Path of Use

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What is Path of Use?

Alan Dix in his presentation in 2008 to the University of Technology in Berlin defined the path of use. It simply illustrates that products do not magically become used but rather there is a definite progression between a state of not used and used. It is important to be able to consider this path when designing and marketing products in order to drive adoption and use.

Literature on Path of Use

Here's the entire UX literature on Path of Use by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Path of Use

Take a deep dive into Path of Use with our course Get Your Product Used: Adoption and Appropriation .

  • Make yourself invaluable with powerful design skills that directly increase adoption, drive business growth, and fast-track your career. Learn how to strategically engage early adopters and achieve critical mass for successful product launches. This course gives you timeless, human-centered skills because understanding people, guiding behavior, and creating lasting value is essential across roles and industries. Make a meaningful impact in your career and in your company as you open up new markets and expand your influence in your current ones. These skills future-proof your career because understanding human behavior and social dynamics always surpass what AI can achieve. 

  • Gain confidence and credibility with bite-sized lessons and practical exercises you can immediately apply at work. Master the Path of Use to understand what drives usage and captivates people. You'll use the economics of design, network effects, and social systems to drive product adoption in any industry. Analyze real-world product launch successes and failures, and learn from others' mistakes so you can avoid costly trial and error. This course will give you the hands-on design skills you need to launch products with greater confidence and success.

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 expert for this course:

  • Alan Dix: Author of the bestselling book “Human-Computer Interaction” and Director of the Computational Foundry at Swansea University.

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Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. (2016, June 5). What is Path of Use?. Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF.