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University of Michigan

Understanding User Needs

Designing effective interactive systems requires understanding the needs and capabilities of the people who will be using them. In this UX course we will focus on how to interact with users (or potential users) to understand what they need, what they currently do, what they love and hate, and examine human capabilities and behavior as they relate to UX design. Learners will be introduced to numerous techniques to gather data from and about users. This course is part of the User Experience (UX) Research and Design specialization offered on Coursera. What you'll learn: Find out what user needs assessments are, what qualitative research is, and how the two are related. Learn an end-to-end methodology for qualitative research that is suited for understanding user needs. The methodology includes knowledge of semi-structured interviews, in-situ observation, and affinity walls. Be exposed to good practices for conducting semi-structured interviews, in-situ observation, and affinity walls. Gain some experience with semi-structured interviews, in-situ observations, and affinity walls.

Status: Data Collection
Status: Research Methodologies
BeginnerCourse11 hours

Featured reviews

WA

5.0Reviewed Jul 16, 2019

I really like this lecturer, he gives lots of good examples and analogies for the principles taught in this course. Well done.

AR

4.0Reviewed Apr 20, 2019

The topic was interesting and I learnt a lot of new things. i wish that it was designed to be a little more exciting and engaging.

MK

5.0Reviewed May 2, 2021

Really it is a great course from a practical and technical side, It needs a lot of work to complete but it 100% worth it.You will get a very good skill, practicing user research.

SP

5.0Reviewed Jun 7, 2020

The teacher is great. The hands on practical assignment are a must do it really helps in deeper understanding.

IS

5.0Reviewed Apr 5, 2020

I absolutely recommend this course. Brilliant professor and excellent exercises, the right mixture between theory and practice!

VV

5.0Reviewed May 2, 2020

The structure of the course was really good. The hands-on activity at every stage let us understand the ideas provided during the course. Overall, it a great learning experience!

DS

5.0Reviewed Oct 30, 2020

The methodologies learned in this program are applicable not only to UX research but to many other fields. I recommend this course at 100%.

UP

5.0Reviewed Aug 14, 2020

Found this course very interesting and gained valuable skills which can be applied to multiple subjects of inquiry.

LM

5.0Reviewed May 16, 2020

A very good course in building the idea to a person regarding how the process of the building an product should go starting from user needs .

JG

5.0Reviewed Apr 6, 2020

Great class; really learned about interviewing and qualitative research! Great instructor and helpful videos.

VO

5.0Reviewed Jun 8, 2022

The Course was interesting and engaging. Course Instructor did a good job explaining concepts in a simple way

AS

5.0Reviewed Feb 12, 2019

Although it's quite intensive, the course is super important for anybody who wants to get better in this area of knowledge. 100% Recommendable.

All reviews

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Reviewed Jul 28, 2020