What you will be able to do
- Turn a vague request into a problem statement with a target user, an observable outcome and clear constraints
- Recruit participants and run interviews that uncover real behaviour instead of polite opinions
- Synthesise interview notes into themes, job stories and design priorities using affinity mapping
- Design user flows, wireframes and a clickable prototype that apply the core WCAG 2.2 accessibility checks
- Plan and moderate a five-person usability test, rate the findings by severity and iterate the design
Who it is for
- Product managers, founders and developers who make design decisions without a dedicated designer
- Graphic and visual designers moving into product and UX work
- Career changers who want a first complete UX case study for their portfolio
Before you start
- A product, feature or service idea to use as your course project (your own or a realistic practice brief)
- A free account on a design tool that supports clickable prototypes, such as Figma or Penpot
- About three to four hours per week for four weeks, including time to talk to real people
Curriculum
4 modules · 12 lessons · 3h 39m
Module 1Frame the Problem and Talk to Users3 lessons · 47 min
Turn a vague request into a clear problem statement, recruit the right participants and prepare an interview script that gets honest, specific stories.
- Framing the problem before you designTurn a vague request like “make onboarding better” into a problem statement with a user, a situation, an outcome and a way to measure progress.15 min · free preview · worked example · exercise
- Recruiting the right participantsDefine who you need to talk to, write a short screener and book five to eight participants without relying on friends and colleagues.14 min · worked example · exercise
- Interview scripts and neutral questionsStructure a 45-minute interview around recent stories, and rewrite leading, hypothetical and double-barrelled questions before they bias your data.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 2From Insights to User Flows3 lessons · 49 min
Synthesise your interviews with affinity mapping, express what users are trying to achieve as job stories and map the flows your design must support.
- Affinity mapping: from notes to themesBreak interview notes into single observations, cluster them from the bottom up and write insight statements the whole team can act on.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Jobs-to-be-done and design prioritiesExpress what users are trying to achieve as job stories, then rank the opportunities by importance and by how well they are served today.16 min · worked example · exercise
- Mapping user flowsMap the steps, decisions and failure paths a user takes to complete a priority job, and remove steps before you design any screens.15 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 3Wireframes, Heuristics and Accessibility3 lessons · 58 min
Design the structure of each screen, review it against established usability heuristics and build in the accessibility basics from the start.
- Wireframing: structure before styleSketch several layout options quickly, then build low-fidelity wireframes that define content, hierarchy and behaviour without visual polish.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Reviewing designs with usability heuristicsUse the ten widely taught usability heuristics to find problems in your wireframes before any user sees them, and rate each problem by severity.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Accessibility basics: contrast, keyboard and labelsApply the WCAG 2.2 essentials that beginners often miss: colour contrast, keyboard access, visible focus, target size and labels.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 4Prototype, Test and Iterate3 lessons · 1h 5m
Build a focused clickable prototype, run a moderated usability test with five participants and turn the findings into a better design.
- Building a clickable prototypeTurn your wireframes into a prototype realistic enough to test your priority tasks, without building more than the test needs.22 min · worked example · exercise
- Moderated usability testing with five usersPlan realistic tasks, moderate sessions without helping and capture observations that show where and why people struggle.25 min · worked example · exercise
- From findings to the next iterationTurn observations into prioritised issues, decide what to change and test again to confirm the fixes worked.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
