Glossary of Terms

Uptake:

The action of taking up or making use of something that is available.

Unexpected learning:

An occurrence or situation during the course of a research project that was harmful to a participant taking part in the research or increased the probability of harm to participants taking part in the research.

Unity of efforts (collaboration):

The state of harmonizing efforts by setting the conditions for increased collaborative planning across interagency organizations and mission partners for any given mission set.

User Centered:

User-driven development in which usability goals, user characteristics, environment, tasks and workflow of a product, service or process are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process.

User interactive feedback:

A form of feedback that can take place in a class or workshop, in a person-to-person session, or phone, for through an interactive web experience.

User satisfaction:

A measure of how products and services meet a user’s expectation.

User segment:

Dividing all users into segments based on characteristics they share. 

User testing:

A technique used in the design process to evaluate a product, feature or prototype with real users.

Unintended consequences (“mistakes”):

The actions of people, and especially of governments, always have effects that are unanticipated or “unintended.”

Unquantified benefits:

The risks that are reasonably likely to occur at the baseline levels of exposure and whether the anticipated exposure reductions might legitimately be expected to reduce these risks.