Word: Threshold mapping

Definition: The mapping of default or normal states of a user to better understand what happens when a person leaves her normal state and crosses the line into an alternative condition. When a person crosses this metaphorical line, or threshold to be exact, she tends to think and act differently.

Reference: I first learned about the concept of threshold mapping in the book Hidden in Plain Sight by Jan Chipchase. Chipchase is the founder of Studio D Radiodurans, a research, design and innovation consultancy, and SDR Traveller. In his book, he uses taking a shower as an example to illustrate a threshold map. Many people feel clean for about a day and therefore do not have the urge to shower more than every 24 hours. In this case, a day would be the threshold. If this person, with a threshold of a day, goes three days without showering, she has crossed her cleanliness threshold and will most likely think and act differently until she gets back into her normal state by taking a shower.

Thoughts: So what does this have to do with user experience design? Good question! Understanding user thresholds provide a significant window into user decision-making. When a user researcher understands why and how someone performs an action, she can create better experiences based on those decision patterns.

Chipchase explains the effects on design research in Hidden in Plain Sight:

"For designers to understand what lies within the boundaries of acceptable use and what lies outside those boundaries, they need to understand the contexts in which things will be used, and the range of likely conditions that will change that context in some way... design research helps us understand the boundaries of normal behaviors."