Understanding User Centred Design

A One-day Training Workshop.

"Concise, informed and makes you want to stay for more. Always a good sign for a course. Highly recommended."

"As course facilitators, Stuart and his co-facilitator Darius Kumana, were excellent: approachable, pragmatic, highly knowledgeable, and passionate about their subject."

Traditional web and software development is changing. Competitive advantage is no longer about who has the most features. It is about user experience. Products and services that are so practical and easy to use that you can’t imagine your life without them…

This one-day workshop is designed to give those attending a hands-on overview of the User-Centred Design (UCD) process and the range of different methods that can be used to enhance the usability and user experience of websites, applications and products in general. You will:

  • Discover how UCD can lead your organisation to produce designs that are better, more effective and more desirable to your customers.
  • Learn practical techniques that will help you clearly understand your end-users’ goals and then use this knowledge to influence effective design solutions.

Benefits

After completing this workshop, you will be able to:

  • Recognise and advocate the benefits of the UCD process within your organisation.
  • Incorporate user requirements research in the development of products.
  • Understand when and how to incorporate UCD into your existing development process.
  • Select appropriate UCD activities for specific goals and circumstances.
  • Understand how to translate user requirements into effective design solutions.
  • Start to plan your own usability evaluations.

Who should attend?

  • Managers of Software Developers creating user interfaces.
  • Business Analysts.
  • Software Developers.
  • Web developers.
  • Application developers.
  • Product managers.
  • Documentation and training specialists.
  • Information Architects.

When & where?

Our next workshop on Thursday 8th May. The workshops are held at the famous Watershed Media Centre in Bristol’s bustling harbourside.

Maps and travel information can be found on the Watershed website.

How much does it cost?

The cost of the workshop is £295+VAT per person. All you need to do is register using our online form, and we’ll invoice you later. If you have any questions, please contact us.

What will the workshop cover?

The workshop consists of four sessions. Each session consists of a mixture of presentation, discussion and hands-on activities:

  1. What is User Centred Design and why do we need it?. We will explore what usability and user experience are and establish their importance in terms of user satisfaction and Return on Investment (ROI). We will also analyse the stages in the UCD process and gain an overview of the different usability methods that can be applied at different stages in this process.
  2. Understanding your users. Capturing requirements is vital for establishing a clear vision for the subsequent design of a website or application. We will examine the importance understanding both business requirements and user requirements and consider research methods for researching user requirements effectively.
  3. Design & prototyping. We will demonstrate how requirements can be translated into initial design concepts. We explore traditional Information Architecture approaches such as sitemaps and wireframes, as well as more agile, iterative techniques such as rapid prototyping.
  4. Testing and evaluation. We will consider how to design and execute effective usability evaluations, and identify ways of effectively communicating the findings from such evaluations.

Course Materials

Attendees will be provided with printed copies of all learning materials. Web-based reference resources will also be made available for those who wish to develop their knowledge further.

Instructors

Stuart Church. Stuart is the director of Pure Usability, and a seasoned usability professional. He has worked on user-centred design projects for clients such as JISC, Microsoft, BOC, Bayer, Lexus, The University of Cambridge, Tribal Group, Process Management International, the Office for Fair Access, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Futurelab and Becta. In 2005, he helped to set up and organise the Cambridge Usability Group, before relocating to Bristol. Stuart is a member of the Usability Professionals Association and the Institute for Information Architecture.

Darius Kumana. After initial exposure through postgraduate research, Darius gained commercial UCD experience whilst working for top London agencies as an information architect. With over 7 years experience in the field, he has been instrumental in delivering successful web experiences for numerous high-profile brands such as Directline, 3M and Marks and Spencer. As Head of New Media at Cambridge Assessment (University of Cambridge), Darius was instrumental in creating a centre of excellence for user-centred design. He currently works to grow the user-centred design capability within Isotrak Ltd. (an innovator and market leader in active transport management).

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