UX Design Capstone

Bellevue College 

Students in the capstone seminar demonstrate synthesis of the skills, concepts and techniques from the certificate courses while presenting a UX scenario they have designed, documented and built. Class activities simulate the processes of working with a client from initial interview through final project presentation. Students present their capstone projects before a panel of judges and classmates, demonstrating professional verbal, written and visual communication.

This course is required for participants in the UX Design Certificate Program, and enrollment is limited to certificate students who have completed all the required courses.

Student presentations make up at least 50% of the Capstone Project course.

Schedule

  1. Session 1 – 6:00-7:00pm
  2. Session 2 – 6:00-8:30pm
  3. Session 3 – 6:00-9:00pm
  4. Session 4 – 6:00-8:30pm
  5. Session 5 – 6:00-9:00pm

Download syllabus (pdf)

Prerequisites

Before enrolling in the Capstone seminar, students must have completed all required courses for the UX Design Certificate (electives may be taken simultaneously or substituted with approved courses).

The above prerequisites are considered to be the basic skills and knowledge needed prior to taking this class. Instructors will assume your readiness for the class and will NOT use class time to discuss prerequisite concepts, knowledge or techniques.

Course objectives

  • Demonstrate how to achieve business and marketing goals while catering to identified users.
  • Demonstrate the practice of UX design as a professional discipline.
  • Develop and demonstrate heuristics that communicate usability standards.

Course outcomes

Present a final design report for a client project which includes the following:

  • Project description, including problem statement
  • Audience identification, including at least three personas and one scenario with a series of tasks
  • Competitive design analysis that recognizes, identifies and catalogs the characteristics and design elements of at least three usable web sites, based upon a standard set of personas, tasks and scenarios and a set of heuristics crafted for the project.
  • Low- and high-fidelity wireframes
  • Prototype appropriate to the type of usability testing being undertaken. Produce clickable/tapable prototypes that can be part of usability tests designed to improve human-computer interaction
  • Site information presented in a usable taxonomy

Course requirements

Participants must attend a minimum of 70% of class sessions, both face-to- face and in the class online discussion board, and successfully complete the course case study. It is essential to be present and punctual.

  • Face-to-face classes will start on time; arriving late or leaving early will count as a tardy.
  • Late late online reports will also count as a tardy.
  • 2 tardies = 1 absence

The bulk of the work in this course will take place outside of the classroom. Class sessions are principally progress reports and troubleshooting. Students must have assignments completed when they are due.

  • Three weekly presentations – 10% each (30% total)
  • Final presentation – 25%
  • Final project – 25%
  • Weekly online stand-ups – 20%

Please remember that certificates are issued at the discretion of the instructor.

Assessment

A | High quality work demonstrating outstanding skills, craftsmanship, and innovative approaches to the problem.
B | Satisfies the minimum requirements of the project and demonstrates thorough understanding of concepts and principles.
C | Satisfies the minimum requirements of the project.
D | Does not satisfy the minimum requirements of the project. Problems with quality and/or knowledge of concepts.
F | Falls well below expected standards in solving the minimum requirements of the project.

Recommended books

  • Cooper, Alan; Reimann, Robert; and Cronin, Dave. About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design. Wiley Pub, 2007.
  • Klein, Laura. UX for Lean Startups: Faster, Smarter User Experience. O’Reilly Media, 2013.
  • Lidwell, William; Holden, Kritina; Butler, Jill; and Elam, Kimberly. Universal Principles of Design: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design. Rockport Publishers, 2010.
  • Moggridge, Bill. Designing Interactions. MIT Press, 2007.
  • Norman, Don. The Design of Everyday Things, Revised and Expanded. Basic Books, 2013.
  • Norman, Don. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things. Basic Books, 2004.
  • Ries, Eric. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Crown Business, 2011.
  • Unger, Russ and Chandler, Carolyn. A Project Guide to UX Design. New Riders, 2012.

Case studies

Examples

Online resources

Prototyping/wireframes

Theory