Common terminology

A

A/B Test: (aka, Split Test) A quantitative user experience research method that involves comparing two versions of something to figure out which performs better.

Accessibility: (aka, Web Accessibility) The inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed. Learn more about Accessibility

Analytics: (aka, Product Usage Analytics) The process of gathering in-product data to understand how users interact with your product. Analytics can give insight into which features are most popular and what friction points or issues users are running into.

B

Benchmark Test: A quantitative testing method that is used to measure a product or service’s performance against established standards. Benchmarks must be repeatable and quantifiable.

C

Card Sorting: A qualitative user experience research method in which study participants group individual labels written on notecards according to criteria that make sense to them. This method uncovers how the target audience’s domain knowledge is structured, and it serves to create an information architecture that matches users’ expectations.

Convergent thinking: Introduced by psychologist JP Guilford in 1956, convergent thinking focuses on reaching one well-defined solution to a problem. Convergent thinking exercises are often done to select and prioritize solution ideas that were put forward in a divergent thinking exercise.

D

Design System: A complete set of standards intended to manage design at scale using reusable components and patterns. A design system is intended to create a unified language within and between teams, create visual consistency across projects, allow design and development work to be created quickly, alleviate strain on design resources to focus on larger, more complex problems and serve as an educational tool for junior designers. Learn more about the MAACE Design System Learn more about the Canada.ca design system

Divergent thinking: Introduced by psychologist JP Guilford in 1956, divergent thinking is a creative process used to generate new ideas through free-flowing and unstructured brainstorming. It encourages any and all possibilities, rather than taking the fastest, straightest path to one answer. Often used with convergent thinking.

E

F

Filters: (aka, Faceted Navigation or Faceted Search) A design pattern that allows users to narrow down a data set or options based on specific criteria.

G

H

Happy Path: The error-free path that users take to achieve the desired result. This is the ideal process, without any exceptions or alternate paths. For example, the happy path for getting into the system would be that the user already has an account, knows their credentials, enters them correctly, the system authenticates the user, and they can access the system. (This is often contrasted with the “Unhappy Path”.)

I

Increment: In agile software development, this is a concrete step toward the Product Goal. Each Increment is additive to all prior Increments, fully integrated and thoroughly tested, ensuring that all Increments work together. In order to provide value, each Increment must be usable.

Information architecture (IA): the discipline of making information findable and understandable. It includes searching, browsing, categorizing and presenting relevant and contextual information to help people understand their surroundings and find what they’re looking for online and in the real world (definition taken from interaction-design.org).

Iterative Design: The process by which a designer creates a design, validates it with their target audience and refines the design according to the audience’s feedback. Iterative design creates more usable products, helps designers learn whether the product solves real user problems, and reduces the cost of production.

J

Job Shadowing: A qualitative user experience research method that involves observing the users in the environment where they work every day.

Journey Map: (aka, user journey map or customer journey map) A journey map is a visualization of the process that a person goes through in order to accomplish a goal. Journey maps include the actor, scenarios and expectations, journey phases, actions, mindsets, emotions, pain points and opportunities for improvement. 

K

KPI (key performance indicator): A specific, quantifiable measure of success that allows you to track and evaluate performance. For example, the load time of the request dashboard must be lower than 10 milliseconds.

L

M

Moderated Usability Testing: Usability testing that uses a facilitator a host, support, and collect responses. (Related: Unmoderated Usability Testing)

N

O

OKR (objectives and key results): Objectives are short, qualitative descriptions of what you’re trying to achieve, and the key results (often 2 to 4 of them) accompanying each objective or quantitative metrics that measure the progress of the OKR. For example, the objective could be “Improve customer experience” and two key results could be: (1) reduce amount of customer support calls by 10%, and (2) improve customer satisfaction score by 4%.

P

Persona: A persona is a fictional, yet realistic, description of a typical or target user of the product. A persona is an archetype instead of an actual living human, but personas should be described as if they were real people. 

Q

Qualitative User Research: The process of collecting and analyzing non-numerical data in the form of opinions, comments, behaviors, feelings, or motivations. Qualitative data aims to give an in-depth look at human behavioral patterns. 

Quantitative User Research: The process of collecting and analyzing objective, measurable data from various types of user testing. Quantitative data is almost always numerical and focuses on the statistical, mathematical, and computational analysis of data.

R

Responsive Design: An approach to web design in which the interface adapts to the specific layout of a user’s device, facilitating usability, navigation, accessibility and access to information. Learn more about responsive design in the MAACE Design System

S

Service Blueprint: A service blueprint is a diagram that displays the entire process of service delivery, by listing all the activities that happen at each stage, performed by the different roles involved, and including the systems that support each step in the process. Service blueprints can be thought of as part two of journey mapping and are valuable for breaking down complex scenarios spanning many service-related offerings. 

Survey: A user experience research method in which a participant responds to multiple-choice or open-ended questions that are presented to them online, on paper, or by phone. Surveys can be qualitative or quantitative.

T

U

Unmoderated Usability Testing: Usability testing in which participants are not supervised by a moderator. The test is prepared in advance, and participants are responsible for completing it on their own. (Related: Moderated Usability Testing)

Usability Test: A user experience research method in which a researcher asks a participant to perform tasks, usually using one or more specific user interfaces. While the participant completes each task, the researcher observes the participant’s behavior and listens for feedback. Usability tests can be qualitative or quantitative. 

User Interview: A qualitative user experience research method in which an interviewer asks a participant questions about a topic, listens to their responses, and follows up with further questions to learn more details.

V

W

Wireframe: A two-dimensional skeletal outline of a webpage or app. The main objective of a wireframe is to provide a clear overview of the page structure, layout, information architecture, user flow, functionality, and intended behaviors of a digital product. Wireframes are often done in grayscale, do not include images, logos, or branding, and do not include any copy text.  

X

Y

Z