CUA Certification

BOBBY

A Java application that tests a Web page for accessibility.

Functioning prototype

A Web design prototype that functions almost like a final product. Such a prototype is used in Web usability tests especially where navigation is the most critical.

Combo box

A combination of a text entry field and a dropdown list to allow users to either select from existing options or type a completely new entry.

Error analysis

A component of task analysis, which strives to identify the frequency and types of errors that occur for a specified set of task flows. Can include Errors of Omission, Errors of Commission, Sequence Errors, or Timing Errors.

Acceptable margin of error

A criterion, based on sample size, which helps determine the level of confidence you can have in your research findings.

Explicit save

A data-saving feature that requires the user to clearly state that the data needs to be stored in the memory. (Also see Implicit save.)

Check digit

A digit in a numeric code that is derived from the code itself and made a part of it. A local program validates the code by recalculating the check digit and comparing it with the rest of the code. This precludes the need to accessing the database to detect erroneous input of a code.

Focus groups

A direct data gathering method in which a small group (8-10) of participants are led in a semi-structured, brainstorming session to elicit rapid feedback about an interface under development. Focus group data is most useful for generating new ideas or functions for an interface, rather than evaluating an existing one. Group dynamics often make focus group data suspect.

Contextual inquiry

A direct data gathering method in which the usability analyst shadows an enduser through their day/ tasks. Helpful for developing a clear understanding of both the context of the tasks and a compressive environmental analysis.

Auto skip

A feature that automatically takes the cursor to the next text entry field after the user reaches the end of the previous field without having to hit "Tab." This reduces one keyboard entry, but turns out to be a nuisance as the "skipping" does not happen if the user does not reach the end of the field. In such cases, the "Tab" still has to be used. The user then goes into a pattern of hitting "Tab" after every entry and ends up skipping a field altogether after reaching the end of the previous field.

Accumulator

A graphic widget that allows the selection of multiple items from a list into a new functional group.

Affinity diagram

A group decision-making technique designed to sort a large number of ideas, concepts, and opinions into naturally related groups. Used in documenting task or content relationships, often created from card sort activities or group brainstorming.

Cascading menus

A hierarchical menu system that appears as the user highlights individual items in the menu. The number of levels in the hierarchy can vary. A cascading menu hides site content, and can require a high degree of manual dexterity to manipulate, causing frustration as the number of levels increases.

Drop-down list box

A list of limited options that is displayed below a field after clicking it, to avoid errors and save keystrokes.

Alert messages

A message, generally modal, sent to warn the user of the nature of the consequence of an action performed by the user. Alert messages typically convey errors, warnings, or important notes.

Belt and suspender rule

A metaphor for using attributes one at a time. For example, make the header bold or increase the font size; not both. When using a belt, one doesn't need suspenders. Belt and suspender rule :To show font hierarchy, increase font size, or make text bold; not both

Conceptual model

A model constructed by the users in their mind to understand the working or the structure of objects, with previous experience to speed up their understanding. Also called mental model.

Executive champion

A person in an organization who takes upon himself the task of advocating usability and encourages products to be designed with the end-user's needs in mind. Also called key opinion leader.

Design validation

A post hoc evaluation that the site has the functions and elements identified as needed in the user analysis. Tests the correspondence of the design with the end users' actual needs.

Computer expertise

A relative comfort with technology; adeptness while using a computer or advanced technology. (Also see Domain expertise.)

Gestalt principles

A set of principles developed by the Gestalt Psychology Movement that established rules governing how humans perceive order in a complex field of objects. Gestalt principles of visual organization state that objects near each other, with same background, connected to each other, or having similar appearance are perceived as belonging to a group. (Also see Common region, Connectedness, Proximity, and Similarity.)

Hierarchical structures (in information architecture)

A set of various levels of groups and subgroups for categorizing items, often used to organize the content on a Web site.

Context sensitive popup menu

A short list of choices or instructions with information that is customized for a particular area of a program, appearing on screen in a small window.

Analysis paralysis

A situation where designers spend too much time reducing data or analyzing tasks at the cost of overlooking emerging opportunities for design improvement and this analysis phase only ends when the project is cancelled.

Environmental profile

A snapshot of the circumstances external to the users and their tasks, which affect their accomplishing their goals with the system. Includes the setting, circumstances, and physical systems used. (Also see Task profile and User profile).

Deuteranopia

A specific type of color weakness based on the reduced ability to perceive colors within the green spectrum. Reportedly the most common type of color weakness.

Detailed design

A step in the design process, followed by high-level structure, navigation and architecture, that focuses on presentation, content and interaction issues. Advanced prototypes are generated to test detailed page elements such as controls, color, graphics, and wording.

Card sorting

A technique to investigate how users tend to group items in order to maximize the possibility of their finding what they are looking for on the Web. The users are given a set of cards containing individual item names and are told to sort them into related piles and label the groups. Card sorting provides insight into the user's mental model and suggests the structure and placement of items on a Web site.

Editorial links

A term for links that dynamically come and go on top-level pages of a site depending on the promotional needs of the site. To be differentiated from browsing or search elements that remain stable and permanent on the site over time.

Browse system

A term for the menu of links that depict the major areas of the site and its sublevels. The browse system is the primary content organization and navigation system for large content sites. Browsing is a form of user interaction that supports information seeking and learning through the associations of content links and elements designed into the site.

Content design

A term given to a set of design areas that focuses on the information value of content, as opposed to the presentation of it. The content topics include editorial style, internationalization, and accessibility. The term content design intends to differentiate these topics from other topics for purposes of evaluation and development.

Cognitive friction

A term relating to the relative difficulty of a task and the mental effort required to complete it. Tasks that present choices and actions in accordance to the user's expectations are considered as having a low level of friction, while those that require deliberation are said to be high in cognitive friction.

Error of commission

A type of error in which a user performs an act incorrectly. This could involve providing an incorrect input, for example. (Also see Error of omission, Sequence error.)

Content graphic

A type of graphic designed for the purpose of providing specific content, as differentiated from graphics that add aesthetic value or brand value. Examples of content graphics include complex charts, maps, and product photographs. Of all the graphic types, content graphics are the most likely to serve as a destination in their own right, as opposed to a marker for entry into information (e.g., icon).

Efficiency

A usability metric that captures how easily a task is completed with a given interface (e.g., time for completion, number of key-strokes for completion). Must be measurable in quantitative terms.

Free exploration test

A usability test in which participants are asked to use the site without scenarios in order to procure more realistic data on how the site is typically explored. This test provides useful insights on how choices are made on a site.

Cognitive walkthrough

A usability testing strategy in which a developer group systematically evaluates each element on every screen in the context of the various tasks (e.g., how likely would a user click this button for Task A? What would happen if they did? Etc.).

Accessibility

Accessibility is about providing access to information for as many people as possible—by working in a variety of operating contexts, and using a multitude of browser technologies to access information published on the Web. Mistakenly used in context of catering to disabled users only. (Also see Section 508.)

Behavioral response

Actions performed by a person as a conscious reaction to external or internal stimuli. (Also see visceral response, reflective response.)

Active voice

Active voice A sentence structure where the subject performs the action of the verb and the object receives the action. For example, "The user selects the dropdown box." Active voice differs from the passive voice wherein the subject receives the action. For e.g., "The drop-down box is selected by the user."

Ad hoc navigation

Ad hoc navigation A navigation structure that involves representing words or phrases within sentences or paragraphs as embedded hypertext links. This adds more flexibility to the formal navigation structure and freedom to emphasize important or salient content. (Term coined by Rosenfeld and Morville,1998.)

Aerobic widgets

Aerobic widgets An effect wherein, after a user makes a selection, fields shift all over the screen to allow enabling and disabling of further input based on that selection. This is obviously undesirable. It is often advisable to use "Deferred Create" areas instead. (Term coined by Deborah Mayhew.)

Expectancy test

An early usability test to evaluate the initial mental model of the user and their expectations about what the application or site would do. This test is usually done prior to a performance test.

Basic navigation model

An elementary model for navigation that defines how a user can move within a site. The basic models are: These models support primary user tasks. When used in combination, they support complex task requirements.

Error of omission

An error in which a user fails to perform a specific task or step (Also see Error of commission, Sequence error.)

Decision table

An information mapping technique that simplifies complex logic presented in textual form by re-writing it as a visual table.

Active listening

An interviewing technique in which the interviewer rephrases the interviewee's responses to confirm understanding. Rephrasing should be neutral and provide opportunities for interviewees to describe issues in greater depth.

Concept sketch

An outline drawing to indicate ideas about how to solve a specific design problem. It excludes the level of detail that goes into the final product. Concept sketches are used at the beginning of the design process to quickly explore different ideas and to narrow down to an effective design.

Customer-developer links

As defined by Keil and Carmel (1995), connections between developers and endusers in the software development process. These can be direct (developers talk to end-users) or indirect (developers interact with intermediary user representatives).

Ascender

Ascender In typography, the upward vertical stem on some lowercase letters, such as "f" and "b," which extends above the x-height.

Fusing data

Bringing multiple levels of information into a single view in order to simplify the decision making process.

Design moves

Changes made to the design based on test results.

Click stream

Click stream The trail of mouse clicks made by a user while performing a particular task. It often refers to linking from one page to another on the Web.

Hypertext structures (in information architecture)

Cross-linked structures within a Web site or application. Hypertext structures are typically used to enhance navigation within hierarchical silos when the silos are not discrete.

Cross checking (cross validation)

Error checking technique usually applied to forms that compare two or more field inputs.

Heuristics

Established principles of design and best practices in Web site design, used as a method of solving usability problems by using rules of thumb acquired from human factors experience.

Feature creep

Excessive provision of features in a product in an attempt to make it more technologically competitive but failing in usability.

Font salad

Excessive usage of font families, styles, and sizes in one single page.

Function

General means or action in which a system or sub-system fulfills its requirements Usually expressed in verb form, e.g., enables access to the "contact us" information.

Hub-and-spoke

In Web site design, a type of structure where the user may jump from the home page (the hub) to any number of pages (spokes) and back to the home page again. (Also see Hierarchical drill-down, Basic navigation structures.)

Hierarchical drill-down

In Web site design, a type of structure where the user may jump from the home page to any number of pages and back to the home page again. (Also see Hub-and-spoke, Basic navigation structures.)

Hooks

In journalism, a hook is a technique used to grab the reader's attention. For example, a question: Would you like to lose ten pounds this week?

Descender

In typography, the portion of some lowercase letters, such as "g" and "y," which extends or descends below the baseline?

Facilitated workshops

Meetings in which developers and users convene to discuss aspects of an interface under development. Sometimes called Joint Advisory Development (JAD)sessions.

Compound controls

More than one type of control is combined to give the appearance of a single control, e.g., combo box.

Direct manipulation

Performing operations by making changes to data directly, such as clicking on it, dragging it, resizing it, and typing over it, as opposed to indirect operations such as typing commands in a menu line or using menus and dialog boxes.

Horizontal prototype

Prototypes that display a wide range of features without fully implementing all of them. Horizontal prototypes provide insights into users' understanding of relationships across a range of features.

Feature centric

Refers to a mindset that focuses primarily on a checklist of features offered by a product rather than on its usability.

Global navigation

Refers to page links that appear on every page, usually in the header or footer. It provides site-wide access to universal content or functions.

Bit-depth

Refers to the resolution of the color palette in terms of bytes; 8-bit color palettes provide 256 available colors while 16-bit color palettes provide 65,536 colors.

Deferred create

Refers to the technique of reusing an area of a page or window for dynamically displaying content based on a user's selection.

Conceptual

Represents a system structure, as users perceive it. Begins the transition from research and planning into precursors for design. Sets the foundation for developing a site navigation framework by clearly defining the users, their tasks and environment, and how they conceptualize information.

Accelerator keys

Shortcut keystrokes that instantly perform an operation

Discount testing

Simple and low-cost testing techniques. Usually done early in design. Discount testing has less formal controls and structure.

False bottoms

Something that looks like the end of a page, but isn't.

Benchmark testing

Testing an application against a set of standard best practices or established criteria.

Formative testing

Testing the design during development to answer and verify design decisions. Results are used to modify the existing design and provide direction. Usually done with paper prototypes. (Also see Summative testing.)

Comparison tests

Tests done at almost any stage of the development life cycle that compare applications against a set of established criteria. These tests can be done with users (referred to as a within subjects test) or by experts.

Common region

The Gestalt principle of grouping that states that items grouped within a region (e.g., using a background plane) tend to be perceived as belonging together.

Connectedness

The Gestalt principle of grouping that states that items connected with visual elements (e.g., lines) tend to be perceived as belonging together.

Bounded field / Unbounded field

The ability of a control to allow for freeform entry versus forced selection from a set of options. A bounded field (e.g., list box) forces selections making it less error prone than a text entry field, which supports freeform entry. A text field with a format mask gives the field a bounded quality, making it less error prone (e.g., date fields with format slashes).

High-level structure

The architectural structure of a Web site. Most easily seen with a diagram of the entire site, all its pages, and their inter-relationships.

Chromatic aberration

The blurring of colors in an image caused by the unequal refraction of light rays of different colors passing through a lens, whereby all the colors do not focus at a single point. E.g., our eye cannot focus red and blue light on our retina, causing chromatic aberration.

Hybrid navigation model (hybrid structure)

The combination of basic navigation models (e.g., a hub-and-spoke with a persistent model) that supports a user's task flow. Hybrid structures are typical of complex sites and often strive to flatten the information hierarchy to reduce the number of steps to content.

Functional allocation

The distribution of task responsibilities across humans and technology for a given task or function.

Context effect

The effect of surrounding elements on the perceived meaning or use of an isolated element. For example, the meaning of an individual link.

Focal points of design

The four focal points of design that evolve during the design process are navigation, content, presentation, and interaction design.

General presentation rules

The guidelines within a Web standard that define the presentation rules for the pages including: use of branding elements, color, layout, editorial style, graphics, and typography.

Confirmation bias

The human predisposition to notice information that is consistent with our current beliefs but to ignore information that conflicts with our current beliefs.

Aliasing

The jagged or stair-stepped appearance of a bitmapped font or graphic image. (Also see Jaggies, Anti-aliasing.)

Color depth

The number of colors that can be displayed on a monitor at any given time. For example, the Video Graphics Array (VGA) standard allows a color depth of 256.

Design verification

The process of confirming that the interface, as built, corresponds with the design that was specified. In contrast, design validation tests correspondence of the design with the end users' actual needs.

Anti-aliasing

The process of filling out the jagged edges of an image or typeface with additional pixels. The color of the pixels is averaged between the type color and the background. (Also see Aliasing.)

Forced device jumping

The result of designs that continually requires the user to move from one input device to another unnecessarily.

Human factors psychology

The study of the predispositions and constraints in human cognition, perceptual and motor systems in the context of interface development. That is, exploration of ways to develop safe and efficient technology and other artifacts such that they provide the best fit for human interaction. Traditionally the focus of Human Factors has been in engineering and industrial design systems such as aviation, military systems, manufacturing, and automotive design.

Chromostereopsis

The visual effect of vibration or floating when the eye is attempting to accommodate at extreme ends of the color spectrum (e.g., when reds and blues are placed side by side).

Conversion rate

Typically, the percentage of site visitors who actually buy something on the site.

Direct user data

User data collected through direct, face-to-face interaction with endusers. Methods include direct interviews, focus groups, and usability roundtables. (Also see Indirect user data.)

Affordance

When a control behaves as its appearance suggests. For example, a push button is said to have good affordance when it looks clickable. A pushbutton that does not look clickable or a non-clickable image that looks like a pushbutton, are examples of poor affordance. Good affordance provides intuitive interaction.

Document Type Definition (DTD)

n SGML, a complete definition of a markup language defining elements of the document as well as the tags used to identify them.