User Experience v2.0.9

Nanodegree key: nd578

Version: 2.0.9

Locale: en-us

The UX Fundamentals & Design Research program teaches the core principles of human-centered design, including scoping a design problem, conducting in-depth interviews, creating quantitative surveys, using research data to uncover opportunities, and applying psychology to design sketches with the end user in mind. Participants will learn how to develop a discussion guide, recruit research participants, and synthesize findings in the form of a research report. They will also learn how to translate research findings into low-fidelity prototypes that can be tested with users, design high-fidelity prototypes, and conduct usability tests. Finally, the program teaches advanced user interface principles to build interactive designs that engage users and improve key performance indicators.

Content

Part 01 : Welcome to the User Experience Nanodegree Program

Module 01: Welcome to the User Experience Nanodegree Program
- Lesson 01: User Experience Nanodegree Program Introduction
- Lesson 02: Introduction to User Experience
  - Concept 01: What will you learn in this Nanodegree program?
- Lesson 03: Get Help with Your Account
  What to do if you have questions about your account or general questions about the program.
  - Concept 01: FAQ
  - Concept 02: Support
- Lesson 04: Getting Help
  You are starting a challenging but rewarding journey! Take 5 minutes to read how to get help with projects and content.

Part 02 : UX Fundamentals & Design Research

Learn the fundamentals of User Experience Design.

Module 01: UX Fundamentals and Design Research
- Lesson 01: Course Overview
  In this lesson, we'll introduce your instructor, give a brief overview of the course, and look ahead to what you'll be building for your final project.
- Lesson 02: UX: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  In this lesson, we'll look at fundamental UX concepts, including basic design principles, how to evaluate usability, and how to think like a UX designer.
- Lesson 03: Research First
  Research is an essential part of UX design. In this lesson, you'll learn how to plan a UX research study, how to conduct a semi-structured interview, and how to ask effective questions on a survey.
- Lesson 04: Design for Humans
  Humans are complex creatures. In this lesson, we'll look deeper into how to take psychology into consideration when we make design decisions.
- Lesson 05: Project: UX Research
  In this project you will conduct an entire UX Research study from start to finish that will result in generating a report and integrating that research into a sketch of the design.
  
  Project Description - Submit Your Project: UX Research
  
  Project Rubric - Submit Your Project: UX Research

Part 03 : Concept to Low-Fidelity Prototyping

The best products have gone through rounds of iteration based on user research and feedback. Learn the process of a design sprint, and how to translate findings from research into a prototype that can be tested with users. Understand how to foster team collaboration and use divergent and convergent thinking to rapidly create testable prototypes. Apply user interface principles in the design of a clickable prototype, and conduct a usability test to gain valuable feedback from users that can be used in design iterations.

Module 01: Concept to Low-Fidelity Prototyping
- Lesson 01: Course Overview
  In this lesson, we'll introduce your instructor, give a brief overview of the course, and look ahead to what you'll be building for your final project.
- Lesson 02: Define the Design Sprint
  Let's look at how to explore product opportunities collaboratively—while reducing our risks and ensuring our team is aligned throughout an ambiguous design process.
- Lesson 03: Synthesis: Research to Features
  The best products are informed by user needs. Let's look at how we can use research to find those needs—and uncover high-value product features that we can target in our designs.
- Lesson 04: UI Principles
  Great products don't re-invent the wheel; they expand on design patterns that users are already comfortable with. In this lesson, we'll explore some fundamental UI principles for digital products.
- Lesson 05: Clickable Prototyping
  It's expensive to engineer and implement solutions in code. In this lesson, we'll practice the hard skill of building an interactive prototype that feels like a real piece of software.
- Lesson 06: Usability Testing
  Even the best looking designs may have unexpected problems. You'll learn hard skills to take your designs into the wild to identify issues early.
- Lesson 07: Project: Low-Fidelity Rapid Prototyping Sprint
  In this project, you'll demonstrate a grasp on the design process from customer understanding through to lo-fi prototyping.
  
  Project Description - Low-Fidelity Rapid Prototyping Sprint
  
  Project Rubric - Low-Fidelity Rapid Prototyping Sprint

Part 04 : High-Fidelity Prototyping to Post-Launch Analysis

Once products have been tested for its effectiveness, they need to be enhanced for engagement.
Learn advanced user interface principles to build interactive designs that are ready to be handed off to
engineering for feedback. Understand how to solicit and integrate feedback from engineering to enhance the design before it is ready for development. Assess the engagement of the product through remote usability testing and other experimentation methods. Finally, you’ll learn how to improve design and user experiences based on engagement data in order to increase key performance indicators.

Module 01: High-Fidelity Prototyping to Post-Launch Analysis
- Lesson 01: Course Overview
  In this lesson, we'll introduce your instructor, give a brief overview of the course, and look ahead to what you'll be building for your final project.
- Lesson 02: UI Design Basics
  Get into UI basics, UI vs UX, basic design principles, and the role typography, design systems and style guides play for a UX Designer.
- Lesson 03: Building Interactive Designs
  Learn about levels of fidelity in design, using a tool called Figma to build out a high-fidelity design of your own. Then, add interactivity by creating a clickable prototype!
- Lesson 04: Midterm: Create & Improve a High-Fidelity Design
  Build on the digital design you made for the mobile or web application in Course 2 to create a High-Fidelity Mockup, and then implement it in a clickable prototype.
  
  Project Description - Midterm: Create & Improve a High-Fidelity Design
  
  Project Rubric - Midterm: Create & Improve a High-Fidelity Design
  - Concept 01: Instructions
- Lesson 05: Preparing Design for Engineering Handoff
  Engineering handoff is a key part of a UX Designer’s role, yet often overlooked by those new to the field. Learn about the deliverables for handoff and how best to collaborate with your team!
- Lesson 06: Improving Design Performance
  Use KPI’s to improve your design, and learn how analytics and testing can be used for data-based improvements.
- Lesson 07: Final: Create & Improve a High-Fidelity Design
  Take the clickable prototype you created in your midterm and improve the accessibility of your design, iterate on your design based on Data & KPIs, and hand-off to engineering.
  
  Project Description - Final: Create & Improve a High-Fidelity Design
  
  Project Rubric - Final: Create & Improve a High-Fidelity Design
  - Concept 01: Instructions

Part 05 : Capstone

Module 01: Capstone
- Lesson 01: Portfolio Basics
  In this lesson, we’ll be exploring the purpose and uses of a portfolio as a communication tool or artifact in your professional career: portfolio as storytelling, what it is, how it's structured and used, what to include, and what to avoid as you express your experience and abilities in user experience.
- Lesson 02: Building a Starter Portfolio
  Creating your portfolio is an opportunity to apply design process to communicating your capabilities as professional. In this lesson, we'll discuss how to create a project case study from a past UX project, how to build a starter portfolio, and practices for maintaining your portfolio as you progress in your career.
- Lesson 03: UX Portfolio Case Study
  Project Description - UX Portfolio Case Study
  
  Project Rubric - UX Portfolio Case Study
  - Concept 01: Overview
  - Concept 02: User Experience ND - Capstone README

**Part 06 (Career):** Career Services

Module 01: Career Services
- Lesson 01: Take 30 Min to Improve your LinkedIn
  Find your next job or connect with industry peers on LinkedIn. Ensure your profile attracts relevant leads that will grow your professional network.
  
  Project Description - Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
  
  Project Rubric - Improve Your LinkedIn Profile