Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, and Ideate
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Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, and Ideate
This course is part of Google UX Design Professional Certificate
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What you'll learn
Empathize with users to understand their needs and pain points.
Develop problem statements to define user needs.
Generate ideas for possible solutions to user problems.
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There are 4 modules in this course
Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, Ideate is the second course in a certificate program that will equip you with the skills needed to apply to entry-level jobs in user experience (UX) design. In this course, you’ll complete the first phases of the design process for a project that you’ll be able to include in your portfolio. You will learn how to empathize with users and understand their pain points, define user needs using problem statements, and come up with lots of ideas for solutions to those user problems.
Current UX designers and researchers at Google will serve as your instructors, and you will complete hands-on activities that simulate real-world UX design scenarios. Learners who complete the courses in this certificate program should be equipped to apply for entry-level jobs as UX designers. No previous experience is necessary. By the end of this course, you will be able to: - Empathize with users to understand their needs and pain points. - Create empathy maps, personas, user stories, and user journey maps to understand user needs. - Develop problem statements to define user needs. - Generate ideas for possible solutions to user problems. - Conduct competitive audits. - Start designing a mobile app, a new project to include in your professional UX portfolio.
Get ready to begin the design process for a new portfolio project: a mobile app! This part of the course will focus on empathizing with users, which is the first phase of the design process. You’ll think through the needs of your potential users to build empathy maps and create personas. These hands-on activities will help you understand user perspectives and pain points.
What's included
9 videos11 readings2 assignments1 plugin
9 videos•Total 40 minutes
- Introduction to Course 2: Empathize, Define, and Ideate•2 minutes
- Empathize with users•2 minutes
- Recruit interview participants •8 minutes
- Prepare for user interviews•3 minutes
- Interviewing users •7 minutes
- Empathy Maps•6 minutes
- Identify user pain points•5 minutes
- Understand personas•6 minutes
- Wrap-up: Empathizing with users and defining pain points•1 minute
11 readings•Total 189 minutes
- Welcome to Course 2•15 minutes
- Helpful resources and tips•4 minutes
- Understand empathy in UX design•10 minutes
- Determine research goals and questions•30 minutes
- Find and recruit interview participants•15 minutes
- Conduct user interviews•15 minutes
- Build empathy with users to inform research•10 minutes
- Build an empathy map•30 minutes
- Case studies: Products that address pain points•20 minutes
- Learn more about personas •30 minutes
- Glossary terms from course 2, module 1•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 83 minutes
- Module 1 Challenge•75 minutes
- Test your knowledge on user pain points•8 minutes
1 plugin•Total 30 minutes
- Pain points vs. solutions•30 minutes
In this part of the course, you'll continue to empathize with users of the mobile app you'll later design. You'll craft user stories and develop user journey maps. You’ll also learn about the importance of considering accessibility when empathizing with users.
What's included
8 videos5 readings1 assignment1 plugin
8 videos•Total 26 minutes
- Welcome to module 2•1 minute
- Craft user stories•2 minutes
- Consider edge cases•4 minutes
- Ayan - Real world example of edge cases•3 minutes
- Create a user journey map•7 minutes
- Consider accessibility when empathizing •4 minutes
- Understand the curb cut effect •4 minutes
- Wrap-up: Creating user stories and user journey maps•1 minute
5 readings•Total 80 minutes
- Learn more about user stories •15 minutes
- Review: Craft user stories •10 minutes
- User journey map slides•15 minutes
- Consider accessibility during user research•30 minutes
- Glossary terms from course 2, module 2•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 50 minutes
- Module 2 Challenge•50 minutes
1 plugin•Total 10 minutes
- Design accessible experiences•10 minutes
All of your work to empathize with users will help you define the problem that users are facing. In this part of the course, you'll move from the empathize phase into the define phase of the design process. To define the problem your designs will solve, you’ll build a problem statement, a hypothesis statement, and a value proposition. In addition, you’ll explore how psychology and human factors influence design.
What's included
7 videos7 readings3 assignments
7 videos•Total 18 minutes
- Welcome to module 3•1 minute
- Create problem statements•2 minutes
- Define hypothesis statements•2 minutes
- Determine a value proposition•3 minutes
- Understand human factors•5 minutes
- Explore psychology principles that influence design •4 minutes
- Wrap-up: Defining user problems •1 minute
7 readings•Total 105 minutes
- Introduction to the define phase•10 minutes
- Define problem statements •15 minutes
- Learn more about defining user problems•30 minutes
- Define hypothesis statements •15 minutes
- Review: Build problem statements and hypothesis statements•10 minutes
- Determine a value proposition•15 minutes
- Glossary terms from course 2, module 3•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 66 minutes
- Module 3 Challenge•50 minutes
- Self-Reflection: Problem statements and the 5 Ws framework•10 minutes
- Test your knowledge on how psychology and human factors influence design•6 minutes
You're ready to move into the third phase of the design process: ideate. You'll consider everything you've learned about the users you're designing for and the problems they're facing in order to brainstorm ideas for design solutions. To help you come up with lots of ideas for design solutions, you’ll conduct a competitive audit and complete design activities, like How Might We and Crazy Eights.
What's included
16 videos19 readings7 assignments
16 videos•Total 51 minutes
- Welcome to module 4•1 minute
- Understand design ideation •3 minutes
- Explore lots of ideas •2 minutes
- Recognize business needs during design ideation•3 minutes
- Use research to inform ideation•4 minutes
- Craig - Research informs ideation in the real world •3 minutes
- Create goal statements •5 minutes
- Scope the competition •4 minutes
- Limits to competitive audits•2 minutes
- Steps to conduct a competitive audit •4 minutes
- Use insights from competitive audits to ideate •2 minutes
- Vanessa - My journey to UX •3 minutes
- Use How Might We to ideate•4 minutes
- Use Rapid Sketching to ideate •7 minutes
- Consider user journeys during ideation •4 minutes
- Congratulations on completing Course 2: Empathize, Define, and Ideate•2 minutes
19 readings•Total 235 minutes
- Learn more about design ideation•10 minutes
- Learn more about how research informs ideation•10 minutes
- Learn more about goal statements•10 minutes
- Review: Build goal statements•10 minutes
- Learn more about competitive audits •30 minutes
- Steps to conduct a competitive audit•15 minutes
- Review: Create a competitive audit and audit report•10 minutes
- How to present a competitive audit•15 minutes
- Best practices for How Might We•15 minutes
- Best practices for Rapid Sketching•15 minutes
- Glossary terms from course 2, module 4•10 minutes
- Portfolio project guide for empathizing with users •10 minutes
- Exemplars: Create personas for your portfolio project•10 minutes
- Portfolio project guide for defining user needs•10 minutes
- Exemplars: Create a user journey map for your portfolio project•10 minutes
- Portfolio project guide for ideating design solutions•10 minutes
- Reflect and connect with your peers•10 minutes
- Course 2 Glossary •10 minutes
- Start the next course•15 minutes
7 assignments•Total 214 minutes
- Module 4 Challenge•50 minutes
- Self-Reflection: Ideation in everyday life•10 minutes
- Test your knowledge on competitive audits•4 minutes
- Activity: Create personas for your portfolio project•30 minutes
- Activity: Create a user journey map for your portfolio project•30 minutes
- Self-reflection: Create a value proposition for portfolio project•30 minutes
- Activity: Create a competitive audit for your portfolio project •60 minutes
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Georgia Institute of Technology
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Showing 3 of 16909
Reviewed on Feb 6, 2023
I believe it's crucial for students in this course to give mandatory feedback on Peer Review assignments. This would provide additional viewpoints and knowledge that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Reviewed on May 5, 2021
The UX Program was created for professionals in any field to become professional User Experience Designers even if they have no previous experience in Design. This is fantastic. Thank you so much!
Reviewed on Feb 10, 2022
The course ie well designed and covers all the basis of user experience before the design process. Course has introduced so many frameworks for empathize, ideate and define the user's problem.
Frequently asked questions
User experience (UX) designers focus on the experience that users have while using products like websites, apps, and physical objects. UX designers make those everyday interactions useful, enjoyable, and accessible. The role of an entry-level UX designer might include coming up with ideas to address user problems, conducting research with users, and designing wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
If you enjoy talking to and empathizing with people, drawing, thinking creatively, or paying attention to details, a job as a UX designer might be a good fit for you!
This course is the second of seven courses that will equip you with the skills you need to apply to entry-level jobs in user experience design. We recommend that you complete the first course of the Google UX Design Certificate, Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design, before completing this second course of the program.
Otherwise, no prior experience with design or specific tools is required. All you need is an interest in creating great user experiences for apps, websites, and physical products!
Figma and Adobe XD are the design tools taught in the seven courses of the Google UX Design Certificate. This course focuses on the early phases of the design process, so both Figma and Adobe XD will be introduced in later courses of the program.
Spreadsheets, word processing applications, and presentation applications will also be used. Throughout the program, you will create a professional portfolio, using the platform of your choice, to showcase your UX design work.
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