Unit 1 — Discovery research that grounds design

You plan and conduct semi-structured interviews, synthesize notes into affinity maps, and extract Jobs-to-be-Done style insights without overfitting to loud voices. Activities include drafting unbiased discussion guides, managing consent, and pairing qualitative findings with light analytics where available. You produce evidence-backed personas and anti-personas that help the team say no to distracting feature ideas. Reflection prompts ask how privilege and access shape who appears in your sample, nudging more inclusive recruitment for later rounds.

Unit 2 — Information architecture and task flows

This unit translates insights into sitemaps, navigation models, and detailed task flows that include unhappy paths and recovery steps. You practice card sorting interpretations, labeling systems that scale, and edge cases such as empty states and permission-restricted views. Workshops cover balancing marketing storytelling with task efficiency on landing pages. Deliverables include annotated flow diagrams engineers can estimate against.

Unit 3 — Prototyping at the right fidelity

You move from sketches to mid-fidelity wireframes using consistent components, spacing, and content hierarchy. Lessons compare static frames with clickable prototypes for remote testing, including how much interaction is enough to learn. You also learn handoff basics: naming layers, noting states, and pairing annotations with open questions rather than prescriptive visuals. Critique rubrics reward clarity and alignment with research, not aesthetic polish.

Unit 4 — Usability validation and prioritization

You moderate usability sessions, capture severity-rated issues, and translate findings into a prioritized backlog with design and engineering. Materials include moderator scripts, note-taking templates, and methods for reducing bias when observers influence participants. The course closes with a stakeholder readout that connects metrics, quotes, and recommended next studies, ensuring research momentum continues after the course ends.

Unit 5 — Portfolio packaging and critique

You assemble two case studies with problem, process, outcome, and reflection on constraints. Peer critique emphasizes clarity of artifacts over pixel polish, and you rehearse a five-minute walkthrough suitable for hiring loops. Supplemental prompts help you document lessons learned when stakeholder access was limited so interviewers see mature judgment. Reviewers score storytelling, research rigor, and how clearly you explain trade-offs when time and budget were tight.