This glossary covers essential UI/UX terms relevant for PMs.
Accessibility
Definition: practice of designing products and interfaces that are usable by people of all abilities, including those with disabilities. It ensures equal access to information and functionality through inclusive design principles, such as screen reader compatibility, color contrast, and keyboard navigation.
Why important for PMs: Ensuring a product is accessible improves inclusivity, legal compliance, and user satisfaction.
Example Sentence: "Our product team is conducting an accessibility audit to ensure our mobile app is usable for visually impaired users."
Related Terms: Usability, Inclusive Design, WCAG
Affordance
Definition: The inherent property of an object (or interface element) that suggests how it should be used. In UX, affordances guide users by making interactions intuitive (e.g., a button that looks clickable).
Why important for PMs: Understanding affordances helps PMs ensure that UI elements are self-explanatory, reducing friction and improving product usability.
Example Sentence: "We redesigned the call-to-action button with a stronger affordance by making it more prominent and adding a shadow effect."
Related Terms: Signifiers, Interaction Design, Usability, UX Design
Breadcrumbs
Definition: A secondary navigation system that shows users their current location within a website or app, typically as a trail of links (e.g., Home > Category > Product).
Why important for PMs: Breadcrumbs improve navigation, reduce bounce rates, and enhance user experience by allowing users to backtrack easily without starting over.
Example Sentence: "We added breadcrumbs to our marketplace site to help users navigate between product categories more efficiently."
Related Terms: Navigation Design, Information Architecture, UX Design
Call to Action (CTA)
Definition: A button, link, or UI element designed to prompt users to take a specific action, such as signing up, making a purchase, or downloading an app.
Why important for PMs: CTAs are crucial for conversion rates, user engagement, and guiding users toward key business goals. PMs need to test and optimize CTAs for visibility, clarity, and effectiveness.
Example Sentence: "We redesigned our CTA button to be more prominent, resulting in a 15% increase in sign-ups."
Related Terms: Conversion Rate, A/B Testing, Heatmaps, Visual Hierarchy
Clickstream Analysis
Definition: The process of tracking and analyzing user navigation patterns within a product to understand behaviour, identify pain points, and optimise user flows.
Why important for PMs: Clickstream data helps PMs make data-driven decisions to improve conversion rates, streamline user journeys, and reduce drop-offs.
Example Sentence: "Clickstream analysis revealed that most users abandon the checkout process on the payment selection step, so we’re optimising that page."
Related Terms: User Behaviour, Analytics, Conversion Funnel, Heatmaps
Cognitive Load
Definition: The amount of mental effort required for a user to process information and complete a task. High cognitive load leads to confusion and frustration, while low cognitive load results in a smoother user experience.
Why important for PMs: Minimizing cognitive load enhances usability, making products more intuitive and reducing abandonment rates.
Example Sentence: "We simplified our onboarding flow to reduce cognitive load and improve user activation."
Related Terms: Usability, Mental Models, Progressive Disclosure
Design System
Definition: A collection of reusable UI components, design principles, and guidelines that ensure consistency and scalability across a product’s interface.
Why important for PMs: A well-defined design system improves collaboration between designers, developers, and PMs, streamlining product development and maintaining brand identity.
Example Sentence: "By adopting a design system, we reduced design inconsistencies and sped up development across multiple platforms."
Related Terms: UI Components, Style Guide, Brand Guidelines, Atomic Design
Hamburger Menu
Definition: A three-line (☰) icon used in UI design to hide and reveal a navigation menu, typically in mobile and responsive designs.
Why important for PMs: While it helps declutter the UI, a hidden menu can reduce discoverability. PMs must balance minimalism with ease of navigation.
Example Sentence: "User testing showed that customers were struggling to find key features, so we replaced the hamburger menu with a more visible tab bar."
Related Terms: Navigation Design, Responsive Design, Information Architecture
Heatmap
Definition: A visual representation of user interactions, showing areas of high and low engagement based on clicks, scrolls, or cursor movements.
Why important for PMs: Heatmap provides insights into usability issues, such as ineffective calls to action (CTAs) or ignored elements, helping PMs and their teams refine designs for better engagement.
Example Sentence: "Heatmaps showed that users weren’t clicking on our signup button, so we repositioned it for better visibility."
Related Terms: Clickstream Analysis, A/B Testing, UX Research
Human-Centered Design (HCD)
Definition: A design approach that prioritises users’ needs, emotions, and behaviours at every stage of the product development process. HCD involves research, prototyping, and testing to ensure solutions are intuitive and user-friendly.
Why important for PMs: PMs need to champion HCD to build products that truly solve user problems and create meaningful experiences.
Example Sentence: "By following human-centered design principles, we uncovered major pain points in our onboarding process."
Related Terms: Design Thinking, User Research, Empathy Mapping
Information Architecture (IA)
Definition: The practice of organizing, structuring, and labeling content in a way that makes it easy for users to find and understand information. IA involves creating navigation systems, taxonomies, and hierarchies.
Why important for PMs: A well-structured IA improves usability, reducing frustration and increasing engagement. Poor IA leads to confusion and high drop-off rates.
Example Sentence: "We restructured our site’s information architecture to make it easier for users to find product documentation."
Related Terms: Navigation Design, UX Design, Content Strategy
Inclusive Design
Definition: A design philosophy that ensures products are usable by people of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. Unlike accessibility, which focuses on compliance, inclusive design proactively considers different user needs.
Why important for PMs: Building inclusively allows products to reach broader audiences and avoids alienating key user segments.
Example Sentence: "We adopted an inclusive design approach to accommodate users with different literacy levels."
Related Terms: Accessibility, Universal Design, Usability
Infinite Scroll
Definition: A UX pattern where new content loads dynamically as the user scrolls down, eliminating the need for pagination.
Why important for PMs: For content-heavy products (e.g., social media feeds), infinite scroll can make navigation and content discovery challenging. PMs need to evaluate when it’s the right choice.
Example Sentence: "We switched from pagination to infinite scroll in our news feed to increase user engagement."
Related Terms: Pagination, Lazy Loading, User Engagement
Microinteractions
Definition: Small, subtle animations or responses triggered by user actions, such as button hovers, loading indicators, or error messages, that enhance user experience.
Why important for PMs: Microinteractions improve usability, provide feedback, and add delight to interactions, making a product feel more polished and engaging.
Example Sentence: "We added microinteractions to the 'like' button so users get instant visual feedback when they tap it."
Related Terms: UI Animation, Feedback Loops, Interaction Design
Modal Window
Definition: A pop-up window that appears over the main content, requiring user interaction before they can continue. It’s commonly used for confirmations, alerts, and sign-up prompts.
Why important for PMs: While effective for drawing attention, excessive or intrusive modals can frustrate users. PMs should ensure they are contextually relevant and easy to dismiss.
Example Sentence: "We redesigned our modal window for email sign-ups to be less intrusive and more user-friendly."
Related Terms: User Flow, Dialogue Box, UI Design, Progressive Disclosure
Progressive Disclosure
Definition: A UX strategy that presents only necessary information at a given time, gradually revealing more details as users progress through a task.
Why important for PMs: Progressive disclosure reduces cognitive load, prevents information overload, and enhances usability by making interfaces cleaner and more intuitive.
Example Sentence: "Our sign-up form now uses progressive disclosure, only revealing advanced settings after users complete basic fields."
Related Terms: Cognitive Load, Minimalist Design, Usability, Interaction Design
Responsive Design
Definition: A design approach that ensures a product adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices, providing a consistent user experience.
Why important for PMs: With users accessing products on various devices, responsive design is essential for accessibility, usability, and engagement.
Example Sentence: "We implemented responsive design techniques so our website works smoothly across desktops, tablets, and smartphones."
Related Terms: Adaptive Design, UX Design, Accessibility
Sticky Elements
Definition: UI components that remain fixed on the screen while the user scrolls, such as navigation bars, headers, or floating action buttons.
Why important for PMs: Sticky elements improve accessibility and usability by keeping important controls visible at all times. However, excessive use can obstruct content.
Example Sentence: "We made the checkout button a sticky element to increase conversions on our e-commerce site."
Related Terms: Floating Action Button (FAB), Navigation Design, UX Optimisation
Tooltips
Definition: Small pop-up text boxes that appear when users hover over or click on UI elements, providing additional information or guidance.
Why important for PMs: Tooltips help improve onboarding and usability without cluttering the interface. However, they should be used sparingly to avoid overwhelming users.
Example Sentence: "We added tooltips to explain complex settings, reducing user confusion and support tickets."
Related Terms: Microinteractions, Onboarding, Usability
Usability
Definition: The ease with which users can learn, navigate, and accomplish tasks within a product. Usability is a key component of user experience (UX) and includes factors like efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction.
Why important for PMs: A product with good usability reduces friction, increases engagement, and lowers support costs, leading to higher retention and user satisfaction.
Example Sentence: "We conducted usability testing and found that users struggled to locate the settings menu, so we’re updating the navigation structure."
Related Terms: UX, Accessibility, Usability Testing, Human-Centered Design
Usability Testing
Definition: A research method where real users interact with a product to identify usability issues, pain points, and areas for improvement.
Why important for PMs: User testing provides direct insights into user behavior, allowing PMs to make informed decisions to optimize the product experience.
Example Sentence: "During usability testing, we discovered that users struggled to complete checkout, leading us to redesign the payment flow."
Related Terms: A/B Testing, UX Research, Heuristic Evaluation, User Feedback
User Experience (UX)
Definition: The overall experience and satisfaction a user has when interacting with a product, including ease of use, design aesthetics, and emotional response. UX encompasses usability, accessibility, and user delight.
Why important for PMs: A strong UX leads to higher adoption, engagement, and retention. PMs must balance business objectives with user needs to create an intuitive and enjoyable experience.
Example Sentence: "Improving the UX of our checkout process led to a 20% increase in conversions."
Related Terms: UI, Usability, User-Centered Design, Design Thinking
User Interface (UI)
Definition: The visual and interactive elements of a product that users engage with, including buttons, menus, icons, typography, and layout. UI design focuses on aesthetics and usability.
Why important for PMs: A well-designed UI enhances usability and engagement, making it easier for users to navigate and interact with the product.
Example Sentence: "We’re updating our UI to make it more modern and mobile-friendly."
Related Terms: UX, Visual Design, Interaction Design
Whitespace
Definition: The empty space between elements in a design that enhances readability, organization, and aesthetics without unnecessary clutter.
Why important for PMs: Effective use of whitespace improves readability, reduces cognitive load, and enhances the user experience by making interfaces feel more structured and elegant.
Example Sentence: "By increasing whitespace between sections, we made our product’s dashboard more user-friendly and less overwhelming."
Related Terms: Minimalist Design, Visual Hierarchy, Readability, UI Design