Resources · Glossary

The digital adoption glossary.

The language of adoption, onboarding, and analytics, defined in plain terms. New terms are added as each definition goes live.

Adoption rate

The share of users actively and correctly using a tool, measured against everyone it was rolled out to.

AI adoption

How readily teams put AI tools to work in their day-to-day tasks once they are made available.

AI readiness

How prepared an organization's data, skills, and processes are to put AI to productive use.

Behavioral data

What users actually do inside an application: clicks, paths, and drop-offs, captured to guide decisions.

Center of Excellence (CoE)

A dedicated team that sets standards, shares best practices, and drives adoption across the organization.

Change fatigue

The exhaustion and resistance that build up when people face too many changes in too short a time.

Change Leadership

Guiding people through change by setting direction, building buy-in, and sustaining momentum.

Change Management

The structured approach to helping people adopt new tools, processes, and ways of working.

Citizen Developer

A business user who builds apps or automations with low-code or no-code tools, without formal coding skills.

Contextual help

Guidance that appears right where and when users need it, inside the screen they are working on.

CRM

Customer relationship management software that centralizes a company's sales, marketing, and customer-service interactions.

Custom software

Applications built specifically for one organization rather than bought off the shelf.

Customer Adoption

How fully customers integrate a product into the way they work after they buy it.

Customer Onboarding

Guiding new customers to their first success with a product as quickly as possible.

Daily active users

The number of unique people who use a product on a given day, a core measure of engagement.

DAP

A digital adoption platform that layers in-app guidance and analytics on top of any software.

Desktop Application

Software installed and run locally on a computer rather than accessed through a browser.

Digital Adoption

The point at which employees use software fully and correctly to get real work done.

Digital Adoption Manager

The person who owns rollout, in-app guidance, and adoption metrics for an organization's software.

Digital Adoption Solutions (DAS)

The tools and services that help users learn and master software inside the applications themselves.

Digital Dexterity

An employee's ability and willingness to use digital tools and technology to get work done well.

Digital Enablement

Equipping employees with the tools, skills, and support to work effectively with digital systems.

Digital Experience

The overall quality of every interaction a person has with an organization's digital tools.

Digital Friction

The effort, confusion and delay people face when using digital tools to get work done.

Digital Transformation

Reshaping how an organization operates and delivers value by adopting digital technology end to end.

Digital Workplace

The connected set of tools and platforms employees use to do their work from anywhere.

E-procurement

The digital purchasing of goods and services, from requisition to payment, managed through online systems.

Employee Experience

Everything an employee encounters at work, from the tools they use to the support they receive.

Employee Onboarding

Bringing new hires up to speed on the tools and processes they need from day one.

Employee Productivity

How much meaningful output employees produce relative to the time and effort they put in.

Employee Training

Helping staff build the skills and knowledge they need to do their jobs well.

End-user support

The help offered to the people who actually use a tool when they hit a question or a blocker.

ERP

Enterprise resource planning software that unifies core business processes such as finance, HR, and supply chain.

Feature adoption

How widely and consistently users take up a specific capability within a product.

Feature Discovery

How users find and start using a product's features, often prompted by in-app guidance and nudges.

Guided workflows

Step-by-step prompts that walk users through a process directly inside the application.

Hands-on learning

Building skills by doing the real task rather than only reading or watching instructions.

HRIS

A human resource information system that manages employee data, payroll, and HR processes in one platform.

In-App Guidance

Help and prompts delivered inside the software, so users learn while they work.

In-app guided tours

A sequence of prompts that introduces users to a product's key screens and actions.

In-app messaging

Targeted messages shown inside an application to inform, prompt, or guide users in the moment.

Interactive Walkthrough Software

No-code tooling that guides users through an application step by step, in real time.

Legacy applications

Older systems that stay in use even as newer tools appear around them.

Low-code / no-code platform

Tools that let people build software with little or no traditional programming.

Microlearning

Short, focused lessons that teach one thing at a time, right when it is needed.

Microsurvey

A very short in-app survey, often a single question, used to capture quick feedback.

Onboarding Automation

Using software to guide and complete onboarding steps without manual hand-holding.

Onboarding Checklist

A step-by-step list that guides new users or employees through the actions needed to get started.

Online Training

Learning delivered over the internet, on demand or in scheduled sessions.

Process intelligence

Analyzing how work actually flows through systems to find friction and improve it.

Product Adoption

The process by which users move from first use to regular, value-driven use of a product.

Product engagement

How deeply and how often users interact with a product over time.

Product tour

A guided introduction that shows new users what a product does and how to start.

Product-led growth

A strategy where the product itself drives sign-ups, adoption, and expansion.

Productivity paradox

When heavy investment in technology fails to produce the expected gains in output.

Resource Center

An on-demand, in-app hub where users self-serve guides, answers, and support without leaving their tool.

Self-service portal

A place where users find answers and complete tasks on their own, without contacting support.

Shadow IT

Software and tools employees use without the knowledge or approval of the IT team.

Software Adoption

How fully and correctly a workforce puts a given application to use after it is deployed.

Software implementation

The work of setting up, configuring, and rolling out a new application across an organization.

Software Paralysis

When too many tools or features overwhelm users and stall their progress.

Software Residue

Unused licenses, features, and tools that linger after a rollout and quietly waste budget.

Software Tutorial

A guided lesson that shows users how to complete a task in a specific tool.

Software Utilization

How much of the software an organization pays for is actually being used.

Strategic Change

A major, planned shift in how an organization operates to meet long-term goals.

Technology Adoption

The process by which people and organizations take up and start using a new technology.

Technology Adoption Curve

The model that maps how different groups embrace new technology over time, from innovators to laggards.

Time to Value

How long it takes a new user to reach a meaningful first outcome with a product.

Tooltip

A small in-app label that appears on hover or focus to explain an element in context.

Training Software

Tools built to create, deliver, and track learning for employees or customers.

Usage analytics

The measurement of how people use a product, used to guide adoption and improvement.

User adoption

How readily individual users take up a tool and make it part of their routine.

User Journey

The full path a person takes through a product, from first contact to ongoing use.

User Onboarding

Guiding new users to their first real success with a product, as fast as possible.

Walkthrough

A step-by-step interactive guide that walks a user through a task inside an app.

Workflow Adoption

How consistently teams follow a defined process inside their tools.

Workplace Transformation

Rethinking how, where, and with what tools people work to fit a digital-first world.

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