Factors
Context
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Context
The physical spaces, ideas, and prevailing attitudes of a place and time affect experience design scenes.
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About Context
People: Self
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People: Self
A person's internal and physical identity.
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About People: Self
People: Social
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People: Social
Ways people relate to others and how they perceive themselves in those relationships.
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About People: Social
Design
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Design
Anything designed—a product, service, or system.
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About Design
Characteristic
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Characteristic Level
Physically observable and measurable factors. Characteristics can be identified and described.
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About the Characteristic Level
Physical Dimensions
The dimensions of physical spaces where experience design scenes take place.
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About Physical Dimensions
Links to the XD Factors site.
Location
A place and time where an experience design scene takes place.
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About Location
Links to the XD Factors site.
Body Size
A person's physical size.
More About Body Size
Links to the XD Factors site.
Age
How long a person has lived.
More About Age
Links to the XD Factors site.
Sex
A person's biological attributes, including chromosomes, hormone levels, and reproductive/sexual anatomy, which can be assigned at birth or modified through medical interventions.
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About Sex
Links to the XD Factors site.
Dimensions/Scope
The size of physical products and the complexity of services and systems.
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About Dimensions/Scope
Links to the XD Factors site.
Material
Physical materials that comprise a designed outcome.
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About Material
Links to the XD Factors site.
Style
A design's distinctive appearance.
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About Style
Links to the XD Factors site.
Dynamic
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Dynamic Level
Dynamic factors are variable—changing with conditions and situations.
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About the Dynamic Level
Weather
Physical conditions in a setting.
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About Weather
Links to the XD Factors site.
Sensory
Stimuli that can be perceived with the senses.
More About Sensory
Links to the XD Factors site.
Available Resources
Materials available for use in a setting.
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About Available Resources
Links to the XD Factors site.
Non-User Actors
People and objects in a context that are not the intended experiencer.
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About Non-User Actors
Links to the XD Factors site.
Health Status
A person's physical and mental condition.
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About Health Status
Links to the XD Factors site.
Habits
People's behavioral tendencies.
More About Habits
Links to the XD Factors site.
Movements
The ways people physically move their bodies.
More About Movements
Links to the XD Factors site.
Relationships
Ways people are connected to others.
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About Relationships
Links to the XD Factors site.
Role
The functions a person plays in different situations.
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About Role
Links to the XD Factors site.
Gender Expression
The outward display of an individual's gender identity through behaviors, clothing, hairstyles, voice, and other forms of presentation.
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About Gender Expression
Links to the XD Factors site.
Condition
A design's current state of functionality and upkeep.
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About Condition
Links to the XD Factors site.
Operation
The sequence of steps required to use a product, service, or system.
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About Operation
Links to the XD Factors site.
Configuration
A design's current phase or arrangement.
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About Configuration
Links to the XD Factors site.
Complex
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Complex Level
Complex factors are multifaceted and are often challenging to completely describe because they involve many interrelated concepts.
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About Complex Level
Demographics
The measurable qualities of people and people groups in a population.
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About Demographics
Links to the XD Factors site.
Laws
Physical and social conventions that govern settings.
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About Laws
Links to the XD Factors site.
Time
The duration of time in which experience design scenes take place.
More About Time
Links to the XD Factors site.
Knowledge
Facts, information, experiences, and insights a person has acquired.
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About Knowledge
Links to the XD Factors site.
Attention
Concentration on the activity at hand.
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About Attention
Links to the XD Factors site.
Abilities
Competence or skill to complete an activity.
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About Abilities
Links to the XD Factors site.
Attitude
A way of thinking or feeling about an activity, product, service, or system.
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About Attitude
Links to the XD Factors site.
Race
A person's race, based on physical characteristics and influenced by social and historical contexts.
More About Race
Links to the XD Factors site.
Social Class
A classification based on a person's socio-economic status, including factors such as income, education, and occupation.
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About Social Class
Links to the XD Factors site.
Personality
A person's distinctive character.
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About Personality
Links to the XD Factors site.
Gender Identity
A person's sense of their own gender.
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About Gender Identity
Links to the XD Factors site.
Sexual Orientation
Emotional and/or romantic attraction to another person.
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About Sexual Orientation
Links to the XD Factors site.
Subjective Norm
What a person believes others will think of them when they perform a behavior.
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About Subjective Norm
Links to the XD Factors site.
Usefulness
The relevancy of a designed outcome to people who use it for a purpose.
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About Usefulness
Links to the XD Factors site.
Usability
The measure of how intuitively a design can be operated.
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About Usability
Links to the XD Factors site.
Accessibility
The measure of obstacles that prevent people from accessing a product, service, or system.
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About Accessibility
Links to the XD Factors site.
Sustainability
Design that meets current needs while considering future impact on people and the environment.
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About Sustainability
Links to the XD Factors site.
Underlying
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Underlying Level
These factors underpin contexts, people, and design—below the surface.
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About the Underlying Level
Cultural Diversity
The variety of cultural expressions, traditions, languages, values, and beliefs that exist within a community.
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About Cultural Diversity
Links to the XD Factors site.
Hierarchy
Power or influence relationships between variables in a context.
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About Hierarchy
Links to the XD Factors site.
Interconnections
Exchanges and interdependencies between components in experience design scenes.
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About Interconnections
Links to the XD Factors site.
Language
The words, gestures, and symbols a person uses to communicate and express thoughts and emotions.
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About Language
Links to the XD Factors site.
Values
Fundamental beliefs about what is desirable and ideal.
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About Values
Links to the XD Factors site.
Autonomy
The capacity to make choices and have control over one's own life.
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About Autonomy
Links to the XD Factors site.
Competence
The feeling of being effective and skilled in one's activities and interactions.
More About Competence
Links to the XD Factors site.
Culture
Patterns of behavior that unify a people group.
More About Culture
Links to the XD Factors site.
Intention
A person's determination to complete an activity.
More About Intention
Links to the XD Factors site.
Relatedness
Affordances
Any activities that can be completed using a design.
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About Affordances
Links to the XD Factors site.
Desirability
The aesthetic appeal and emotional resonance of a product, service, or system.
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About Desirability
Links to the XD Factors site.
Ethics
The level at which designs prioritize ethical sourcing, production practices, and responsibility.
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About Meaning
Links to the XD Factors site.
Purpose
The goal the product, service, or system is intended to achieve.
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About Purpose
Links to the XD Factors site.
Core
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Core Level
These are the foundational, often unspoken factors that reside at the deepest levels of contexts, people, and design.
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About The Core Level
Social Climate
Perceived attitudes in a setting.
More About Social Climate
Links to the XD Factors site.
Social Norms
Unwritten "rules" that define acceptable behavior.
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About Social Norms
Links to the XD Factors site.
Self-Concept
People's collected beliefs about themselves.
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About Self-Concept
Links to the XD Factors site.
Worldview
How a person conceives the overall "tone" of the world.
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About Worldview
Links to the XD Factors site.
Sensations
Physical sensations such as pain or coldness.
More About Sensations
Links to the XD Factors site.
Mood
A person's underlying emotional state.
More About Mood
Links to the XD Factors site.
Meaning
A design's functional, cultural, and emotional significance to those who use it.
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About Meaning
Links to the XD Factors site.
Memorability
Design that resonates emotionally with users and leaves lasting impressions.
More About Memorability
Links to the XD Factors site.