The Practical Guide to Usability

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100 % booked
Beginner
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In This Course, You'll

  • Get excited as you master usability to create products and services people love. Users don't notice good usability, but they never forget bad design. If you had to choose between a product requiring a manual and one that's intuitive from the start, you'd choose intuitive usability every time. This course helps you turn complexity into simplicity and frustration into love. Studies show that 79% of people abandon websites due to poor usability. Think of the advantage you gain when you identify problems early and design solutions users genuinely love. As AI becomes part of design workflows, your timeless human-centered design skills help you decide which usability problems are worth solving and how solutions should actually work for people. This is how you stay in demand: Human-centered design skills transform AI from a tool into your new superpower.

  • Make yourself invaluable by learning how to think like your users. A well-designed user interface can boost a website's conversion rate by up to 200%. This course equips you to observe user behavior, uncover hidden pain points, and make data-backed decisions that increase loyalty, efficiency, and profits. Usability ensures your designs connect with people on a human level, whether you create software, marketing campaigns, or operational processes. All industries and roles benefit from great usability. You already practice usability intuitively when you arrange apps for easy access or label folders clearly—professional usability naturally builds on these skills.

  • Gain confidence and credibility with ready-to-use templates, real-world examples, and clear guidance you can immediately apply. No matter your background, you'll be guided to easily master heuristic evaluations, cognitive walkthroughs, and user testing to transform “good enough” designs into firm favorites. You'll apply best practices directly to your work, designing products and services that are not only functional but loved. This course empowers you to create meaningful experiences, enhance your career, and make a lasting impact on people's lives.

It's Easy to Fast-Track Your Career with the World's Best Experts

Master complex skills effortlessly with proven best practices and toolkits directly from the world's top design experts. Meet your experts for this course:

  • Marc Hassenzahl: Professor of Ubiquitous Design/Experience & Interaction in the Department of Business Computing at the University of Siegen.

  • William Hudson: User Experience Strategist and Founder of Syntagm.

Get an Industry-Recognized IxDF Course Certificate

Increase your credibility, salary potential and job opportunities by showing credible evidence of your skills.

IxDF Course Certificates set the industry gold standard. Add them to your LinkedIn profile, resumé, and job applications.

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Our clients: IBM, HP, Adobe, GE, Accenture, Allianz, Phillips, Deezer, Capgemin, Mcafee, SAP, Telenor, Cigna, British Parliament, State of New York

Is This Course Right for You?

  • You want to land a job in design – or get a promotion.
  • You want to learn real-world design skills that are valuable in any job and any industry.
  • You want timeless human-centered skills AI cannot replace and turn AI into your superpower.
  • You're tired of wasting time on influencers and want to learn from real experts.
  • You want actual career outcomes, like increasing your salary potential and job opportunities.
Explore Course Content

Loved by People Around the World

View full testimonial from Ana Jaramillo
Ana Jaramillo
Ana Jaramillo
UX/UI designer - UX content

The course material was well-structured, comprehensive, and relevant to current industry practices. The inclusion of real-world examples and...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Ana Jaramillo for completing the "The Practical Guide to Usability" course
View full testimonial from Troy DeRego
Troy DeRego
Troy DeRego
Drupal Developer

The course was thought-provoking at times, providing an opportunity to imagine hypothetical testing situations and how to overcome some gene...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Troy DeRego for completing the "The Practical Guide to Usability" course

How It Works

  1. Take Online Courses by Industry Experts

    Industry leaders from Adobe, Google, and NASA guide you step-by-step.

  2. Combine AI and Timeless Design Skills

    Learn both AI and the human-centered design skills that AI can't replace.

  3. Get Industry-Trusted Certificates

    Add IxDF Course Certificates to your LinkedIn profile and resumé: show hiring managers you belong to an elite group.

  4. Increase Your Career Opportunities

    Design is one of the fastest-growing professions worldwide, with a 45% projected job growth by 2030.

  5. Use the World's Largest Design Job Board

    Get access to IxDF Job Matching where we match you directly with active job openings that fit your skills.

Course Overview:

  • Each week, one lesson becomes available.
  • Study flexibly. Take as much time as you want.
  • 25h, 44m over 9 weeks (est.).

Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour, 44 mins.

  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 0.1 An Introduction to Courses from IxDF (33 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 0.2 Get Help, Career Advice, and Job Opportunities (6 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 0.3 How to Get Your Course Certificate (20 mins)
  • Community-based learning and networking. 0.4 Grow Your Global Network and Build Your Brand (12 mins)

Lesson 1: User Interface Design Guidelines

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 6 hours, 15 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.1 Welcome to The Practical Guide to Usability (15 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.2 Shneiderman’s Eight Golden Rules Will Help You Design Better Interfaces (25 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.3 User Interface Design Guidelines: 10 Rules of Thumb (22 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.4 Principle of Consistency and Standards in User Interface Design (26 mins)

Lesson 2: Usability Considerations

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 28 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.1 Simply Simplify (35 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.2 Simplicity in Design: 4 Ways to Achieve Simplicity in Your Designs (26 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.3 Simplify Navigation (12 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.4 Consistency (14 mins)

Lesson 3: Thinking Like Users

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 52 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.1 External Cognition in Product Design: 3 Ways to Make Use of External Cognition in Product Design (48 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.2 'Chunking' (8 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.3 Banner Blindness (9 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.4 Serial Position Effect: How to Create Better User Interfaces (18 mins)

Lesson 4: Usability Testing and Evaluation

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 4 hours, 41 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.1 Usability Evaluation (1 hour, 15 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.2 Recommended reading (2 mins)
  • Community-based learning and networking. 4.3 Conversations: The Importance of Usability Testing (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.4 15 methods for ensuring user acceptance and business success (3 hours, 19 mins)

Lesson 5: Inspection Methods: Practice and Application

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 2 hours, 13 mins.

  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 5.1 Heuristic Evaluation: How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation (1 hour, 8 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.2 Usability Inspection Methods (13 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 5.3 User Experience - Future directions of User Experience and Experience Design (42 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.4 When to Use Which UX Methods (5 mins)

Lesson 6: Personas: A Method of Maintaining User Focus

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour, 56 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.1 Personas and User Research (26 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.2 Personas (42 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.3 Answering Important Questions (15 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.4 The Science Behind Creating Personas (9 mins)

Lesson 7: Practical User Testing Documentation

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour, 28 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.1 User Testing: Practical Guide to Usability (11 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.2 Recording Testing Sessions: Practical Guide to Usability (38 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.3 User Testing Scripts: Practical Guide to Usability (22 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.4 Checklist (14 mins)

Lesson 8: Usability Testing: Practical Application

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour, 52 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.1 Practical Issues: User-Centred Design (14 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.2 What are the user's needs? (11 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.3 What are the alternative designs? (42 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.4 How do I choose an alternative design? (13 mins)

Lesson 9: IxDF Course Certificate and Course Wrap-up

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 13 mins.

  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 9.1 How to Add Your IxDF Certificate to LinkedIn (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 9.2 Help Us Help You: Course Evaluation (4 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 9.3 Six Steps to Your Career Success (3 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 9.4 Get Your IxDF Course Certificate (2 mins)

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Ana Jaramillo
Ana Jaramillo
UX/UI designer - UX content

The course material was well-structured, comprehensive, and relevant to current industry practices. The inclusion of real-world examples and case studies greatly enhanced my understanding of the concepts.

Daniel McElwee
Daniel McElwee
Graphic Design Manager

There were many informative articles with quality and useful information.

Troy DeRego
Troy DeRego
Drupal Developer

The course was thought-provoking at times, providing an opportunity to imagine hypothetical testing situations and how to overcome some general issues that might arise.

Jeanndré Spies
Jeanndré Spies
UX Designer

Love to hear the practical examples from the experts.

Chris Manning
Chris Manning
Process Manager

The instructor is definitely knowledgeable. Lots of information and an introduction to a broad range of concepts.