Product Development & Design Thinking Flashcards

What is the primary function of a 'North Star Metric' in product development?

Answer: Align the entire team around a single metric that best captures core customer value

The North Star Metric focuses the team on the one measure most predictive of long-term product success and customer value.

Which design thinking method involves shadowing users in their natural environment to observe behavior?

Answer: Ethnographic observation

Ethnographic observation captures authentic behavior and unarticulated needs by watching users in their real context.

What does 'scope creep' mean in product development, and why is it problematic?

Answer: Uncontrolled growth of project scope beyond original goals; it delays delivery and increases costs

Scope creep is the unchecked addition of requirements that erodes timelines, budgets, and team focus without a corresponding value decision.

In the Double Diamond design process, what happens in the second diamond?

Answer: Teams diverge to generate many solution concepts, then converge on the best solution to develop

The second diamond focuses on solutions: diverging through ideation and prototyping, then converging through testing and delivery.

What is a 'pivot' in the Lean Startup methodology?

Answer: A structured course correction of the product strategy based on validated learning

A pivot is a deliberate, data-driven change in one or more components of the business model when the current approach isn't working.

What is the purpose of 'card sorting' in UX research?

Answer: Understanding how users mentally categorize information to inform navigation and IA design

Card sorting reveals users' mental models of how content should be grouped, directly informing information architecture decisions.

Which statement best describes the 'fail fast' principle in innovation?

Answer: Run small, rapid experiments to learn quickly and cheaply before committing major resources

Failing fast means designing cheap, quick experiments to surface invalidating evidence before large investments are made.