HYPV

Definitions

Industry and HYPV-specific terms or abbreviations

:_id: Globally unique identifier automatically assigned to all objects with embedded timestamp

ID VID CID GID OBJECT

:_id8 vid1 c0 draft :vid1 c0 :cid c0 :gid :hermes_oran_sandal

current :_id7 vid1 c0 committed

:_id6 vid1 c0 previous

:_id5 vid1 c0 off

:_id4 vid0 c0 off :vid0 c0

:_id3 vid1 control draft :vid1 control :cid control

current :_id2 vid1 control committed

:_id1 vid0 control off :vid0 control

:_id0 vid0 control off

This shows all the :_id that may exist for a single object

The :hermes_oran_sandal example is a single product with a control variant and one test candidate c0 against it — both have had some edits so versions v0, v1 etc. exist
2D Object Model: Traditional ecommerce data models have a single row per object (with one id per object) such as a product or category in a table — which gives no mechanism for multiple variants of the object to exist in parallel for A/B or MVT testing

Example of a regular ecommerce product table:

ID SKU SLUG TITLE

88 H5E0642DMDP36 coaching-deja-vu-classic-shirt "Coaching Deja Vu" classic shirt

89 H5E4645DKDD34 bolduc-au-carre-micro-t-shirt "Bolduc au Carre" micro t-shirt
4D Object Model: Advanced MongoDB data model designed specifically for HYPV that stores, as equals, any variation clone of an object and every change to those objects (similar to Git branches + version history) Multiple copies of an object can be live concurrently — including test variants (e.g. improved product description vs control) or version variants where a title has been modified
A/B: A method of comparing two objects (variant A vs. variant B) to determine which one performs better in achieving a specific goal
Actionable Intelligence: Metrics and insights that are not just informative but can be directly used to make decisions and implement changes, such as the percentage of top selling products in stock today That is a measurement that can be obviously impacted with activity — vs metrics like AOV which usually have no mechanism to influence directly
AOV: Average order value — only tracked in places as a byproduct — it is not usually a particularly useful metric for performance targeting as trying to force it higher can often reduce overall gains Targeting specifics such as 'attachment rate' or bundling metrics can be more useful in that area
Attachment Rate: Whether an optional item is attached to an order or upsold, cross-sold
Attribution: The process of identifying and assigning credit to the various marketing channels such as Meta Ads — it is critical to know as much as is possible where ad traffic is landing and how it is converting to get a view on ROAS and identify areas to increase/decrease spend at a granular level
Augmentation API: A subset of the HYPV engine functionality to deliver recsys and other UX improvements over API endpoints to existing platforms
Bare Metal: In the context of HYPV, bare metal is when concepts that usually require add-ons such as A/B testing, search and recommend systems all run as part of the platform itself without needing external tech This increases the granularity of the signal telemetry available for targeting and means all objects involved are peers — so the performance is within platform control, not the lowest common denominator of the add-ons in place
Behavior: The set of actions, interactions, and patterns exhibited by an enduser while engaging with the platform — this includes clicks, page views, purchases, search queries, time spent, and UX journeys We are interested in the positive actions, the negative actions (things they are not doing) and also what we can infer from those at a higher level — such as infering vegetarian label from someone who is not purchasing or even viewing meat over several sessions
Behavioral Segment: Session, product interaction and buying patterns
Bias: A deviation or inference of normal from enduser behavior — for instance [:size_12, +6], [:size_14, +2] from a session filtering clothing results
Blit: The process of taking the denormalised backend data which includes all the variate instances, and transposing it to 'origin' objects (so there is a reference point back to where the data came from) — then flattening everything out to the 'edge' database servers This happens every time a deploy of the frontend is initiated The creation of a wholly new structure for each deploy allows absolutely any combination of MVT configurations to run in production — such as running two completely different category taxonomies
Candidate: A specific object variation (e.g. content element) that is being considered or tested for its potential effectiveness or suitability for a particular segment Candidates can also persist permanently — for instance when a set of creative assets are performing better than control for a specific cohort
:cid: The unique identifier for a candidate of an object, it can have many versions (vids)
Clone: In the context of the 4D Model, clone is a copy of an object created to serve as a basis for a new variation or test — clones allow for parallel development and testing of different object states without altering the original
CLV: Customer lifetime value
Control: In A/B testing or experimentation, the 'control' is the existing or baseline version of an object against which new candidate variations are compared to measure their impact
Code & Algorithms: In the context of hypervariation, this refers to the software logic, machine learning models, statistical methods, and rule-based systems that power the HYPV platform These behave exactly like the data and visual objects when testing — so two code libraries or algos can be tested against each other
Cohort: A group of users who share a common characteristic
Conversational AI: AI tech that enable computers to understand, process, and respond to human language in a natural, conversational way HYPV native platform is experimenting with conversational AI to drive shopping experiences for enhanced user interaction
Cross-sell: Encourage enduser to buy additional items or attach an optional accessory
CX (Customer Experience): The overall experience a customer has with a retailer — of which the UX is only part It includes email communications, shipments, CS queries, returns and marketing
Data: In the context of hypervariation, this encompasses all information processed and utilized by the HYPV system which is delivered to the enduser This primarily includes 'objects' (e.g., products, content, UI elements) and their variations
Data Window: A defined period of time from which data is collected and analyzed Shorter windows will show velocity of targetable user behavior such as increase in interest in fishing tackle for a user that has never interacted with category before Longer windows are useful to see seasonal trends ahead of time which may not yet be visible in the short windows (so start pushing garden furniture before Easter not after)
Demographic Segment: Characteristics like age, gender, income and occupation
Edge: Everything deployed to production — the vertical denormalised database, the quant packs, the schema etc.
Elect: In the context of A/B/MVT testing or optimization within HYPV, the process of selecting a specific variation (candidate) to be targeted at a cohort or enduser Which may be for an already calculated bias reason or because the user happens to be in an experiment group
Enduser (UU): An individual interacting with the platform — they can be anonymous initially before becoming known once logged in
Experiment Group: All endusers are assigned membership of some preset experiment groups, which enables a fast mechanism for selecting 5% or 10% of whole audience for any site wide tests
Facet: An attribute or characteristic of an object (usually product) that can be used for categorization, filtering, or searching — for instance size or color
Fragment: A distinct, often reusable, component or section of the user interface or page layout Examples include header, footer or product recommendation strip These can be varied for testing as with object data and other targetable components
Funnel: A defined series of pages that a user progresses through to achieve a specific goal
Geographic Segment: Location country, city
:gid: The unique global identifier for an object, it can have control and many candidates (cids) — all of which can have many versions (vids)
GM: Gross margin
GMV: Gross merchandisable value
Hybrid Sets: Recsys sets that are built from multiple sources to form a single set

For example purposes, a 20 object set could be formed from:

15 short-window trending object interactions in same category for cohorts enduser is member

15 wider-window trending object interactions in same category for cohorts enduser is member

Backfill appended with trending objects related to all endusers who interacted with object

Removal from set of anything we do not want to promote like out of stocks — or say the product is from a sponsored brand so we remove any competitors

Interlace into the set 3 sponsored products that are in proximity but did not appear natuarally in the earlier calcs

That is just an illustration — the real calcs would do more to filter earlier etc.
Hypervariate: The concept that multiple candidates of any object may exist and be targeted concurrently Enabling completely unique experiences to be delivered on a per-enduser basis
Hyperpersonalize: This refers to the practice of using detailed enduser data and predictive AI to tailor experiences, content, and offers to individual users or microsegments at an extreme level of granularity HYPV has the ability to vary any data, code or visual content rendered by cohort or individual enduser
HVE, HVE50 and HVE1000: High-value endusers — pre-built cohorts that can be used for targeting and track in some of the intelligence visualizations

Giving opportunities to vary:

run an ad-free, upsell-free experience for HVE1000, excluding all brands likely to be of low interest &mdash changing layouts for HVE1000 to use larger image collateral

offer specific products only to HVE1000 which are not available to general public but appear within the normal UX and product discovery — or push some sponsored luxury brands harder
Inferred Label: The calculation that an enduser is vegetarian as they never interact with meat labeled products or categories
Input Metric: Metrics that we have some power to improve for instance '% Top 250 SKUs In Stock' Improving input metrics with action should result in improvements to output metrics like 'GMV' or 'NPS'
Interlace: Interlace refers to the technique of alternating or combining different rec algorithms or item sets to create a compound set for delivery to the enduser This may include pulling in some sponsored or promoted objects to the calculated set
IPO: Items per order
Label: A unique text identifier for an object using a symbol format Labels are fundamental in HYPV for training supervised machine learning models and for triggering targeting rules
Label Weight: A numerical value assigned to a label indicating its importance For instance size labels are more important than more subjective labels like color
Label Velocity: The rate at which labels are applied, changed, or accumulated over time for a user, object, or segment This can indicate trends, evolving interests, or the freshness of certain characteristics, which HYPV can use for dynamic adaptation For instance it is useful for targeting to know the interactions with size_12 are increasing and at the same time size_14 is decreasing
Latency Analytics: The practice of measuring, monitoring, and analyzing delays (latency) within a system or across various components (e.g. HYPV API response times, page load times with variations, data query speeds) Pagespeed is core to UX performance so every aspect in HYPV that can be measured for speeed, is
Layout: In the context of hypervariation, this refers to the arrangement and structure of visual elements on a page or screen Layouts can be dynamically altered by HYPV, including the inclusion, exclusion, or rearrangement of 'fragments', entire 'pages', or sequences of pages ('funnels') These layouts themselves can be treated as 'objects' subject to variation
Legacy Platform: An older technology system, application or e-commerce platform that is still in use but may be outdated, difficult to modify, or lack modern capabilities HYPV can integrate with legacy platforms via an Augmentation API to add predictive-AI features not available from other sources As HYPV can be modified per client there are no restrictions on what can be done to meet constraints in client technology
Manual: Some aspects of HYPV can be fully automated (synthetic), partially automated or manual Manual refers to situations like the ability of merchandisers to push a specific object regardless of what the recsys feels should be pushed
Microsegment: A highly specific and granular subdivision of a larger user segment, often defined by a narrow set of characteristics, behaviors, or preferences Microsegments enable more precise targeting and hyperpersonalization by HYPV For instance [:female_30_up, :city]
Mobile/Web: Refers to user experiences delivered through web browsers on mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) — this is targeted in same was as desktop This is distinct from native mobile apps
Mobile/App: Refers to user experiences delivered through native applications installed on mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) For instance apps downloaded from app stores for iPhone or Android HYPV can target these environments with API variance but it is usually more limited than with web interactions
MVT: Multivariate Testing — a method of testing in which multiple variations of multiple elements on a page or within an experience are tested simultaneously to determine the combination that performs best A core capability supported by HYPV which can have unlimited MVTs running in parallel
Native Platform: The use of HYPV as a full platform (not just an augmentation API) which unlocks the full hypervariation feature capabilities of the 4D data model
Negative Labels: In the inference context these are labels that explicitly indicate a negative for instance vegetarian from lack of meat interactions In conversational AI user interface context this is where voice feedback is received that can assign negative labels to objects which were not previously know — "no those are too boho, show me more mainstream"
Object: In the HYPV system, a fundamental unit of data or content that can be managed, versioned, and varied using the 4D Model — this can include products, categories, content articles, UI elements (fragments, layouts), media assets, or any other distinct entity (_id) that is subject to personalization or testing
Origin: Intermediate objects created during a blit to allow link to edge objects 1. to reference where they came from 2. to enable an efficient mechanism for soft updates (price, stocklevel etc.) that do not require a full deploy
Output Metric: Metrics which cannot be changed directly but do tell us whether our input metric covered improvements are having an impact on the wider goals Examples are 'repeat visit frequency', 'NPS', 'blended ROAS' and revenue / margin Output metrics are primarily for monthly reports and the exec team
Page: A single document or screen within a website or application, typically identified by a unique URL or view state Pages are often composed of multiple 'fragments' and can be part of a larger user 'funnel' HYPV can vary content at the page level or sub-page (fragment) level.
Page Type: The classification of the page (the template)

This enables measurement of all instances of page template and how they interact — for example the frequency of transition (CTR) between a category page and a product page

PAGE ABBREV DESC

:home HME Home page

:category CAT Category listing page

:product PRD Product page (PDP)

:brand BRD Brand or vendor page

:list LST Listing page — a collection of products usually from multiple categories

:search SRC Search page — the search results page or advanced search page

:lander LAN Landing page — a bespoke page for a specific campaign or similar

:cart CRT Cart page — the first page of the funnel or 'view cart', which can run upsell

:account_home AHM Account entry page, which may have recently viewed or similar on there

:account_view_order AVO Account page for looking at a previous order
Polyfill: In context of HYPV this refers to additional features and APIs created when working with legacy platforms to add logic beyond that normally needed for hyperpersonalization but is missing and impacting UX For instance some platforms do not have tiered categories or breadcrumbs, HYPV can also supply these if needed
Predictive AI: The use of historical and real-time data to make predictions about future outcomes, behaviors, or trends of a cohort or individual enduser It employs machine learning algorithms (like regression, classification, clustering) and statistical modeling to analyze patterns and build a range of targeting caches, decision trees and lookup tables Used to disambiguate with Generative AI when talking about the core HYPV technology
Product Discovery: The process by which users find and learn about products on an ecommerce platform This includes search, nav, recommendation strips and other features that help users identify objects relevant to their needs or interests
Psychographic Segment: Lifestyle, values, attitude and personality signals
Quantlet: A mini version of a Quant Pack — for lightweight use with augmentation API
Quant Pack: A full targeting output generated by HYPV and refreshed every few hours which contains pre-calculated decision trees, large scale caches and similar to ensure very fast UX even though all rendered objects are targeted specifically
Realtime Targeting Loop: Web server logic that adapts quickly to changes in signal biases when it becomes clear the quant pack caches are too stale to use for the current enduser session For instance the signal change cliff that happens at the end of Christmas shopping period and users start immediately behaving very differently
Recsys & Recommendation System: All the areas on a site where targeting of product is happening — 'people who viewed this also viewed'
Recsys Cache: A pre-calculated set of recommendations for a cohort, microsegment or even a specific enduser
Retention: The ability of site to keep endusers returning over time A core KPI for HYPV and monitored at a granular level (by category, by device, by UI medium etc.)
ROAS: Return On Ad Spend — even though HYPV is mostly focused on targeting, this is part of the core offering as it is critical to wider performance Where is ad traffic landing and how is it behaving
Routing: All pages, fragments and algos go through a router which elects whether the enduser get control or candidate of any object
Schema: A frontend end source pack which contains all visual code for rendering Multiple can be in existance at any time to enable different visual content for testing or targeting Can also be used to create different layouts for whitelabel sites or international variants
Segment: A group of endusers sharing one or more common characteristics, behaviors, or attributes (e.g., demographic, geographic, behavioral, psychographic)
Segmentation Strategy: Partitioning of a range into macro segmentation groupings (sea vs coarse in fishing, male vs female on a fashion site) that is used in obvious targeting situations and reporting
Session: Despite restrictions on cookie-based tracking and many analytics-type tools moving away from the concept — it is still a very important targeting concept HYPV can take telemetry direct from platform when running as an augmentation API, avoiding issues — when running headless or natively it is first party anyway Sessions go through substantial post-processing to extract behavior patterns and deduplicate attribution — to enable additional bias computations on the enduser and get a clearer view on ad spend
Signal & Signal Granularity: An individual pageview, click, purchase or search query
Switch Sell: A directly replaceable product to the one being viewed — which can be pushed if out-of-stock
Synthetic: Any automated generation of an object — for instance a pack of creative assets used to feed a merchandising strip The packs can be created synthetically for targeting to cohorts (vs manually created packs by the merchandising team)
:symbol: Unique tag for a concept or identifier — text equival of a gid
:symbol_c: Text equival of a cid
:symbol_cv: Text equival of a cid with vid suffix
Telemetry: A firehose stream of signals in raw form before gets transposed into more meaningful formats
Track: A series of pages or a funnel when analyzing and visualizing enduser behaviour or impact of tests on transitions from a page — for instance what happens next downstream from a landing page and which tracks are converting higher than others
TRX: Transaction — an order — HYPV is mostly only interested up to the point of receiving one, everything after that is out of scope
Upsell: Encouraging an enduser to choose a higher-priced or upgraded version of the same product they were initially considering
UX: The overall experience an enduser has when interacting with an online retail site or app:

all page layouts and partial components of page layouts — home, PDP, landers …

all data pushed to the enduser — products, categories …

all algorithms involved in pushing data and visuals — recsys, search, filter sorts …
Version & Versionable: When any object is modified in CMS a new version is created (like a git commit) this enables the performance of changes to be tracked over time — for instance if a title is modified the CR for product can be seen before and after by version id
:vid: The version identifier for an object
Voice Commerce: Shopping using voice commands on web or mobile — in context of HYPV it benefits from the labeling system in use and also allows collection of user contributed labels from interactions &mdash "not like that, those are all too boho, show me more mainstream"

	ID	VID	CID	GID	OBJECT
	:_id8 vid1 c0 draft	:vid1 c0	:cid c0	:gid	:hermes_oran_sandal
current	:_id7 vid1 c0 committed
	:_id6 vid1 c0 previous
	:_id5 vid1 c0 off
	:_id4 vid0 c0 off	:vid0 c0

	:_id3 vid1 control draft	:vid1 control	:cid control
current	:_id2 vid1 control committed	:vid1 control
	:_id1 vid0 control off	:vid0 control
	:_id0 vid0 control off	:vid0 control

ID	SKU	SLUG	TITLE
88	H5E0642DMDP36	coaching-deja-vu-classic-shirt	"Coaching Deja Vu" classic shirt
89	H5E4645DKDD34	bolduc-au-carre-micro-t-shirt	"Bolduc au Carre" micro t-shirt

PAGE	ABBREV	DESC
:home	HME	Home page
:category	CAT	Category listing page
:product	PRD	Product page (PDP)
:brand	BRD	Brand or vendor page
:list	LST	Listing page — a collection of products usually from multiple categories
:search	SRC	Search page — the search results page or advanced search page
:lander	LAN	Landing page — a bespoke page for a specific campaign or similar
:cart	CRT	Cart page — the first page of the funnel or 'view cart', which can run upsell
:account_home	AHM	Account entry page, which may have recently viewed or similar on there
:account_view_order	AVO	Account page for looking at a previous order