User Experience Fundamentals

Overview

From the simplest web-page, to the instrument panel of the latest aircraft, everything the user sees, hears, or feels has a major impact on the way that they use the tools in front of them. This course teaches the essential skills for designing and developing the way in which users will interact with their products, be it websites, software applications, or physical products.

Target Audience:

Whether you are a full blown User Experience Designer, or a software developer who needs to understand the User Experience (UX) field, you will find this course essential in improving the lives of your users.

Prerequisites

• Delegates must be computer literate, and have recent experiences as a computer user.

Outline

Chapter One – Introducing User Experience

• UX Problems, Usability & User Centred Design
• Design Processes & Methodologies
• Common Methodologies
• Creating a Design-Friendly Process
• Usability Maxims

Chapter Two – The Strategy Plane

• Business Goals as Product Objectives
• Brand identity
• Success metrics
• The basic of user research and testing
• Psychology of User
• Understanding user needs with Interviewing, Card Sorting, Mental Model and User Personas techniques
• Designing for Different Experience Levels

Chapter Three — The Scope Plane

• Technical Requirements
• Content Requirements
• Content Planning
• Scenario Mapping
• Journey Mapping
• Prioritise – MoSCoW

Chapter Four – The Structure Plane

• Understanding and the use of Navigation Patterns
• Focused Entry Points
• How to build an Information Architecture
• Understanding and the use of Conceptual Model
• Usability Concerns
• Design Patterns
• Stopping points
• User Journeys

Chapter Five – The Skeleton Plane

• Navigating Multiple Screens, Views or Pages, Tools and Menus
• How to improve Navigation
• The use of Sitemaps
• How to design for Interactions
• Understanding of design principles
• Interaction Flow
• Wireframing
• Different types of prototyping

Chapter Six – The Surface Plane

• Consistency and Standards
• Style Guides
• The user of colour
• Designing for different platforms
• Understanding of Metaphors, Idioms and Affordances
• The Building Blocks and Principles of Visual Design

Throughout the whole course, learners will be working with a case study to build toward a prototype (either paper or digital). Learners will also be conducting usability testing on the prototype either in the classroom or remotely.