Comments on Crafting a User Experience Curriculum

Ahmed Arshad — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:57:36 GMT

Hi Jason

I am a UX professional living in Dallas, grew up in MI. Real happy to see UX being adapted in the academics in Michigan.

I need your help. My brother, who lives in MI and about to graduate from high school, wants a career in UX. He has a lot of options including going to UM-Ann Arbor. I can’t seem to point him in the right direction. SI’s Bach program seems to be too abstract (No surprise, I am an UM Alumni also). The WCC program seems real practical; you can walk out with a portfolio & skills you can use on the first day of work.

What would you recommend for someone like him where he can get theory and practical hands-on experience ? Does have WCC have an official bridge program to U of M – Ann Arbor ? I saw it does to EMU.

Look forward to your feedback,

Ahmed

Dave — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:52:12 GMT

Maybe it is just my reading of this article, but it looks to me like a major component missing from the cirriculum, are design based pedagogic practices. Studio/crits? Workshops, Foundational classes, etc.

What would these look like in a UX environment, where theory was taught through direct practice, iteration, and peer critique?

Jason Withrow — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:52:12 GMT

Thank you for the feedback concerning the article. To address the questions/thoughts you raised:

1) Concerning the curriculum approval, there was (thankfully) no resistance from administration. We already had web coding and web graphic design classes, so the web user experience fit right into the mix.

2) It’s good to hear from a fellow SI alumnus! While SI takes a conceptual approach in their grad classes, the community college courses take an applied approach to the material. I find I am able to incorporate many of the things I learned at SI into the courses. Beyond that, any coordination is difficult given the requirement of a bachelor’s degree to enter the School of Information (my program ends at the Associate degree level).

3) Good suggestion regarding “total product” POV. Definitely something I will keep in mind.

4) I haven’t seen the work by Hugh Dubberly. Perhaps a visit to Google is in order or does someone have the URL handy?

Again, thanks for the feedback!

udanium235 — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:52:12 GMT

Hi, thanks and kudos for the article. Nice to see someone taking the bold yet necessary step of designing a UX curriculum for future design professionals. I was especially glad to see a portion stressing the “soft” yet critical skills of influence, communication, etc. that I’ve learned are essential for any designer trying to get her ideas implemented.

A few questions/thoughts:
1) What was the response by your college administrators, and how much “influence management” was needed on your part to get this curriculum approved?
2) Being in Ann Arbor, have you consulted with the School of Information at UM or their design program, to get their inputs? (I’m actually a grad from UM)
3) In some proposals for classes I’ve offered, I advocate for what I call the “total product” POV: the structural/behavioral logic of the product, the emotional voice/identity, the relationship with user contexts, and the story of the product beyond the interaction. Something to consider maybe as you evolve your curriculum?
4) Finally, have you checked out Hugh Dubberly’s brief on a UX curriculum? I think he published it through the AIGA-UX group.

Good luck with your course development…