The playbooks glossary

Randomly assigning live users to two or more versions of a product and comparing a predefined outcome to see which performs better. A multivariate test varies several elements at once.

Also called split test · multivariate test (variant)

A check of an existing product against an accessibility standard, usually WCAG, using automated tools, manual checks and assistive technologies.

Also called accessibility review · WCAG audit

A document stating how a product conforms to an accessibility standard, criterion by criterion. A VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) is a common format.

Also called ACR · VPAT

Regular checks that a product stays accessible after release, using automated scans, manual spot-checks and user feedback.

Also called ongoing accessibility testing

A framework that organises observation notes into five categories: activities, environments, interactions, objects and users.

Also called AEIOU framework

Writing research observations on separate notes and grouping them by similarity, so that themes emerge from the data rather than from prior categories. It derives from Kawakita's KJ method.

Also called affinity diagram · KJ method · clustering

A structured discussion after an activity or project, built on four questions developed by the US Army. For blameless postmortems after incidents, see Stacks and Sprints B7.

Also called post-implementation review · lessons learned · AAR

Looking at how other fields solve a similar underlying problem, then adapting their solutions.

Also called analogies and benchmarking · analogy thinking

A grid that sets out how many items or marks an assessment will give to each content area at each cognitive level, so that it samples the curriculum as intended.

Also called table of specifications · test specification grid

Drafting assessment questions and tasks to match an assessment blueprint, so that each item measures its intended outcome at its intended level.

Also called item development

Testing key tasks using assistive technologies, such as screen readers, magnifiers, switch access and voice control, ideally with people who use them every day.

Also called screen reader testing

Listing the beliefs a project depends on and plotting them by importance and by the evidence available, to decide which to test first.

Also called assumption matrix · risky assumptions map

Listing the attributes of an existing solution, such as its parts, features or qualities, and generating alternatives for each to find improvements.

Defining a preferred future, then working backwards to identify the milestones and actions needed to reach it from the present.

The first stage of backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005): deciding the understandings, essential questions, knowledge and skills a unit must produce before choosing assessments and activities.

Also called Understanding by Design (UbD) stage 1

Recording where people are in a space and what they are doing at set intervals, on a plan of the space, to see how it is actually used.

Also called space use observation · place-centred mapping

Releasing a near-final product or feature to a selected group of users before general release, to find problems and gather feedback in real use.

Also called early access programme · pilot release

Acting out a situation physically, in a real or mocked-up setting, to understand it and generate ideas through the body rather than discussion alone.

Also called role-play · acting out

A group session for generating many ideas quickly, without judging them. Variants include figuring storming, where the group generates ideas as a named person would, and negative brainstorming (see reverse brainstorming).

Also called ideation session · special brainstorming · figuring storming

A silent, written form of brainstorming. In 6-3-5, six people each write three ideas in five minutes, then pass their sheet on, for six rounds, producing up to 108 ideas.

Also called 6-3-5 method · method 635

A map of the decision points, choices, consequences and endings in an interactive scenario, planned before it is written or built.

Also called decision tree map

Rules for applying an identity consistently: logo, colour, type, imagery, voice and examples of correct and incorrect use.

Also called brand book

A template of nine building blocks describing how an organisation creates, delivers and captures value: customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners and cost structure (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010).

Also called BMC

Participants sort cards naming pieces of content into groups that make sense to them. In open sorts they name the groups. In closed sorts the groups are given. Hybrid sorts allow both.

Also called open · closed and hybrid card sort

Identifying which groups a change will affect, how their work or experience will change, and what support they will need.

Also called change impact analysis

Structured observation of a lesson, or of use in context, without intervening, using a schedule to record what happens.

Also called lesson observation · user observation · fly on the wall

Linked screens with clickable hotspots that simulate how a product will work, made in a prototyping tool without code.

Also called click dummy · interactive prototype · high-fidelity prototype

A workshop in which the people who will use or deliver a service take part in designing it, alongside the design team, as contributors rather than as test subjects.

Also called participatory design session · co-creation workshop

Interviews in which respondents answer draft survey or test questions while explaining how they understand each one, to find wording problems before use.

Also called cognitive pretesting

Methods for uncovering the knowledge, judgements and cues that experts use but often cannot describe, so that they can be taught or supported. The critical decision method is a common form.

Also called CTA

An expert review in which evaluators step through a task as a new user would, asking at each step whether the user would know what to do and see that it worked (Wharton et al., 1994).

A plan setting out what messages each audience needs, through which channels, when and from whom. Telekom's omni-channel matrix maps activities to journey stages and channels.

Also called communication planning · omni-channel matrix

A structured comparison of similar products, services or programmes against the same criteria. Telekom's variants compare whole journeys, usability or feature sets.

Also called competitive benchmark · competitor analysis · feature comparison · usability benchmark · customer experience benchmark

Guidance for each component in a design system: what it is for, when to use it and when not to, its parts, states, content rules, accessibility and code.

Also called design standards · pattern documentation

A one-page form that describes a single idea in enough detail to compare it with others: name, problem, users, how it works, value and risks.

Also called concept poster · concept sheet

A diagram of concepts connected by labelled links, so each link reads as a statement. Novak developed concept maps for teaching. Designers use concept models to agree the entities a product deals with.

Also called concept model · conceptual model

Comparing options against agreed criteria in a matrix. In the Pugh method, each option is scored better (+), the same (0) or worse (−) than a reference option. Weighted scoring multiplies each score by the criterion's importance.

Also called Pugh matrix · decision matrix · weighted scoring · rating matrix

Fast, rough drawings of possible solutions, made to explore options and communicate ideas rather than to look finished.

Also called thumbnail sketching

Delivering a service manually, in person, to a few users, to learn what they value before automating it. Unlike Wizard of Oz, users know a person is doing it.

Also called concierge MVP

A table that checks each intended learning outcome is taught through suitable activities and assessed by tasks that require the same performance (Biggs, 1996).

Also called alignment matrix · course alignment map

Listing every piece of content in a product or site and assessing each for accuracy, usefulness and fit, so that it can be kept, revised, merged or removed.

Also called content inventory · ROT analysis (redundant, outdated, trivial)

A set of rules for writing in a product or organisation: voice, tone in different situations, grammar, terminology and formatting.

Also called voice and tone guide · editorial style guide

A prototype built with real or realistic draft content instead of placeholder text, so that structure is designed around what the content needs.

Also called content prototype · proto-content

Describing the setting where learning or use will happen: time, space, devices, connectivity, schedules, support and policies.

Also called environmental analysis · learning context analysis

A visual summary of the factors surrounding a challenge, such as trends, technology, actors, needs, uncertainties and rules, used to see the whole situation before choosing a focus.

Also called context map

Interviewing people while they do their real work in their real setting. The researcher acts as an apprentice and the participant as the expert (Beyer & Holtzblatt, 1998).

Also called contextual interview · in-situ interview

A screen-by-screen or scene-by-scene plan for an e-learning module or video, specifying text, visuals, audio and interactions before production.

Also called e-learning storyboard · instructional storyboard

A fast sketching exercise from the design sprint: eight different ideas in eight minutes, one per panel of a folded sheet.

Also called eight-up sketching

A tool from the Design Thinking Toolbox for selecting the few critical issues on which a design challenge depends, so that the team focuses its effort.

Also called critical success factors map

Kits of open-ended tasks and materials, such as postcards, maps, cameras and stickers, that participants complete on their own to reveal feelings and values that are hard to put into words (Gaver et al., 1999).

Also called design probes · probe kits

Charting what is taught, when, how and how it is assessed across a course or level, to find gaps, overlaps and misalignment.

Also called curriculum audit · scope and sequence review

A sketch or prototype of a data dashboard, ideally using real or realistic data, to test whether it answers its users' questions.

Also called data prototype

A plan for retiring a product or feature responsibly, covering communication, data, migration and timing.

Also called sunset plan

A short document setting out what a design project must achieve, for whom, within what constraints and how success will be judged. It is written by the commissioning team and agreed with the people doing the design.

Also called creative brief · project brief · design challenge brief

A written account of a design project: the problem, the process, key decisions, the outcome and what was learned.

Also called project case study

A structured session in which designers present work in progress and receive feedback judged against the design's goals rather than personal taste. In silent critique, reviewers write comments before discussion.

Also called crit · silent critique

Creating artefacts from imagined futures, such as a product, an advertisement, a news article or a school notice, to make a possible future concrete and open it to discussion.

Also called speculative design · diegetic prototypes

Transferring designs, specifications and the reasoning behind them to the developers who will build them, and staying involved through build.

Also called developer handover

Assessing how well design and user-centred practice are embedded in an organisation, often against a staged model such as Nielsen Norman Group's six stages, from absent to user-driven.

Also called design maturity model

A record of significant design decisions: the context, the options considered, what was chosen and why.

Also called decision log · design decision record

Presenting design work to stakeholders, to share progress, get feedback or reach a decision. For the elevator pitch as a format, see Instruments and Moves C1.

Also called show and tell · demo · pitch

Regular, repeated team practices, such as critiques, reviews, planning and retrospectives, scheduled so design work stays visible, coordinated and improving.

Also called DesignOps rituals

A precise description of a design for the people who build it: layout, measurements, design tokens, states, behaviour, content and edge cases.

Also called redlines · specs · UI specification

A time-boxed process, classically five days, in which a small team moves from a problem to a tested prototype (Knapp et al., 2016). Telekom's customer experience camp is a longer version, of 8 to 12 weeks.

Also called Google Ventures sprint · customer experience camp (CX camp)

A workshop in which participants sketch solutions individually, present them, receive critique and revise, in rounds, then converge on a shared concept.

Also called charrette · sketch-and-critique

The process by which changes to a design system are proposed, reviewed, built, released and communicated, and who decides.

Also called contribution model

Building a design system: an inventory of existing interface patterns, design tokens, core components, documentation and a governance process.

Also called component library set-up

A research approach in which researchers and practitioners design an intervention, test it in real classrooms over several cycles and refine both the design and the theory behind it (Brown, 1992; Collins, 1992).

Also called DBR · design experiments

Reviewing information that already exists, such as reports, data, policy papers, past studies and competitor material, before collecting new data.

Also called secondary research · literature scan

A small-scale model of a service, built on a tabletop with figures and props, through which a team walks the service step by step (Stickdorn et al., 2018).

Also called tabletop walkthrough · service model

Participants record their experiences over days or weeks, in writing, photos, voice or video, close to the moment they happen.

Also called experience sampling · camera study

Each participant receives a fixed number of votes, often as stickers, to place on the options they prefer. Votes can be stacked on one option or spread.

Also called dotmocracy · multi-voting

A map of the actors around a service and what flows between them, such as information, money, data and services.

Also called value network map · value relationship map · business ecosystem map

A set of cards showing emotions, as words or faces, from which participants choose to describe how an experience felt.

Also called emotion cards

A one-page summary of what a user says, thinks, does and feels, often with their pains and gains, built from research.

Also called say · think · do · feel map

Planning how participants will be informed, how their consent will be obtained and recorded, and how their data will be stored, used and deleted. With minors, this includes parental consent and the child's own assent.

Also called research ethics review · informed consent and assent

A structured summary of research on a defined question, recording study designs, samples, findings and quality so that conclusions rest on the weight of evidence. A systematic review is the most rigorous form.

Also called rapid evidence assessment · literature review

A sketched canvas from Presto Sketching for describing a future product experience: who it is for, their situation and need, what they experience and the value they get.

A map of a person's experience across several products and services over a broad activity, rather than within one product.

Also called ecosystem journey map

A synthesis of research, trends and strategy into a picture of the experience a product or service should deliver, with first concepts and design principles. Telekom's target picture documents it on six posters.

Also called target picture · experience target picture · north star vision

A review of content by subject experts for accuracy, currency and appropriateness, separate from usability testing.

Also called subject-matter expert (SME) review

Interviews with specialists, such as researchers, senior practitioners or technical experts, to understand a domain quickly.

Also called subject-matter expert (SME) interviews

A map on which a team plots the prototypes it has built along two chosen dimensions, to see which areas have been explored and which have not.

Deliberately studying people at the edges of a population, such as non-users and very heavy users, whose needs are amplified and often foreshadow everyone's. Lead users (von Hippel, 1986) are a related idea: users ahead of a trend who may have built their own solutions.

Also called lead users · edge-case users

Offering a button or link to a feature that does not yet exist, to measure how many people try to use it. Those who click see an honest message that the feature is being considered.

Also called painted door test

A four-part grid for recording feedback during or after a test: likes, criticisms, questions and ideas.

Also called feedback grid

Showing users a screen and a task, and recording where they click first. A correct first click strongly predicts task success.

Asking "why" repeatedly, about five times, to move from a symptom to an underlying cause or need. It originated in Toyota's production system.

Also called 5 whys · ask 5x why · why-why analysis

Showing a screen for five seconds, then asking what users remember and what they think it is for, to check the first impression and main message.

A moderated discussion with six to ten participants that explores opinions and reactions through group interaction.

Also called group interview

Choosing game mechanics, such as points, levels, challenges and choices, by mapping them to the behaviour and experience they should produce, and to the learning they should support. The MDA framework separates mechanics, the dynamics they create, and the aesthetic experience (Hunicke et al., 2004).

Also called mechanics · dynamics · aesthetics (MDA) mapping

Visual templates from Presto Sketching (Crothers, 2017) for imagining where users want to get to and what stands in the way. The superhero booth shows a user transformed, build-a-bridge shows steps from today to a future state, and goal barriers shows obstacles to clear.

Also called superhero booth · build-a-bridge and goal barriers sketches

Quick, informal tests of five to ten minutes with whoever is available, in a public place or office, to catch obvious problems cheaply.

Also called hallway testing · corridor testing

Experts review an interface against a set of usability principles, most often Nielsen's ten heuristics, and rate the severity of each problem.

Also called expert review · usability inspection

A canvas based on Eyal's hook model, describing a cycle of trigger, action, variable reward and investment that can form a habit of use.

Also called hook model

A systematic search for early signs of change, or weak signals, that could affect an organisation in the future.

Also called environmental scanning · signal scanning

Problems and insights rewritten as open questions beginning "How might we", which invite many answers without fixing one.

Also called HMW · opportunity questions

Two Presto Sketching templates (Crothers, 2017) for prioritising. The hurdle track shows obstacles in order along a track to a goal. The resource tank shows how limited resources are divided among priorities.

A testable statement that links a change to an expected outcome and a measure: we believe that doing this for these people will produce this result, and we will know when we see this signal.

Also called hypothesis card · "we believe" statement

A three-prompt format for giving feedback: what I like, what I wish were different, and what I wonder about.

Also called rose · thorn · bud (a similar format)

A two-by-two grid that plots ideas by expected impact and the effort needed, to decide what to do first. The 2x2 form also works with other pairs of axes.

Also called 2x2 matrix · value–effort matrix · prioritisation matrix

A continuous cycle of collecting feedback from users, sorting it, acting on it and telling users what was done.

Also called feedback triage

A grid that sorts initiatives by how far they depart from current offerings and current users, into core, adjacent and transformational (Nagji & Tuff, 2012).

Also called core · adjacent · transformational matrix

A staged process that moves many problems and ideas through increasing evidence, with fewer progressing at each stage, towards a small number of scaled solutions. Cooper's stage-gate model formalises the decision points.

Also called stage-gate process · problem to growth and scale funnel

Short statements that turn observations into an understanding of why something happens, which a design team can act on.

Also called key insights · findings statements

Analysing how each question performed: its difficulty (the proportion correct), its discrimination (whether stronger students got it right more often) and how each distractor was chosen.

Also called item statistics

A way of describing what people are trying to achieve in a situation, independent of any product, as "jobs" with functional, personal and social sides (Christensen et al., 2016).

Also called JTBD · job statements · job stories · job map · job canvas

A visual timeline of one user's experience, showing stages, actions, thoughts, feelings, pain points and opportunities.

Also called customer journey map · user journey map · learner journey map

Classifying features by how they affect satisfaction: basic needs (expected, cause dissatisfaction if missing), performance features (more is better) and delighters (unexpected, cause satisfaction if present) (Kano et al., 1984).

Also called Kano model

The first working session of a project, used to align aims, scope, roles, risks and ways of working before design begins.

Also called project kick-off · inception workshop · chartering session

An interview technique that moves a participant from concrete attributes of a product, through the consequences they value, to the personal values behind them.

Also called means–end laddering

Structures for discussion with many participants. In a fishbowl, a small inner circle talks while others listen and can swap in. In a gallery walk, groups move between displays and add comments. In World Café, people discuss questions in small table groups and change tables between rounds.

Also called fishbowl · gallery walk · World Café

A list of final checks across product, support, communication and operations before a release goes live.

Also called go-live checklist · readiness checklist

A nine-box adaptation of the business model canvas for new ventures (Maurya, 2012). Its boxes are problem, customer segments, unique value proposition, solution, channels, revenue streams, cost structure, key metrics and unfair advantage.

Also called one-page business plan

Describing the learners a course or product is for: prior knowledge, skills, motivation, language, access needs and the conditions they learn in.

Also called audience analysis · learner profile

Planning a course as a sequence of activities classified by type of learning. ABC learning design (Young & Perović, UCL) uses six types from Laurillard: acquisition, inquiry, practice, production, discussion and collaboration.

Also called ABC learning design · learning design cards

Reviewing data about learners and learning, such as completion, scores, time on task and patterns of attempts, to improve materials and support learners.

A draft version of learning materials, such as worksheets, slides or an online module, made quickly to try with learners before full production.

Also called draft module · pilot materials

Writing statements of what learners will be able to do after learning, using observable action verbs, often drawn from a taxonomy such as revised Bloom's (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) or SOLO (Biggs & Collis, 1982).

Also called learning objectives · intended learning outcomes (ILOs)

Describing the typical path by which understanding of a concept or skill grows, as a sequence of levels from novice to expert, based on research and student work.

Also called learning trajectory · construct map

Short, focused visits to several classrooms, usually ten minutes each, to gather evidence on one question across a school.

Also called learning walkthrough · instructional rounds

Teaching a short segment of a lesson to peers, or to a small group of students, to test it and get feedback before teaching the full lesson. Microteaching was developed at Stanford in the 1960s.

Also called microteaching · rehearsal lesson

A collaborative cycle from Japan in which teachers study the curriculum, plan a research lesson together, teach it while colleagues observe students, then reflect and revise.

Also called research lesson · jugyō kenkyū

A collection of 33 simple, repeatable formats for involving everyone in a group, as alternatives to presentations and open discussion (Lipmanowicz & McCandless, 2014). 1-2-4-All is the best known.

Also called 1-2-4-All · 15% solutions · TRIZ

A diagram that sets out, above a line, how people think about and carry out an activity and, below the line, what a product offers for each part, showing gaps (Young, 2008).

Also called mental model map

A regular review of usage metrics against targets, to see what is working, what has changed and what needs investigating.

Also called product analytics review · dashboard review · analytics review

A diagram that radiates from a central topic into branches and sub-branches, used to explore ideas and their connections.

Also called spider diagram

The smallest version of a product that lets a team learn whether its core idea works with real users (Ries, 2011). An MVE extends the idea to the smallest set of partners needed to test an ecosystem. For the term itself, see Stacks and Sprints B9.

Also called MVP · minimum viable ecosystem (MVE)

A facilitator watches a user attempt realistic tasks with a product or prototype, asks them to think aloud, and records where they succeed and struggle.

Also called usability testing · user testing · structured usability testing

A process in which markers mark the same samples, compare and discuss their judgements, and agree a shared standard before and during marking.

Also called rubric calibration · standardisation · marker calibration

A collage of images, colours, type, textures and words that sets a visual and emotional direction before detailed design.

Also called inspiration board

Breaking a problem into independent parameters, listing options for each, then combining one option from each parameter to generate many possible solutions (Zwicky, 1969).

Also called morphological box · Zwicky box

Sorting requirements into four groups: must have, should have, could have and won't have this time. It was developed by Clegg for the DSDM method.

Also called must · should · could · won't

A team member uses a service as an ordinary user would, without revealing their role, to experience its quality and problems at first hand.

Also called mystery shopper · self-experience

A structured way to describe and pitch a concept by four questions: the need, the approach, the benefits per cost and the competition or alternatives. It was developed at SRI International.

Also called need · approach · benefits · competition

Identifying the gap between current and desired performance, and whether learning, or something else such as tools or processes, is the right way to close it.

Also called training needs analysis (TNA) · gap analysis · performance analysis

A tree that links a desired outcome to the opportunities (needs and pain points) found in research, the solutions for each, and the experiments to test them (Torres, 2021).

Also called OST

A game made with cards, boards, dice and tokens to test rules and play before building a digital version.

Also called tabletop game prototype

Hand-drawn or printed screens and interface pieces that a person "operates" by swapping paper in response to a user's taps and choices.

Also called paper prototyping

Fair recognition for participants' time, and protection of their well-being and data, with particular care for children and vulnerable people.

Also called research safeguarding

Users observe and record each other's practice, with a design team's support, which gives access to settings and detail that outsiders may not reach.

Also called peer observation

A profile of a type of user, based on research, describing goals, behaviours, frustrations and context. A proto-persona is an early version based on assumptions, to be checked with research.

Also called user profile · user profile canvas · learner persona · proto-persona

Participants take photos in response to prompts, then discuss them in an interview. Photovoice is a participatory version used for community advocacy.

Also called photovoice

A small-scale trial of a programme, product or policy in real settings, to learn whether it works and how to implement it before wider rollout.

Also called trial · field trial · pilot lesson

A one-sentence statement of a user, their need and the insight behind it, used in the d.school process to frame ideation.

Also called POV · POV in one sentence

Setting out the realistic options for addressing a policy problem, including doing nothing, and comparing them against agreed criteria.

Also called options appraisal

Testing a policy idea by making the artefacts people would actually meet, such as a letter, a form, a guideline or a service step, and trying them with users before the policy is finalised.

Also called prototyping policy

Research with real users after release to learn how a product is used in practice and whether it meets its goals.

Also called post-release research

Assessing a space after people have used it for a while, to see whether it works as intended for its users and activities.

Also called POE

A two-by-two grid that plots stakeholders by their power over a project and their interest in it, suggesting how to engage each group.

Also called stakeholder matrix · Mendelow's matrix

Measuring learners' knowledge or skill before and after an intervention, ideally with a comparison group, to estimate learning gain.

Also called learning gain measurement

Showing users design options and asking which they prefer and why, or asking them to pick words from a list, such as Microsoft's 118 product reaction cards, to describe a design (Benedek & Miner, 2002).

Also called product reaction cards · desirability study

One or two sentences stating whose problem is being solved, what the problem is and why it matters. It frames the work without naming a solution.

Also called problem definition · challenge statement · design challenge

A diagram with a central problem as the trunk, its causes as roots and its effects as branches, used to separate causes from symptoms.

Also called problem tree analysis · cause and effect tree

Defining the character a product should express, as a small set of attributes, so that design, copy and behaviour are consistent. Telekom uses a motives map that positions personas and products among emotional motives such as security, excitement and autonomy.

Also called motives map · brand personality · personality attributes

Planning a formal evaluation of a programme: its logic, the questions to answer, the measures, the design and the data collection.

Also called evaluation plan

A one-page template that captures a project's problem, users, intended value, resources, risks and measures on a single sheet, so a team can see the whole project at once.

Also called opportunity canvas · project model canvas

A short set of statements that guide design decisions within one project, usually derived from research.

Also called design criteria · guiding principles

A planned succession of prototypes from Stanford's ME310 course, each answering a different question, from whether a key experience matters to whether the whole solution works.

Also called ME310 prototype types: critical experience · critical function · dark horse · funky · functional · X-is-finished · final

Checking that users understand text. A cloze test removes every fifth to seventh word and asks readers to fill the gaps. Scores of about 60% or more suggest the text is readable for that audience.

Also called cloze test · comprehension testing

Reviewing content on a regular schedule so it stays accurate, current and useful, using the same method as a one-off content audit.

Also called content governance review

Telling users what has changed in a release, who it affects and what they need to do. For changelogs as a developer record, see Stacks and Sprints B3.

Also called changelog writing

Setting out what a solution must do (functional) and the qualities it must have (non-functional, such as performance, security and accessibility), traced to their sources.

Also called requirements gathering · functional and non-functional requirements

The people, processes and tools that make research repeatable and safe across an organisation, such as recruitment, consent, data storage, tools and the repository.

Also called ResearchOps · participant recruitment · research panels

A document that sets out what a study needs to learn, which methods it will use, who will take part and when. The 5W+H questions (who, what, when, where, why, how) are a common way to build the research questions. For 5W1H as a writing structure, see Instruments and Moves Part A.

Also called research brief · analysis questions builder · 5W+H questions

A searchable store of research findings across studies, so evidence can be found and reused. Atomic research breaks findings into experiments, facts, insights and recommendations, each linked to the evidence behind it (Pidcock, 2018).

Also called atomic research · insights repository

Sharing what was seen in research as short stories about specific people and moments, so the team builds a shared picture before analysis. For narrative structures such as the hero's journey, see Shots and Cues B14.

Also called storytelling · story sharing · research playback

A regular team meeting to reflect on how the team worked and agree improvements. Formats include start, stop, continue and the sailboat, where wind, anchors, rocks and an island stand for helps, hindrances, risks and the goal.

Also called retro · sailboat retrospective · start · stop · continue

Generating ideas for the opposite of the goal, such as how to make a problem worse, then flipping each into a possible solution.

Also called negative brainstorming · anti-problem · worst possible idea

A formula for comparing ideas: reach × impact × confidence ÷ effort. It was popularised by Intercom.

Also called reach · impact · confidence · effort

A form of usability testing in which the team fixes clear problems between sessions, so later participants test an improved version (Medlock et al., 2002).

Also called rapid iterative testing and evaluation

A plan for introducing a product, service or policy in phases, with readiness checks, support, communication and decision points between phases.

Also called implementation plan · implementation roadmap · roadmap for implementation

Writing the criteria for judging a performance and the descriptions of each level of quality.

Also called marking scheme design · scoring guide

A checklist of seven prompts for changing an existing product or process: substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate, reverse. It is usually credited to Bob Eberle, building on Alex Osborn's checklist.

Building several plausible, contrasting futures, often from two critical uncertainties, to test strategies against a range of conditions rather than one forecast.

Also called scenario building

A diagram that maps what users do at each step of a service against what staff and systems do in front of them, behind the scenes and in support. A future-state blueprint (see Deliver) uses the same form.

Also called as-is blueprint

A blueprint of the service as it will work after redesign, showing changes to user actions, frontstage, backstage and support processes. It uses the same form as the current-state blueprint in Define.

Also called to-be blueprint

Acting out a service at full scale, with staff and props, in the real or a simulated setting, to test and refine the interactions.

Also called service prototyping · service staging · investigative rehearsal

The team goes into the field to experience a service, and similar services, at first hand, recording what happens at each touchpoint and talking to people using it.

Also called service walkthrough

Following one person through a day or a process to see the whole sequence of their work, including moments they would not report.

Also called day in the life · follow-along

A hierarchical diagram of the pages or sections of a product, showing how they are grouped and linked.

Also called navigation design · IA diagram

A discussion technique in which a group looks at an idea from one perspective at a time, each represented by a coloured hat (de Bono, 1985).

Also called de Bono's hats

Taking notes with a mix of words, drawings, containers and connectors. Graphic recording is the same practice done large, in real time, for a group.

Also called visual note-taking · graphic recording

Monitoring public conversation about a service, such as social media, forums and news comments, to track themes and sentiment.

Also called sentiment monitoring

An interview in which a proposed solution, often a prototype or demo, is shown to users to check whether it solves their problem and whether they would use it (Maurya, 2012).

Also called problem and solution interview

Trying out a room layout at full scale with tape on the floor, cardboard or movable furniture, before committing to a design.

Also called full-scale mock-up · tape-out · pop-up classroom

Interviews with people who shape, fund, run or are accountable for a service, to understand goals, constraints and history.

Also called key informant interviews

A diagram of everyone affected by or involved in a project, showing groups and the relationships between them.

Also called stakeholder analysis · actor map

A sequence of frames, sketched or photographed, showing a person using a product, service or lesson over time, including the context and their feelings.

Also called storyboards

A chart comparing how much different offers provide on each factor users care about, drawn as value curves, used to find factors to raise, reduce, eliminate or create (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). The buyer utility map is a companion tool that looks for blocks to value across the user's experience.

Also called blue ocean tool · value curve · buyer utility map

Students design and carry out their own inquiry into an issue that affects them, with adult support, and share findings that inform decisions.

Also called student voice research · youth participatory action research (YPAR)

A single design artefact showing fonts, colours, buttons, icons and other interface elements in a candidate visual style, without a full page layout (Warren, 2012).

Agreeing, before design begins, what result will count as success and how it will be measured. In this toolkit the term has its project sense, not the classroom sense of criteria shared with students.

Also called define success · measures of success · success metrics

Categorising help-desk tickets, feedback forms and complaints to find recurring problems and their frequency.

Also called feedback mining · voice of the customer analysis

A structured set of questions sent to many people to measure how common behaviours, attitudes or problems are. For standard scales such as SUS and NPS, see Marks and Measures B9 and Stacks and Sprints B11.

Also called questionnaire · online survey

A four-part analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Crothers' SWAM canvas is a visual version that shows the organisation as a boat among stars, wind, anchors and mines.

Also called SWAM canvas (stars, wind, anchors, mines) · TOWS matrix

A diagram of the variables in a system and how they influence each other, showing feedback loops that reinforce or balance change.

Also called causal loop diagram · system diagram

Breaking a task into goals, subtasks and steps, with a plan describing the order in which they are done.

Also called hierarchical task analysis (HTA)

Guidance that helps teachers or facilitators deliver a lesson, module or programme as designed, including timing, actions, resources and adaptations.

Also called facilitator guide · implementation guide

A shared template on which a team records its purpose, goals, roles, values, needs and rules of working. Crothers' team purpose map is a sketched version of the same idea.

Also called team purpose map · team charter

A one-page plan for a single test, stating the assumption, what will be done, what will be measured and what result would count as success. Strategyzer's test card and the Toolbox's testing sheet are versions of this.

Also called testing sheet · prototype to test · test plan

A method for identifying patterns of meaning across qualitative data through systematic coding, in six phases (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Also called qualitative coding

Asking participants to say what they are thinking as they work, so that researchers can hear expectations, confusion and reasoning.

Also called concurrent think-aloud

A framework for discussing change as three overlapping patterns: the current system in decline (H1), emerging innovations in transition (H2) and a future system (H3) (Sharpe, 2013).

Also called 3H

Designing how users and staff will learn to use a new product or service, from first-use onboarding inside the product to training and ongoing support.

Also called professional development design

Participants find items in a text-only version of a site's hierarchy, which tests the structure and labels without the influence of visual design.

Also called reverse card sort

Identifying and describing trends across social, technological, economic, environmental, political and legal domains, and judging how they may affect a project. Telekom's version produces trend boards and a trend map.

Also called trend research · STEEP scan · PESTLE scan · PESTLE canvas · trend boards

Participants complete tasks on their own, usually through an online tool that records their screen, clicks and sometimes voice.

Also called remote usability test

Reviewing existing usage data to see what people do with a product before asking them why.

Also called data audit · analytics review

A structured description of how an actor interacts with a system to reach one goal, including the main flow and alternative paths.

Also called use case specification

A diagram of the steps and decisions a user goes through to complete a task, from entry point to goal. A wireflow uses small wireframes as the steps.

Also called task flow · wireflow · screen flow

One-to-one conversations with users about their experiences, goals and difficulties, guided by open questions.

Also called in-depth interviews · semi-structured interviews · explorative interview · interview for empathy

Short narratives of a specific user, in a specific situation, achieving a goal with a product, used to design and test whole flows.

Also called scenarios · narrative user stories

Short statements of a requirement from the user's point of view, with criteria that must be met for the story to count as done. For the terms, see Stacks and Sprints B9.

Also called story writing

A canvas that matches a customer profile (jobs, pains, gains) with a value map (products and services, pain relievers, gain creators) to check fit (Osterwalder et al., 2014).

Also called VPC

A short film showing a concept in use, made with phone footage, sketches or mock-ups, to communicate an idea and gather reactions before building it.

Also called vision video · concept video

A diagram that projects from the past and present into a widening range of futures: possible, plausible, probable and preferable (Voros, 2003).

Also called futures cone

Turning an abstract idea into a simple picture by understanding it, simplifying it to its essence and translating it into a literal, metaphorical, diagrammatic or conceptual image (Crothers, 2017).

Also called UST model (understand, simplify, translate)

Short activities at the start of a session, or after a break, to help people get to know each other, relax and get into a creative frame of mind.

Also called icebreakers

Drawings of a screen's layout, content and functions without visual styling, used to agree structure and behaviour.

Also called wireframes · low-fidelity mock-ups

A prototype in which a hidden person produces the system's responses, so that users experience a working product before the technology exists.

Also called Wizard of Oz testing

Agreed ways of working for a group, such as how decisions are made, how people speak and listen, and how meetings start and end. Check-ins and check-outs are short rounds that open and close a session.

Also called ground rules · team norms · check-in and check-out

A one-page plan for a workshop that sets out its goal, participants, agenda, methods, materials and expected outputs. The Design Thinking Toolbox includes a version.

Also called agenda canvas · session design