UX Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield UX facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is 'chunking' in the context of interface design? → Grouping related information together to reduce cognitive load
2. In IA, what distinguishes global navigation from local navigation? → Global navigation is site-wide and consistent; local navigation is specific to a section
3. In the double diamond design process, what happens in the second diamond? → Designers develop and deliver a solution based on a defined problem
4. What is the purpose of metadata in an IA system? → To add descriptive information to content that aids searching, filtering, and organizing
5. Which of Don Norman's design principles refers to user feedback from the system after an action? → Feedback
6. What is a 'mental model' in the context of UX and IA? → A user's internal understanding and expectations of how a system should work
7. What is a taxonomy in the context of Information Architecture? → A classification system that organizes content into hierarchical categories
8. What is the 'Gulf of Evaluation' in Don Norman's model? → The gap between the actual system state and how easily users can perceive and interpret it
9. What does 'affinity diagramming' help UX researchers accomplish? → Organize and cluster qualitative research findings into themes
10. Which of these components is present in the design of the user experience? → Financial planning
11. One of Nielsen's ten usability heuristics is which of the following? → Visibility of system status
12. What does Hick's Law state about decision-making in UX? → The time to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices
13. What is the primary goal of a contextual inquiry session? → To observe and interview users in their work environment
14. What are the four core principles of WCAG, known by the acronym POUR? → Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust
15. In interaction design, what is 'error prevention' preferred over? → Error messages
16. Which Design Thinking process is preferred? → Define -> Research -> Analysis -> Design -> Test
17. What is a crucial "user journey" with a system called? → Red route
18. Which research method is most effective for measuring the relative importance users place on different product features? → Kano model analysis
19. How many websites do you think don't succeed with user experience? → 97%
20. Which method is best suited to understanding users' long-term behaviors and experiences over time? → Diary study
21. What embodies the design of the user interface's front end? → Visual design
22. What does 'mapping' mean in the context of interaction design? → The relationship between controls and the effects they produce
23. What is a content inventory in the context of IA? → A comprehensive catalog of all content on a website, including URLs, titles, and metadata
24. What does 'affordance' mean in interaction design? → A property of an object that signals how it should be used
25. What does RITE stand for in UX testing methodology? → Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation
26. What does a site map represent in UX design? → A visual diagram showing the hierarchical structure of a website's pages
27. What principle does the 'recognition over recall' heuristic promote? → Making options visible so users recognize them rather than having to remember them
28. What is the primary goal of Information Architecture (IA) in UX design? → To organize and structure content so users can find information easily
29. In interaction design, what is a 'mental model'? → A user's internal understanding of how a system works based on prior experience
30. Which of these DOES NOT constitute a fundamental tenet of user-centered design? → Waterfall design