Richard Eskins and Jonathan Willson discuss the final year UXD unit taught for the first time in Sept 2013 at Manchester Metropolitan University. After setting the context and explaining what they did, Richard and Jonathan then asked the audience for their feedback and ideas for expanding the unit.

1. Teaching UXD
What we did
Richard Eskins and Jonathan Willson
Manchester Metropolitan University

2. Teaching UXD
• Final Year unit
• Shared by three degree routes
– BSc (Hons) Web Development
– BSc (Hons) Digital Media and Communications
– BA (Hons) Digital Media / Marketing
• Not all students want to be UX pro’s

3. Timescale
• New for September 2013
• Unit specification written 4 years earlier
– Amalgamation of two previous units
– Digital Libraries
– Designing Online Learning
• Challenge to predict curriculum / industry needs that far ahead
• We didn't know we were teaching it until September!

4. UXD in the curriculum
• UX taught as part of web design from year 1
• Concepts and practice of web accessibility and usability
introduced in year 1
• User journeys, user tasks, card sorting, personas, prototyping,
scripted usability testing session all introduced in year 2

6. Approach to UXD
• A new approach to teaching UX
• Very much 'hands on'
• Very much based on current industry practices
• What do you guys actually do?
– We asked people (including @lizziedyson)
– We gathered a list of key tasks
– We gathered a list of common methods and practices

8. Delivery
• We developed a programme
• We developed an assignment
• We drafted a schedule of guest speakers
• We took a step into the dark …

9. The programme – 12 weeks
• Expert review, heuristics, ethnographic techniques
• Successful surveys
• Planning and conducting usability testing
• Usability Lab testing
• Guerrilla Testing
• Eye Tracking in usability testing
• Remote testing
• Using Analytics for UXD
• Pitching and presenting your findings

10. Our guests
• Planning and conducting usability testing – Chris Collingridge
@ccollingridge, Sage
• Guerrilla Testing - Chris Bush @suthen, Sigma (last minute – Barry Briggs
@quiffboy, Amaze)
• Eye Tracking in usability testing - Guy Redwood @eyetracking,
SimpleUsability
• Remote testing – Userzoom - Lee Cooper @UserZoom and WhatUsersdo –
Lee Duddell @whatusersdo
• Using Analytics for UXD - Paul Carysforth @paulcarysforth, Amaze
• Pitching and presenting your findings - Jane Murison @mewroh, BBC

11. The assignment
• Three staged tasks
• A range of methods
• Individual and group work
• Individual submission
• Recorded presentation

12. Task 1 – Expert Review
• Group selects a web site
• Site approved by tutors
• Individuals undertake
– Cognitive walkthrough
– Heuristic evaluation
• Report back to group, share findings and confirm that choice of
web site is suitable
– Two groups changed to a different site

13. Task 2 – Guerrilla Testing
• Working as a group
• Define issues to focus on
• Prepare tasks, user types, consent form
• Select tech (laptop, tablet, phone)
• Screen capture, film, notes
• Undertake sessions 'in the field'
• Review findings

14. Task 3 – Final Testing Method
Choice of:
• Eye tracking [Tobii eye tracker]
• Lab based user testing [Morae recorder]
• User survey [UserZoom]
• Analytics [access required]
• Remote User Testing [UserZoom, WhatUsersDo]

15. Matt's movie

16. Over to you
What could we do over 24 weeks?

17. Like to get involved
• Guest speakers
• Involved in the assignment – groups researching for you
• Advisor
• R.eskins@mmu.ac.uk - @eskins
• J.p.willson@mmu.ac.uk - @jp_willson