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UX Glossary

UX Glossary

Due to the vast vocabulary of industry-specific terms, communicating with user experience (UX) designers can be challenging for new designers and clients alike. In order to help, we put together a living glossary filled with UX terms to help you better understand the user experience design world.

A

Affordance

Affordances are properties or features of an object that communicate to users that they can interact with something.

App Modernization

App modernization refers to the process of updating an existing application with new and modern features to better meet user needs.

B

Brand Review

Designers perform a brand review to learn how the brand is applied currently and identify future areas needing improvement.

Breadcrumb

Breadcrumbs are a type of secondary navigation on a digital product that show users where they are and how they got there.

C

Card Sort

Card sorts are generative research activities that ask participants to organize content based on their understanding of that content and...

Choreography

A choreography describes how well the meaning and structure behind the system work together to delight the user and help them reach their...

Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis looks at alternatives that current or potential customers have to the product in question.

D

Design Principles

Design principles are the guiding pillars of any project that help inform every design decision.

Design System

A design system is a documented catalog of components and styles used within a product, including how and why each should be implemented.

Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is the modernization of processes within an organization to include new, modern, digital products and services.

Discovery Research

Discovery research encompasses all UX research conducted to better understand the intended users of the product, including their goals, the...

E

Ecosystem Map

An ecosystem map details the context in which the product lives or will live. Depending on the project, this may include people,...

Empathy Map

An empathy map is an exercise designed to capture and organize data about your users' emotions and environment. What are they seeing,...

Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research describes UX research that is observational and done in-context.

F

Findings Report

A findings report summarizes completed research so all project stakeholders can understand the findings.

H

Handoff

The design handoff is the process of passing all of the necessary deliverables to the development team so that they can bring the product...

Heuristic Review

A heuristic review evaluates an existing product on general design heuristics and best practices, looking at the interaction and visual...

I

Information Architecture

Information architecture is the way designers organize and structure information to make it easy for users to understand complex systems.

Interaction Concepting

Interaction concepting is a collaborative activity that begins to translate findings from research and synthesis into more tangible ideas...

J

Journey Map

Journey maps provide an understanding of the full life-cycle of your users’ experience, mapping both their non-digital and digital touch...

K

Kickoff

A kickoff workshop brings client and design together to align on a common understanding of the project, including who the project...

L

Legacy Application

Legacy application is outdated software that has been in a standstill with updates and technical support.

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem ipsum is pseudo-Latin placeholder text used to give stakeholders an idea of what text could look like in a wireframe or design comp.

M

Moodboards

Moodboards explore a visual design foundation for a new application. They provide coverage of the foundational elements of a visual design...

N

NPS

NPS stands for Net Promoter Score, which is a quantative metrix used to gauge customer satisfaction over a period of time. NPS is...

O

Ontology

Ontologies document the relationships between concepts and/or content within a given domain.

P

Pattern Inventory

A pattern inventory is an audit of all UI patterns utilized within a product.

Persona

Personas describe different representative users, including their goals, pain points, and other relevant factors that could affect their...

Process Flow

A process flow maps the workflow that a user (or users) will follow to complete common tasks.

R

ROI

ROI (return on investment) is a measurement to determine the effectiveness of funding towards a project, system, etc.

S

Scenario

Scenarios extend personas to describe how they would act in different situations, telling stories about how they behave and what they think...

Site Map

Site maps are diagrams that show how pages of a website are organized.

Storyboards

Storyboards visually depict a concept and how it would work in practice.

SUPR-Q

The SUPR-Q is a standard measurement of a user's perception of a website.

T

Task Matrix

A Task Matrix captures a list of activities that users complete. Often, this includes which users perform each task (if there are multiple...

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the organized structure in which something exist that allows us to more deeply understand its function. We use taxonomies to...

Tree Test

A Tree Test is a user research method that evaluates a site or tool's information architecture.

U

Usability Testing

Usability testing is a research method that puts design into the hands of the people who use the product today, or may use it in the...

V

Visual Design

Visual design refers to all of the color, typography, graphics, imagery, and essentially everything that aides to the overall look and feel...

W

Wireframes

Wireframes are low to mid-fidelity screen designs that showcase layout and interaction. Taken as a whole, wireframes show workflow across...

Z

zArchive

The zArchive is where files from days (or months) gone by go to live out the rest of their digital lives. We use it to hold anything that...

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