glossary

Everything about how it feels to use a thing, not just how it looks.

TERM·001Term · UX

The part of the product you actually see and touch.

TERM·002Term · UI

Whether people can actually do what they came to do, without too much trouble.

TERM·003Term · UX

What something lets you do, whether or not you can tell.

TERM·004Term · Interaction design

The visual hint that tells you something is clickable.

TERM·005Term · Interaction design

A rule that is usually right, used to spot problems quickly.

TERM·006Term · UX

How hard your brain has to work to get something done.

TERM·007Term · UX

Breaking a long string into groups so it is easier to remember.

TERM·008Term · UX

What someone believes is going on inside the product.

TERM·009Term · UX

How the designers wish you would think the product works.

TERM·010Term · UX

How the content is organised and named so people can find it.

TERM·011Term · UX

The agreed set of categories things get filed under.

TERM·012Term · UX

Information about the content rather than the content itself.

TERM·013Term · UX

Whether people can find the thing.

TERM·014Term · UX

How well a link tells you whether it goes where you want.

TERM·015Term · UX

Show the basics, hide the extras until asked.

TERM·016Term · UX

Designing everything around the product, including the parts staff use.

TERM·017Term · UX

Any moment where someone deals with the company.

TERM·018Term · UX

Research that tells you why, usually by watching or talking to people.

TERM·019Term · Research

Research that tells you how many and how often.

TERM·020Term · Research

Research to work out what to build.

TERM·021Term · Research

Research to check whether what you built is any good.

TERM·022Term · Research

Checking a finding more than one way before believing it.

TERM·023Term · Research

How many people you studied.

TERM·024Term · Research

The difference is probably real, not luck.

TERM·025Term · Research

How big the difference actually is.

TERM·026Term · Research

Asking people to say what they are thinking as they use something.

TERM·027Term · Research

A researcher is there and can ask follow-up questions.

TERM·028Term · Research

The participant does it on their own, with no researcher present.

TERM·029Term · Research

Studying the same people over weeks or months.

TERM·030Term · Research

A starting measurement so you can tell whether things improved.

TERM·031Term · Research

The one number the whole team is trying to move.

TERM·032Term · Product management

A number that looks good and tells you nothing.

TERM·033Term · Product management

Designing what happens when you do things.

TERM·034Term · Interaction design

A tiny interaction like a toggle switching or a like button filling in.

TERM·035Term · Interaction design

What condition something is currently in.

TERM·036Term · UI

A reusable building block of the interface.

TERM·037Term · Design systems

A known way of solving a common problem.

TERM·038Term · UI

A rough sketch of what goes where.

TERM·039Term · UI

A picture of what it will look like, but you cannot click it.

TERM·040Term · UI

Something you can click through to test an idea.

TERM·041Term · UI

How finished something looks or behaves.

TERM·042Term · UI

One design that reflows to fit any screen.

TERM·043Term · UI

The width where the layout switches to a different arrangement.

TERM·044Term · UI

The part of the page you can see without scrolling.

TERM·045Term · UI

What you see before you scroll.

TERM·046Term · UI

Grey blocks showing where content will appear.

TERM·047Term · UI

A box that takes over the screen until you deal with it.

TERM·048Term · UI