User experience design training course

We'll show you how to design great user experiences
with User-Centred Design

"The content was really good, it's pretty much exactly what I wanted to know."
--Greg Nagel, Old Mutual

This 2-day training course is aimed at people who make websites, and want to make them better.

Improve the usability of your website or web application
Create wireframe prototypes and run usability tests
Use user-centred design techniques to build a solid design process which generates better results

There will be lots of practical work, with a chance to try out every major step in the user-centred design process. Exercises will be based on preparing two interactive products in two teams. Each team will design a product, drawing on members of the opposite team to act as usability test subjects.

"The info was very practical, I knew how to apply what we've learned at our company immediately."
--Lindie Vermaak, Clickatell

Past exercises have included a social networking service, a computer-buyers' website and a mobile-device-based tracking tool.

Course modules

1. An introduction to User Experience (UX)

A great user experience gives you a huge competitive advantage. You get good UX using user-centred design techniques. You will learn...

The remarkable benefits of a good user experience
What UX and user-centred design (UCD) are, and how they relate to each other
The four principles and five core techniques of the UCD process

2. Planning and managing usability in the product lifecycle

To apply UCD effectively, organisations may need to change the way they approach projects. In particular, the group will learn...

How to justify the value of UX and UCD and make it happen in your organisation
How UCD and agile methodologies like scrum fit together
How to squeeze UCD to fit the constraints of smaller projects

3. Contextual research

"The many real life examples made it real and indicated the value of doing UCD."
--Jason Wilmans, MIH

Observing and interviewing users at the outset will give you better design and a smoother project. You will learn...

Why contextual research is the most important UCD activity of all
What different contextual research techniques exist from 'in-depth' down to 'budget'
How to run fun and effective contextual research sessions

4. Concept design

Using the right tools, you can generate and sort amazing new website ideas without getting into squabbles or tangles. You will learn...

How to lay the foundations with affinity sorting, personas and scenarios
Effective tips for enabling good ideas to happen
How to prioritise features and 'un-features' to deliver the best user experience within your business constraints

"Very structured, very clear - it was logically ordered and the sections flowed into each other seamlessly."
--Gareth Davies, Thusa

5. Principles and patterns for usable interfaces

Top usability and interaction design patterns to make your interfaces easier and more effective. In particular, delegates will learn...

How human psychology affects adoption, learning and use of every interactive product
Useful design patterns to remember when creating web sites and web apps

6. Prototype design

This section deals with the best ways to create cost-effective prototypes. Delegates will learn...

How a 'prototyping culture' can allow project teams to create higher quality designs faster
How to choose between lo-fi prototypes and hi-fi prototypes
Quick and effective ways to develop interactive prototypes

"The course content in general was great as it focused on principles rather than specific potted examples."
--Rory McKinley, Hetzner

7. Usability testing

Observing users as they try out your prototypes is the best way to boost usability. It's not hard when you know how. You will learn...

Why rapid iteration is essential to providing the best user experiences
The four key types of question in usability testing and the top five do's and don'ts

8. Next steps, books and blogs

We'll point you to the best UX design resources.

Pricing and dates

The price is R3800 + VAT per person for the two day course.

For that you get two days of world-class UX training at a central venue, plus course materials lunch and refreshments.

Cape Town CBD in September/October: Contact us
Johannesburg - no date yet: Contact us

We run courses when we're confident there is enough interest. So do please let us know if you're interested - otherwise nothing will happen.

"I'm still bouncing around after the course - the material is so fascinating. Concepts were supported by examples and real life cases which made them meaningful, and lots of practical allowed us to apply what we'd learnt. Phil's speaking manner is entertaining and engaging."
--Amy Bradfield, Deep Interactive

More details

Is the course suitable for managers? Do we cover web apps? We have an FAQ page with answers. We're adding more as we get them. Please contact us if your question isn't answered.

Some more about what people thought.