jfkelley's definitions

Push-down, Blow-out Stack

A FIFO (First-In, First-Out) stack in computing is also known as a Push-down, Pull-out stack - records or events or items are pushed down at the top and pulled out at the bottom. A LIFO (Last-In, First-Out) is also known as a Push-down, Pop-out stack - records are pushed down from the top and pulled out from the top.

You can imagine a FIBO or Push-down, Blow-out stack where you keep pushing events or to-do items (or emails) down at the top until the pressure reaches a certain point at which time the bottom of the stack ruptures and all the items in the queue blow out the bottom and scatter all over the floor.

For some folks, their email inbox is a Push-down, Blow-out stack where any emails that get pushed down below the fold (bottom edge of the screen) essentially disappear from their reality and might as well have blown out all over the floor.

My To-Do list is a Push-down, Blow-out stack which has reached critical mass and exploded; it's blissfully reassuring now that I have nothing in my To-Do list!

by jfkelley June 19, 2018

Push-Pull

The fundamental dichotomy when designing any web application: The business goals/requirements of the enterprise (the "push") vs. the needs/requirements of the end-user/customer (the "pull"). Best visualized with a simple, two-circle Venn diagram. The intersection being the "sweet" spot (no-brainer stuff to do). Some designers/researchers will add a third circle for technological constraints (context), but many effective designers prefer to make that a secondary consideration during early concepting.

This corporate mandate to increase self-service options and reduce traffic to your call centers ignores the push-pull trade-off between cost and customer satisfaction; there are certain cases where the customer really feels the need to talk to someone.

by jfkelley June 18, 2018

Determinate

To resurrect.

Since we found out you didn't steal from petty cash, we have decide to determinate your employment.

by jfkelley May 28, 2016

visual containment

In visual/UI design, a stylistic convention whereby objects and content that belong and/or act together are visually grouped together.

Placing the edit button above the section header violates the principle of visual containment. It' s not visually obvious WHAT is being edited.

by jfkelley May 28, 2016

notificant

a person who has been notified

Notificants who do not respond to our first notifications will be sent a second reminder.

by jfkelley April 8, 2015

certificant

A person who has been certified or has received a certification.

We will notify all certificants 30 days before their certifications expire.

by jfkelley May 13, 2013

magpie navigation

A method by which some users choose their path through websites, i.e., by clicking on the "shiny" buttons and links, with little regard for the information architecture or existing navigation hierarchy.

We made the happy path buttons larger and bright blue to facilitate magpie navigation.

by jfkelley March 20, 2013