Each class session was a combination of lecture, demonstration, and hands-on practice. This gave students an opportunity to hear the theory, see it in action, and practice it themselves. As part of the demonstration, I invited an Internet startup, Linkify, to be our in-class guinea pig. We practiced all of the methods being taught on Linkify – often identifying usability issues that the Linkify team would use to change their design. The students could see the value of the methods in action.

In addition to the basic methods of user-centered design and the importance of hands-on, real-world practice, there were a few personal philosophies I emphasized throughout the class. The first was that a focus on the user’s goals should drive design, not existing tasks which are just a means to the ends. The second was that gathering data from real users is the best way to resolve differences of opinion on the design / development team. And, the third was that most design questions don’t require large numbers and statistical analysis – the first few users usually find the big issues, so it’s best to move on quickly to the next iteration because there are always more design issues to resolve.