EXSM 3926 - Evaluative User Experience Research

Students will evaluate a set of quantitative and qualitative research methods to gain insights into how we can design things better. This course will teach students how to evaluate their user research using feedback to develop effective UX design strategies. You will learn the most widely used technique by UX Researchers, usability testing. Additionally, this course will cover the fundamentals of organizing information with card-sorting and tree testing and basic statistical analysis through A/B testing. Learn about key tools in evaluative research such as prototyping, MVP, moderated and unmoderated user testing, and AB/Testing.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• 🗸 Learn how to look at the world like a researcher and collect all types of qualitative research data.
• 🗸 Plan usability studies so that both you and your research subjects are prepared.
• 🗸 Decide when and why to conduct a heuristic analysis to analyze usability best practices.
• 🗸 Recruit the best participants for the specific context of your study.
• 🗸 Conduct semi-structured interviews that probe beyond usability basics to get at the core motivations and mental models behind user behaviour.
• 🗸 Take diverse qualitative data and make sense of it with affinity mapping.
• 🗸 Use top line reports and wall walks to communicate research insights to diverse audiences.

• 🗸 This is a Asynrchonous online course accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool.
• 🗸 This is a graded course; assessment activities may include exams, projects, presentations, journals, or research papers. 
• 🗸 Additional learning materials are provided through eClass at no additional cost.
• 🗸 EXSM 3926 Evaluative User Experience Research is a 21-hour course.