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.
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.
A fictional representation of a user segment, created based on user research to guide design decisions and ensure the product meets the needs of its target audience. Crucial for keeping design efforts focused on user needs and preferences.
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 process of overseeing and coordinating the development, testing, and deployment of software releases to ensure they are delivered efficiently and effectively. Essential for managing software development cycles and ensuring successful product releases.
A testing phase where a product is released to a limited audience outside the development team to identify issues and gather feedback before the final release. Essential for refining a product based on real user feedback and ensuring it meets user needs.
The process of quickly creating a preliminary version of a product to test and validate ideas before full-scale development. Important for validating design concepts and gathering user feedback early.
The practice of quickly testing and iterating on ideas to validate assumptions and learn from user feedback in a short time frame. Essential for agile development and making data-driven decisions efficiently.
The process of creating an early model of a product to test and validate ideas, features, and design choices before full-scale production. Essential for validating design choices and gathering user feedback early in the development process.
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 professional responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects, ensuring they are completed on time, within scope, and on budget. Crucial for managing project activities and ensuring successful delivery of project goals.
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.
The process of identifying and assessing the influence and interest of various stakeholders in a project, to prioritize engagement and communication strategies. Crucial for effectively managing stakeholder relationships and ensuring project success.
A large body of work that can be broken down into smaller tasks or user stories, used in agile project management to organize work. Essential for managing and organizing large projects in agile development.
Metrics that may look impressive but do not provide meaningful insights into the success or performance of a product or business, such as total page views or social media likes. Important for distinguishing between metrics that drive real business value and those that do not.
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.
A combination of software tools, technologies, and services used to develop, manage, and deliver a product. Crucial for understanding the infrastructure that supports product development and management.
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.
The process of identifying, assessing, and controlling dependencies between tasks or projects to minimize risks and ensure smooth project execution. Crucial for effective project management and delivery.
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.
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 collective term for Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), and Request for Quotation (RFQ) processes used in procurement. Crucial for managing vendor selection and procurement processes in digital product development.
An ongoing process of learning about user needs and validating assumptions through continuous research and experimentation. Crucial for staying responsive to user needs and improving products iteratively.
A professional responsible for the strategy, roadmap, and feature definition of a product or product line, ensuring it meets market needs and business goals. Essential for guiding the development and success of products from conception to market.
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.
Build-Measure-Learn (BML) is a feedback loop used in Lean Startup methodology where a product is built, its performance is measured, and learnings are used to make improvements. Essential for iterating quickly and efficiently to create products that better meet user needs and market demands.
The practicality of implementing a solution based on technical constraints and capabilities. Crucial for evaluating the viability of design and development projects.
The process of identifying user needs and market opportunities to inform the development of new products or features. Crucial for ensuring that products are user-centered and meet real market demands.
The series of stages a product goes through from initial concept to market release, including planning, design, development, testing, and launch. Essential for understanding the full lifecycle of product creation and bringing products to market efficiently.
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.
A term used to describe an organization focused on continuously shipping new features, often at the expense of quality, user experience, or business value. Crucial for recognizing and addressing the pitfalls of prioritizing quantity over quality in feature development.
Joint Application Development (JAD) is a collaborative approach to gathering requirements and designing solutions in software development projects. It facilitates rapid decision-making and consensus-building by bringing together key stakeholders, including users, developers, and project managers, in structured workshop sessions.
The abilities and knowledge required to effectively plan, execute, and close projects, including leadership, communication, time management, and risk management. Essential for ensuring successful project outcomes and achieving business objectives.
The risk that the product cannot be built as envisioned due to technical limitations, resource constraints, or other practical challenges. Important for confirming that the product can be realistically developed and deployed with the available technology and resources.
A decision-making tool that helps prioritize tasks or projects based on specific criteria, such as impact and effort. Essential for effective project management and resource allocation.
User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience of a person using a product, system, or service, encompassing all aspects of the end-user's interaction. Crucial for creating products that are not only functional but also enjoyable, efficient, and satisfying to use.
The process of evaluating a product by testing it with real users to gather feedback and identify usability issues. Essential for validating design decisions and ensuring the product meets user needs.
The act of designing and implementing subtle interventions to influence behavior in a predictable way. Crucial for guiding user behavior effectively without limiting freedom of choice.
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 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.
Return on Investment (ROI) is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment or compare the efficiency of different investments. Crucial for assessing the financial effectiveness of business decisions, projects, or initiatives.
Model-View-Controller (MVC) is an architectural pattern that separates an application into three main logical components: the Model (data), the View (user interface), and the Controller (processes that handle input). Essential for creating modular, maintainable, and scalable software applications by promoting separation of concerns.
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.
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.
Quantitative measures used to track and assess the performance and success of a product, such as usage rates, customer satisfaction, and revenue. Essential for making data-driven decisions to improve product performance and achieve business goals.
Middle of Funnel (MoFu) is the stage in the sales funnel where leads are being nurtured and evaluated before becoming sales-ready. Crucial for converting leads into prospects and moving them closer to purchase.
ModelOps (Model Operations) is a set of practices for deploying, monitoring, and maintaining machine learning models in production environments. Crucial for ensuring the reliability, scalability, and performance of AI systems throughout their lifecycle, bridging the gap between model development and operational implementation.
The distribution of a new or updated software product to users. Important for delivering new features, improvements, and fixes to users, ensuring continuous enhancement of the product.
A principle often used in behavioral economics that suggests people evaluate options based on relative comparisons rather than absolute values. Important for understanding decision-making and designing choices that highlight beneficial comparisons.
A qualitative research method where a small group of people discuss a product, service, or concept to gather diverse insights and opinions. Important for gaining in-depth understanding of user perceptions and needs.
The introduction of a new product to the market, involving planning, marketing, and distribution efforts to maximize its initial impact. Essential for ensuring a successful market entry and driving early adoption and sales.
A system where outputs are fed back into the process as inputs, allowing for continuous improvement based on user responses. Crucial for iterative development and continuous improvement in design and product management.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is the process of managing an application's development, maintenance, and eventual retirement throughout its lifecycle. Important for ensuring the sustainability and effectiveness of digital products over time.
A structured evaluation process where a product's design, functionality, and user experience are assessed, often by peers or experts. Essential for identifying areas for improvement and fostering a culture of continuous enhancement.
Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, and Ethical (STEEPLE) is an analysis tool that examines the factors influencing an organization. Crucial for comprehensive strategic planning and risk management in product design.
The systematic identification, analysis, planning, and implementation of actions designed to engage and influence stakeholders in a project. Crucial for maintaining positive relationships and ensuring stakeholder support throughout the project lifecycle.