Intro to User Experience (UX)

At its core, User Experience (UX) is defined as how someone feels about using a product, system, or service. Regardless of what we’re designing—a website, an Android app, or a toaster—we all strive to make our designs useful, easy to use, and enjoyable to use. But how exactly do we make something useful, easy to use, and enjoyable? How do we know if the target audience is having a good or bad experience? This class will arm you with the essential tips to find those answers.

This class is for anyone who makes (or wants to learn how to make) websites, mobile apps, or other software. If you’re a developer, a designer, a project manager, a content creator, or something else, you can integrate UX research and design into your practice.

By the end of this class, you’ll also learn tips and techniques to address the following:

• The fundamentals of UX and why UX matters.

• Conducting user research so you can understand your audiences’ needs and make design decisions to address those needs.

• Basic usability testing techniques.

• Convincing skeptics you work with of the value of user experience.

• Engaging your clients and colleagues in the UX process so that they can bring their knowledge to the table and feel that their needs have been met.

• Working UX into your existing process, even if it’s one small step at a time, and even if you have little to no budget, time, or support.

• Participating in and learning an interactive brainstorming workshop we’ll do as a class. We’ll discuss the results and talk about ways that you can use the workshop at your current organization to collectively tackle UX issues.

• Recommendations for books, articles, and other resources to explore further areas of UX.

This class is part of our UX track that also includes the following three sessions. Save the dates:

• April 5: Understanding Your Site's Audience through User Research

• May 3: Wireframing & Prototyping

• TBD: Usability Testing

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About the teacher: Jessica Ivins is a Philadelphia-based UX designer and researcher who speaks, writes, and volunteers for many things UX. She has spoken internationally at conferences such as SXSW, Midwest UX, IA Summit, UX Camp Ottawa, and UX Cambridge (UK). She’s the main organizer for UX Book Club Philly and served as an officer for PhillyCHI, Philadelphia’s UX community. Previously a senior experience designer at Happy Cog, she is now senior UX specialist at AWeber.

Refund policy: To receive a refund, we must be notified within 7 days of the event. If you have already paid and must miss the class for whatever reason, you can make it up again if it is offered with the same instructor. Please contact yasmine@girldevelopit.com with refund or cancelation requests.