User-Centered Design and Design Thinking – Key Terms (Page 1 Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from Page 1 notes on user-centered design and design thinking.

User-centered design (UCD)

Process of designing a great user experience by starting with and focusing on users' needs.

Iterative design

A cycle of designing, testing, and refining based on user feedback.

User testing

Evaluating a product by observing real users and collecting usability feedback.

Discover

Early phase to explore users, their context, and their needs.

Interpret

Making sense of user data to understand the underlying problem.

Define

Articulating a clear problem statement based on user insights.

Ideate

Brainstorming to generate many ideas for solving the problem.

Empathize

Understanding users' feelings, needs, and environment to inform design.

Prototype

Creating representations (models) of ideas to test with users.

Test

Evaluating prototypes with users to learn what works and what doesn't.

Context of use

The environment, tasks, and constraints in which a product is used.

Brainstorming

Generating a wide range of ideas and solutions.

Empathize → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test

Design thinking stages in sequence used to solve user problems.

Connect the dots

Synthesize insights to form coherent ideas and directions.