UX Basics Flashcards
What is a 5-second test ?
Showing participants an interface for a short period & then asking questions about what they remember to gauge first impressions.
What is A/B testing?
Testing 1+ versions of a design in a live product;
Each visitor is randomly assigned to one version of the design, to see if it influences their behavior.
Design accessibility
Focuses on ensuring interfaces and technology can be used by people with disabilities.
affinity diagramming
A method of organizing large sets of individual pieces of information (e.g., ideas or research findings) into related clusters
analytics
(For UX) Collecting data about real user actions on a live site or app
attitudinal research
Asking people what they think or do; Limited by peoples’ awareness, memory, and willingness to report
behavioral research
Observing the actions and choices that people make; Can be influenced if people know they’re being observed
best practices
Guidelines or recommendations for what to do, based on what typically works well
card sorting
Asking participants to sort “cards” representing content and features in a way that makes sense to them
content
The text, information, and voice of a user interface
customer experience (CX)
The field or practice of designing the experience at the relationship level — in other words, designing for all interactions between a company and its users throughout the life of the customer relationship;
A term developed in response to organizations that limit UX to interface design only
design pattern
General, repeatable solution for a common design problem, which can be customized for different contexts;
Sometimes called “components” or “elements”
design system
A complete set of standards intended to manage design at scale using reusable components and patterns;
Reduces redundant design and development work while encouraging consistency
design thinking
The design thinking ideology asserts that a hands-on, user-centric approach to problem solving can lead to innovation, and innovation can lead to differentiation and a competitive advantage.
Defined by the design thinking process and comprises 6 distinct phases: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test, Implement
discovery
A preliminary phase in the design process that involves researching the problem space, framing the problems to be solved, and gathering enough evidence and initial direction on what to do next
eye-tracking
A rare form of usability testing, using special equipment to track the user’s gaze as they interact with an interface;
Useful for seeing what users look at and read on a page;
Can be extremely expensive and time-consuming to run
field studies
Following users in their environment (office, home, etc.) to learn about context, workflows, and pain points
focus groups
Facilitated discussion with a group of target users, typically 5-8 people
heuristic evaluation
A method for finding problems in a design;
Evaluators examine the interface and judge its compliance with recognized principles (the “heuristics”)
ideation
Stage in the design process involving the fast-paced generation of many diverse ideas
inclusive design
Focuses on creating products that understand and enable people of all backgrounds and abilities
information architecture (IA)
How content and features are organized, categorized, and labeled in a user interface
interaction design (IxD)
(Concept) The behavior of interactive systems; How users move through and use a system
interviews
Conversations with users one-on-one
participant
A person who has agreed to participate in a research study
persona
Individual fictional user who doesn’t actually exist, but who represents the needs and goals of a larger demographic;
A tool to help teams empathize for their users & keep their design user-centric.
“pick a word” test
Ask participants to choose from a list of descriptive words (like “clean,” “cluttered,” “professional”)
progressive disclosure
A design tactic involving offering more advanced or detailed features or content only when needed or requested
prototype
The original model of something from which later forms are developed;
Might include visual design and can be static or interactive;
Used to explore, communicate, test or impress
prototype testing
Testing a prototype with real users, usually in usability testing;
Provides feedback on design ideas before coding;
Allows designers to catch problems earlier in the design process
qualitative user research
Focuses on uncovering and collecting insights, observations, quotes, or problems; For example: Interviews, qualitative usability testing, or focus groups
quantitative usability testing
Focuses on collecting metrics that describe a design’s performance (for example, how long on average it takes users to complete a specific task);
Requires more participants than qualitative usability testing (typically around 40 participants)
quantitative user research
Focuses on collecting numerical (quantitative) data;
For example: Analytics, A/B testing, or quantitative usability testing
remote moderated usability testing
Researcher sets up instructions and tasks in a testing platform (e.g. User Zoom or User Testing) and then participants complete those tasks on their own (asynchronously)
remote unmoderated usability testing
Facilitator meets with each participant remotely (typically in a video conferencing tool like Zoom, Skype, or MS Teams)
style guide
Recommended ways to present various UI components consistently across an organization, application, or operating system;
Examples: Branding, content, visual design, interaction design
surveys
Set of questions asked to a large number of respondents
touchpoint
Represents a specific interaction between a customer and an organization. It includes the device being used, the channel used for the interaction, and the specific task being completed
tree testing
Participants attempt findability tasks with a prototype that consists only of navigation menus – no content or visual design
usability
Refers to how easy a user interface is to use;
Defined by the five quality components of learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, and satisfaction
usability testing
In a usability-testing session, a researcher (called a “facilitator” or a “moderator”) 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.
Sometimes called “user testing”
user experience (UX)
(Concept) The totality of the technology, content, interaction, and aesthetics that people experience from all touchpoints
(Field) The act of doing research and design activities, and generally working to deliver a good experience
user interface (UI)
The part of a system that the user can see and interact with
user journey map
A visualization of the process that a person goes through in order to accomplish a goal
user story
Requirements statement which references the purpose of a feature, to help a developer understand how it relates to the overall experience;
Typically in the format: “As a [type of user], I want to [goal], so that [benefit].”
user-centered design
A philosophy and process that puts the focus of product design and development on the needs, thoughts, and behaviors of the product’s users
UX designer
A UX professional who interprets research findings and translates them to design decisions; Designs interfaces, and creates prototypes
UX researcher
A UX professional who studies, analyzes, and communicates how users work and use products/services
visual design
(Concept) How an interface looks — its aesthetics, color, typography, and graphics
wireframe
A type of prototype;
A simplified representation of an interface in which visual design is not included
workshop
Unlike meetings, where things are discussed, UX workshops are more action-oriented — they focus on solving problems, making decisions, or creating artifacts.
