Human-Centered Design: Building and Testing Prototypes (openHPI)

Human-Centered Design: Building and Testing Prototypes (openHPI)

Learn to build simple but effective prototypes, prepare testing scenarios and gain valuable feedback from potential users. This course introduces you to the basics of prototyping, planning and running real testing scenarios.

This course introduces you to helpful skills for making an idea tangible and testing it with potential users. We take a task-based approach to build these skills. You will learn to take an idea to the next level and build a simple prototype, plan a testing scenario and collect feedback. This MOOC builds on the 2018 “From Synthesis to Creative Ideas” course, but you can also take it as a stand-alone MOOC. The assignments are designed for individual work.

Learning Objectives

  • build simple prototypes for user testing
  • plan and conduct user testings
  • cluster and analyze tester feedback
  • evaluate tester feedback
  • evaluate the quality of your peers' work and provide constructive feedback

Course Structure

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION / Week 1
During the welcome week, you have the chance to introduce yourself and to discover the learning environment with a warm-up game.

PROTOTYPING / Week 2
In this week, we focus on prototypes: why and how do we build them? You will learn about going from an idea to a prototype, different types of prototypes, and prototyping techniques.

TESTING/ Week 3
In this week, we focus on the skill of conducting user tests with prototypes. You will learn to prepare a testing scenario, to structure tester feedback, and to filter aspects for iteration.

WRAP UP / Week 4 (and beyond)
During the wrap-up week, we provide a summary of the course content. We will discuss assignment results, showcase assignment examples, and describe the next steps in a design thinking project.

Go to Class
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