Course content

The core of this course is to introduce the students to User-Centered Design (UCD) principles methods and techniques. They will learn how to conduct UCD research to identify problems or needs for specific groups of users. They will be introduced to ideation methods and techniques that will let them suggest and develop ideas and possible solutions in a group setting. They will also learn how to further develop their ideas through sketching and prototyping. Finally, students will learn how to involve design experts and end-user to evaluate their designs. Throughout the course, the students will develop an understanding of the iterative design process and will learn how to document their work in each phase of the UCD process.

Topics:

• User-centered design principles
• Iterative design processes
• Design research methods
• Ideation techniques
• Sketching and prototyping
• User testing and evaluation methods

Learning outcome

Knowledge

The student:

• Has fundamental knowledge about what user-centered design is and what phases, methods and principles that is at the core of user-centered design
• Has fundamental knowledge about the terms User-Centered Design (UCD), User eXperience (UX), and User Interface (UI).
• Has fundamental knowledge about regulations regarding research ethics and GDPR as it relates to a researcher handling possible person-sensitive data

Skills

The student can:

• analyse end-users' needs regarding a specific problem space and identify issues in existing designs.
• make sketches and prototypes.
• use creative techniques to develop solutions to established problems.
• document a design project in a simple formal report.

General competence

The student

• Has the ability to participate in a group-based project
• Can analyze and agree on a project topic/task as a group and execute the work according to the syllabus
• Can recruit representative end-users that suit the task at hand and perform a test among this group.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures and group work.

This course is offered to exchange students. Language of instruction is English.

Compulsory assignments

• Oblig 1
• Oblig 2
• Oblig 3

Specific conditions

Required previous knowledge

Requires admission to study programs: Bachelor in Web Development, Bachelor in Interaction Design, Bachelor in Programming, one year programme in Webdesign or the one year program in Informatics.

Course materials

The syllabus will be stated at the start of the semester.