Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept in educational psychology that describes the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance and support. Crucial for designing effective educational experiences and scaffolding that promote optimal learning and skill development.
Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) is a machine learning technique that uses human input to guide the training of AI models. Essential for improving the alignment and performance of AI systems in real-world applications.
The study of how people acquire knowledge, skills, and behaviors through experience, practice, and instruction. Useful for creating educational content and interactive tutorials that enhance user learning.
A learning phenomenon where information is better retained when study sessions are spaced out over time rather than crammed in a short period. Crucial for designing educational tools and content that optimize long-term retention.
A theory that suggests the depth of processing (shallow to deep) affects how well information is remembered. Important for designing educational content and user interfaces that enhance memory retention.
In AI and machine learning, a prompt that specifies what should be avoided or excluded in the generated output, guiding the system to produce more accurate and relevant results. Crucial for refining AI-generated content by providing clear instructions on undesired elements, improving output quality and relevance.
A guided, interactive overlay that introduces users to features or tasks within an application. Crucial for onboarding new users and enhancing user understanding of complex features.
A method used in AI and machine learning to ensure prompts and inputs are designed to produce the desired outcomes. Essential for improving the accuracy and relevance of AI responses.
A navigation design pattern where users follow a specific order of steps or stages to complete a task, often used in forms, surveys, and instructional guides. Essential for guiding users through processes in a clear and structured manner, improving usability.
Pre-set options in a system that are designed to benefit users by simplifying decisions and guiding them towards the best choices. Essential for improving user experience and ensuring that users make optimal decisions with minimal effort.
The process of guiding new users through the initial stages of using a product or service, helping them become familiar with its features and benefits. Essential for enhancing user retention and satisfaction by ensuring a smooth introduction to the product.
Modifications or additions to a system that encourage specific user behaviors. Important for guiding user actions and improving the effectiveness of interactions.
A step-by-step guide that helps users complete a complex task by breaking it down into manageable steps. Crucial for improving usability and ensuring users can successfully complete multi-step processes.
Human in the Loop (HITL) integrates human judgment into the decision-making process of AI systems. Crucial for ensuring AI reliability and alignment with human values.
Research aimed at exploring and identifying new opportunities, needs, and ideas to inform the design process. Essential for discovering user insights and guiding innovative design solutions.
The process by which attention is guided by internal goals and external stimuli, affecting how information is processed and remembered. Useful for designing user interfaces that direct user attention effectively.
A strategic framework that designs user experiences to guide behavior and decisions towards desired outcomes. Crucial for creating effective and ethical influence in digital interfaces.
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 theory that explains how the amount of mental effort required to process information can impact user experience and task performance. Important for designing user interfaces that minimize unnecessary cognitive effort, enhancing usability and user satisfaction.
Visual cues or instructions integrated into an interface to guide users on how to use certain features or functionalities. Important for improving user onboarding and enhancing the user experience.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development. Essential for validating product ideas quickly and cost-effectively, allowing teams to learn about customer needs without fully developing the product.
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.
A principle stating that users spend most of their time on other websites and prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know. Crucial for designing user-friendly and familiar interfaces.
The systematic approach to managing innovation processes, from idea generation to implementation. Crucial for effectively harnessing creativity and ensuring successful innovation outcomes.
A web-based interface that allows customers to find information and perform tasks without needing assistance from a customer service representative. Essential for improving customer experience and reducing support costs.
The phenomenon where people follow the direction of another person's gaze, influencing their attention and behavior. Important for understanding visual attention and designing more effective visual cues in interfaces.
A cognitive bias where consumers change their preference between two options when presented with a third, less attractive option. Useful for designers to create choice architectures that effectively influence user decisions.
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.
Call to Action (CTA) is a prompt that encourages users to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. Crucial for guiding user behavior and increasing engagement or conversions on digital platforms.
A research process used to identify and understand the underlying needs of users to inform the design of products and services. Essential for creating user-centered designs that address real user needs.
The study of the nature, structure, and variation of language, including phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Essential for understanding how language influences communication and user interactions in digital products.
A test proposed by Alan Turing to determine if a machine's behavior is indistinguishable from that of a human. Important for evaluating the intelligence of AI systems.
Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is a detailed document that outlines the functional and non-functional requirements of a software system. Crucial for ensuring clear communication and understanding between stakeholders and the development team.
The cues and hints that users follow to find information online, based on perceived relevance and usefulness. Important for designing intuitive navigation and content structures that align with user expectations.
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.
Pre-selected options in a user interface that are chosen to benefit the majority of users. Essential for simplifying decision-making and improving user experience by reducing the need for customization.
A research method that focuses on collecting and analyzing numerical data to identify patterns, relationships, and trends, often using surveys or experiments. Essential for making data-driven decisions and validating hypotheses with statistical evidence.
Product Strategy is a framework that outlines how a product will achieve its business goals and satisfy customer needs. Crucial for guiding product development, prioritizing features, and aligning the team around a clear vision.
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.
Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR) are the four main principles of web accessibility. These principles are essential for creating inclusive digital experiences that can be accessed and used by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.
Portfolio Management is the process of overseeing and coordinating an organization's collection of products to achieve strategic objectives. Crucial for balancing resources, maximizing ROI, and aligning products with business goals.
The spread and pattern of data values in a dataset, often visualized through graphs or statistical measures. Critical for understanding the characteristics of data and informing appropriate analysis techniques in digital product development.
A metric that predicts how well a specific page will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). Important for understanding and improving a webpage's search engine performance.
A logical fallacy where people assume that specific conditions are more probable than a single general one. Important for understanding and addressing cognitive biases in user behavior.
A range of values, derived from sample statistics, that is likely to contain the value of an unknown population parameter. Essential for making inferences about population parameters and understanding the precision of estimates in product design analysis.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction based on their likelihood to recommend a product or service to others. Crucial for gauging overall customer sentiment and predicting business growth through customer advocacy.
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 set of ten general principles for user interface design created by Jakob Nielsen to improve usability. Essential for evaluating and improving user interface designs.
Bottom of Funnel (BoFu) refers to the stage in the sales funnel where prospects are close to making a purchase decision. Important for tailoring marketing and sales efforts to convert leads into customers.
A common solution to a recurring problem that is ineffective and counterproductive, often resulting in negative consequences. Important for recognizing and avoiding poor design practices and improving overall design quality.
A heuristic where individuals evenly distribute resources across all options, regardless of their specific needs or potential. Useful for understanding and designing around simplistic decision-making strategies.
Anchoring (also known as Focalism) is a cognitive bias where individuals rely heavily on the first piece of information (the "anchor") when making decisions. Crucial for understanding and mitigating initial information's impact on user decision-making processes.
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.
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.
Total Addressable Market (TAM) represents the total revenue opportunity available if a product or service achieves 100% market share. Essential for understanding the full potential of a market.
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 practice of linking one page of a website to another page on the same website, improving navigation, user experience, and SEO. Essential for enhancing website structure, user engagement, and search engine optimization.
A reading pattern where users focus on individual elements or "spots" of interest on a page, rather than following a linear path. Crucial for designing engaging and attention-grabbing content layouts.
Information Visualization (InfoVis) is the study and practice of visual representations of abstract data to reinforce human cognition. Crucial for transforming complex data into intuitive visual formats, enabling faster insights and better decision-making.