Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, and Ideate Course Syllabus

Overview: This beginner-friendly course introduces the foundational stages of the UX design process—empathize, define, and ideate. Through hands-on activities and real-world projects, you'll learn to understand user needs, define problems, and generate design solutions. With approximately 20 hours of self-paced learning, this course prepares you for entry-level UX roles and serves as part of the Google UX Design Professional Certificate.

Module 1: Empathizing with Users and Defining Pain Points

Estimated time: 8 hours

• Understand the importance of empathy in UX design
• Conduct user research to identify needs and pain points
• Create empathy maps to visualize user feelings and actions
• Build user personas based on research insights

Module 2: Creating User Stories and User Journey Maps

Estimated time: 3 hours

• Write user stories to capture user goals and needs
• Develop user journey maps to visualize user experiences
• Incorporate accessibility considerations into user research

Module 3: Defining User Problems

Estimated time: 3 hours

• Transition from empathy to definition phase
• Formulate problem statements to frame user challenges
• Develop hypothesis statements and value propositions
• Explore how psychology and human behavior influence design decisions

Module 4: Ideating Design Solutions

Estimated time: 6 hours

• Conduct competitive audits to analyze existing solutions
• Use 'How Might We' questions to reframe problems into opportunities
• Apply the 'Crazy Eights' method for rapid idea generation

Module 5: Portfolio Project: Designing a Mobile App

Estimated time: 4 hours

• Initiate a mobile app design project using UX principles
• Apply empathy maps, personas, and journey maps to a real-world scenario
• Develop a problem statement and generate initial design ideas

Prerequisites

• No prior design experience required
• Basic familiarity with digital interfaces helpful but not required
• Access to a computer and internet for course materials and activities

What You'll Be Able to Do After

• Empathize with users to uncover needs and pain points
• Create empathy maps, personas, and user journey maps
• Define user problems with clear problem and hypothesis statements
• Generate design ideas using ideation techniques like 'How Might We' and 'Crazy Eights'
• Begin a portfolio project by applying UX research and ideation methods