Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Glossary:
General Terms
A/B testing:
Testing two versions of the same product within the same context (accessibility,
route and location) at the same time. This has also been referred to as
split testing
. A/B test-
ing in digital design usually happens when different users accessing the same site are direc-
ted to different pages, each with a version of the proposed product.
Agile:
A software development method that takes user experience into account early,
through flexible and rapid iterations, analysis and adaptation.
Cognitive dissonance:
When a user's partial failure in the proper deployment of a
product leads the user to lower his or her expectations, then describe the resulting substand-
ard experience as a positive one.
Design iteration:
Testing a design through releases (iterations) to users. In a narrow
sense, the term applies to the release of a design, but it has also encompassed the whole test-
ing process up to, but not including analysis.
Dunbar's Number:
The number of people with whom one person can maintain mean-
ingful, stable relationships.
Experience architecture:
The structure of information transfer between webpage and
user, designed to create a pattern or method that the user will recognize, and respond to,
across various platforms and settings.
Eyetracking:
Measuring eye position and movement during site navigation to under-
stand how the eye reacts to a design, usually on a screen.
Feedback loop:
The process of iteration, feedback, analysis, adaptation and reiteration.
The term emphasizes feedback and its results within the loop.
Flow:
Total mental immersion in a task, with no peripheral concerns or distractions.
Comparable to what athletes call “the zone.”
Frictionless:
Applies to any process that has an absence of obstacles or barriers, and is
marked by well-defined movement through clearly delineated paths.
