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Design Academy My progress

Stage 8 · Core · Intermediate

Usability testing and iteration

Plan and run usability tests, prioritise findings and improve designs with evidence.

  • 12 lessons
  • about 5 h 50 min of reading and practice
  • in writing

Nothing to track yet. Lessons appear here as they are written.

About this stage

Usability testing is the fastest way to find out whether a design works: give real people realistic tasks and watch. This stage covers planning, running, analysing and reporting tests, plus heuristic evaluation and accessibility audits.

Before this stage Stage 7: Interaction design and prototyping

Learning outcomes

  • Write a usability test plan with unbiased tasks and success criteria.
  • Moderate a session without leading the participant.
  • Rate the severity of issues and turn findings into prioritised recommendations.
  • Show how a design changed because of evidence.

Lessons

The lessons in this stage are being written. Lessons marked “In writing” are listed so you can see the full scope; they are never counted towards your progress. The resource library and glossary cover these topics in the meantime.

  1. Usability heuristics, including Nielsen's ten In writing

    A checklist for spotting common usability problems.

    In writing 40 min

  2. Planning usability tests In writing

    Goals, participants, tasks and logistics.

    In writing 35 min

  3. Writing unbiased tasks In writing

    Scenarios that do not give away the answer.

    In writing 25 min

  4. Moderated and unmoderated testing In writing

    Trade-offs between the two.

    In writing 25 min

  5. Recruiting representative participants In writing

    Who to test with and how many.

    In writing 25 min

  6. Observing behaviour without leading users In writing

    Think-aloud, neutral prompts and silence.

    In writing 30 min

  7. Recording findings ethically In writing

    Consent, privacy and storage.

    In writing 20 min

  8. Severity and prioritisation of usability issues In writing

    Rating frequency, impact and persistence.

    In writing 25 min

  9. Analysing results and recommending changes In writing

    From observations to recommendations.

    In writing 35 min

  10. Accessibility audits In writing

    Combining automated and manual checks.

    In writing 35 min

  11. Iterative design and validation In writing

    Design, test, change, repeat.

    In writing 25 min

  12. Communicating evidence and design trade-offs In writing

    Reports and presentations people act on.

    In writing 30 min

Practise with a project

Project 3Intermediate

Design a responsive e-commerce experience

Design product discovery, product detail, basket and checkout for an independent shop, driven by usability testing and measured iteration.

  • 5 to 6 weeks part-time
  • 6 milestones
  • 8 deliverables

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