferences, and aversions. Crucial for guiding product development and improving customer satisfaction.
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.
The practice and science of classification, often used to organize content and information. Essential for improving findability and usability in information systems.
A principle stating that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, often used to prioritize tasks and identify key areas of focus. Essential for prioritizing tasks and focusing efforts on the most impactful areas.
A thorough examination of a brand's current position in the market and its effectiveness in reaching its goals. Important for assessing brand health and identifying areas for improvement.
The tendency for people to believe that others are telling the truth, leading to a general assumption of honesty in communication. Important for understanding communication dynamics and designing systems that account for this bias.
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.
A comprehensive review of a brand's design assets and practices to ensure consistency and effectiveness. Important for maintaining a cohesive and effective brand identity.
A Lean methodology concept identifying seven types of waste in processes to improve efficiency. Valuable for product managers and engineers to optimize processes and eliminate inefficiencies.
A blend of physical and digital experiences to create a cohesive user experience. Important for integrating online and offline customer interactions.
A strategy where a team plays the role of an adversary to identify vulnerabilities and improve the security and robustness of a system. Crucial for testing the resilience of digital products and identifying areas for improvement.
A decision-making strategy that involves choosing an option that meets the minimum requirements rather than seeking the optimal solution, balancing effort and outcome. Important for designing user experiences that accommodate decision-making under constraints.
A decision-making rule where individuals choose the option with the highest perceived value based on the first good reason that comes to mind, ignoring other information. Crucial for understanding and designing for quick decision-making processes.
The phenomenon where people remember information better when it is presented through multiple sensory modalities rather than a single modality. Crucial for enhancing memory retention and understanding through multimodal presentations.
Trust, Risk, and Security Management (TRiSM) is a framework for managing the trust, risk, and security of AI systems to ensure they are safe, reliable, and ethical. Essential for ensuring the responsible deployment and management of AI technologies.
A brainstorming technique that involves listing all possible attributes of a product or problem to generate new ideas and solutions. Useful for generating creative solutions and improving product features.
A framework for discovering and validating the right market for a product, building the right product features, and validating the business model. Important for ensuring that products meet market needs and customer expectations.
A software application that combines elements of both native and web applications, running inside a native container. Important for leveraging the advantages of both web and native technologies, providing a balance of performance and flexibility.
The process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. Important for creating designs that are sustainable and contextually appropriate.
An interdisciplinary study of systems, examining the complex interactions and relationships between components within a whole. Crucial for understanding and designing complex, interconnected systems.
A method where a document or proposal is limited to one page and created within one hour to ensure clarity and focus. Crucial for efficient communication and decision-making.
Product Requirements is a document that outlines the essential features, functionalities, and constraints of a product. Crucial for guiding the development process and ensuring all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the product's goals.
The psychological phenomenon where humorous content is more easily remembered and perceived positively by users. Useful for creating engaging and memorable user experiences.