A user interface designer often gathers requirements directly from users, which may involve the use of specialized terms. Customers who hire a web designer will therefore need to know the general meaning of these terms in order to communicate effectively. Entrepreneur discusses 10 terms UI designers use routinely to describe this process.
Wireframe
A wireframe is a visual guide of what a web page will look like and what it will do. It shows page elements, content layout and navigation controls, and also describes how these components will work together. UI designers may create wireframes with general drawing tools such as PowerPoint or specialized wireframe software like Omnigraffle or Balsamiq.
Prototype
A prototype is an interactive demonstration that provides the look and feel of the website without the website’s complete functionality. UI designers often develop prototypes quickly without using a formal software development process.
UX
User experience design, commonly known as UX design, is a specific type of UI design. UX design provides the designer with insight into how a user will act and respond to an application’s interface.
Minimal Viable Product
Minimal Viable Product is a strategy for developing a UI that involves providing the minimum functionality needed to meet the users’ requirements. It applies to various phases in the development process including prototyping, presentation and data collection. The MVP approach requires the designer to launch the application as quickly as possible to gather feedback from the users.
Agile Project Management
Agile project management is a method of software design that divides the project into small sections known as iteration. The project team reviews each iteration to determine the next step in the project. Agile project management allows the project team to respond quickly to unexpected issues.
Modular Programming
Modular programming involves dividing a software application in two discrete units known as modules, such that each module per warms a specific task. This process provides programmers with greater control over large systems, especially for debugging purposes.
Scope Creep
Scope creep refers to the tendency of a project to develop functionality beyond its original design. This typically occurs when the project’s original scope isn’t properly defined.
Version Control
Version control is a process that tracks and controls the changes to a project. Most project development teams have more than one member, so version control is needed to ensure that one team member doesn't overwrite changes of another team member.
Content Management System
A website’s content management system creates and manages its content. It doesn’t require software expertise, and popular CMS applications include Drupal and Joomla and WordPress.
Scaling
Software projects often involve horizontal and vertical scaling. Horizontal scaling means allowing the application to run on more than one server, which prevents the outage of a single server from bringing the application down. Vertical scaling of an application occurs when an application runs on one server and developers add more computing resources such as memory and processing for that server.
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Emmet M is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
