Jargon Buster

Nomensa firmly believe that technology should not be a test.

This glossary aims to explain in plain English any term that our customers may be unfamiliar with. If there are any other terms you are unsure of then please email info@nomensa.com and we will add them to this resource.

Other good resources we can recommend are What IS.com and the new glossary for the Usability body of knowledge .

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

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A

ASP
"Active Server Page", an HTML page that includes one or more scripts (small embedded programs) that are processed on a Microsoft Web server before the page is sent to the user.
Apache
Apache is a freely available Web server that is distributed under an "open source" licence.

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C

CSS
Cascading Style Sheets. Styles define how to display HTML elements, these styles are normally stored in Style Sheets (a separate file sent with an HTML page). Multiple style definitions will cascade into one, depending on the browser being used.
Click-throughs
The number of people who decide to follow a link.
Content Management System
A system used to manage the content of a Web site. Can allow a content manager or author, who may not know Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a Web site without needing the expertise of a Webmaster.
Customer Relationship Management
An information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organised way.
Customer retention
A measure of how many customers re-visit a web site over a period of time.

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D

DHTML
Dynamic HTML, is used to make a web page more active (not necessarily interactive) using JavaScript to manipulate HTML elements.
Development
In this case, it is the determination of the best techniques for applying a new device or process to the production of goods or services.
Digital prototypes
A mock-up in HTML or with a prototyping tool, used to test designs at an early stage of development.
Direct Marketing
Reaching customers through direct mail channels.
Dot bomb
Is what happened when the Tech Market crashed. Telecoms and Internet stocks had ballooned out of all proportion to their actual business value, and when the market in general realised this (by the end of 2001), the value of those stocks plummeted.

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E

E-Business
Conducting business using the Internet. This could take many forms, including information delivery, email support, or transactions.
E-Commerce
Transactions made using a web site.
Enterprise (Testing and Performance Management)
An enterprise is an organisation that uses computers, but usually implies a larger organisation. 'Enterprise Testing and Performance' involves testing the entire Web infrastructure of an organisation to the ensure optimal performance of Web-based applications.
Extranets
A password protected website available to anyone on the Internet, with the right username and password. Often used by companies to share information with clients and partners.

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F

Flash
A browser plug-in that is owned and distributed by Adobe. It allows scalable vector graphics to be shown within the browser. A 'Flash Movie' is a file that is implanted in a web page.
Front-end
The interface that the end-users interact with directly.

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H

Head Wand
A head wand is a simple access device which enables people with severe physical impairments to activate a keyboard or other input device.

A small plastic wand is attached to a head band, which fixes the wand in the centre of the forehead. The wand can then be used to press keys or activate buttons. An alternative version of the head wand is the mouth wand, which works in exactly the same way, except that the wand is held between the teeth.

People who rely on wands to access technology are effectively keyboard only users, meaning that any interaction on a website that relies on a mouse will be impossible for them to use. 
HTML
'HyperText Markup Language' is the language used to write web pages. It was derived from an older language called 'Standard Generalized Markup Language', and is gradually being replaced by 'eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language'.
Human Centred Design / User Centred Design
A design methodology that involves the user throughout the process. Learn more about the Human Centred Design process in the About Nomensa section of this site.

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I

IIS
Internet Information Server. A program from Microsoft that allows the distribution of files across the Internet or a network.
iDTV
Interactive Digital Television. Most of the UK population will have iDTV by the year 2010. The UK Government intend to 'switch off' analogue television signals soon after in favour of digital television.
Interface
The part of a program that the end user interacts with.
Intranets
A website hosted on a network that is not available over the Internet.
Infrastructure
A company's web infrastructure includes everything that supports the flow and processing of information.

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J

JSP
Java Server Pages are web-pages that include scripts that can modify a page before sending it to the user. Similar to ASP pages, but produced by Sun Microsystems.
Java
A programming language that was designed for the Internet and other distributed networks. Produced by Sun Microsystems. 
JavaScript
A scripting language that is embedded in web pages, and run by the browser. Originally produced by Netscape, Microsoft developed a variant, but both are being replaced by ECMA script from the W3C , the official steering organisation of the World Wide Web.

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L

Low-fidelity prototypes
An interface prototype represented with paper or other cost effective tools. This is an easy way to test an interface without the time and cost of building web pages.
Linearisation
A process used by screen readers and some text browsers for rendering tables. Linearisation converts table cells into a series of paragraphs that are then read one after the other in the order they are defined in the HTML code.

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M

MySQL
An open source database system. Pronounced "my ess cue el".

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O

Operating Systems
The software that bridges the gap between hardware and applications. E.g. Windows XP is the operating system that allows your browser to run on your PC hardware.
Oracle
A software company, best known for database software.

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P

PDA
Personal Digital Assistant
PHP
Pre-Hypertext Processesing, a scripting language that can modify a page before sending it to the user. Can run on Microsoft or open-source web servers.
Perl
'Practical Extraction and Reporting Language', is a programming language often used on servers.
Portals
A website who's primary purpose is to lead users to other websites. These gateways can be general like Yahoo! , or specific like FirstGov for US goverment information.
PostgreSQL
Open source database software.
Proprietary Technology
A proprietary technology is one that is developed by a commercial organisation and which usually requires a plugin to be downloaded by the user before it can be used.Examples of proprietary technologies include Portable Document Format (PDF) or Flash.

Non-proprietary technologies are developed in an open, industry consensus process. They can be used within the browser without the need to acquire additional plugins. Non-proprietary technologies include HTML, XHTML and CSS.

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R

Relative Units (of measurement)
Relative units are comparative sizes. They can be specified by descriptors such as smaller, larger, or by a percentage. They are adaptable to different browser settings, so will work according to the preferences of the user.

S

SMEs
Small to Medium Enterprises, defined as no more than 500 employees.
 Standards Compliance
Within the context of the web, there are a number of standards and specifications that govern widely used technologies.

Code languages such as XHTML, CSS and XML have official specifications that define the way the code should be written. Many standards, although not all, are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the term "standards compliance" has come to signify meeting those standards in particular.
SQL
Structured Query Language. A standard programming language for communicating with a database.

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T

Tasks
In human centred design, a task is what a person does to complete a goal they have. For example, if their goal is to buy a book, it could be broken down into tasks such as: 1. Selecting a book, 2. Adding the book to their shopping basket. 3. Entering personal informtation. 4. Completing the transaction. Each task would have sub-tasks. Analysing transactions in this way helps to design effective interfaces.

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U

User Experience
A general term for all aspects of what a user experiences when interacting with a website.
Usability
How easy a product is to use. It has been defined as: "the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which a specified set of users can achieve a specified set of tasks in a particular environment".

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W

WAP
Wireless Application Protocol. A specified set of protocols used to standardise the way mobile devices access the Internet.
Webmaster
A person that creates and manages the information and organisation of a website.

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X

XHTML
eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language, a type of HTML that is compatible with XML. HTML is not strict enough to be compatible with XML, so XHTML was made to bridge the gap.
XML
eXtensible Markup language is a meta-language that allows you to define your own mark-up language. This enables the data to be described as well as stored, which makes the sharing of information between applications and companies much easier.
XSLT
eXtensible StyleSheet Language is used to describe how an XML document will be presented. XSL Transformations are used to transform an XML document into another type of document, or another type of XML document.

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