User Experience (UX) Design for Startups Course

Lesson 1 • What UX Design Actually Means

Defines UX beyond aesthetics, covering usability, utility, and desirability. Grounds the chapter by distinguishing UX from UI and product management.

Lesson 2 • Setting Up a Lean UX Practice

Covers the minimal toolset, workflows, and team rituals needed to run UX in a small team. Connects principles to daily startup design operations.

Lesson 3 • Core UX Principles and Heuristics

Introduces foundational usability heuristics and design principles used to evaluate and guide decisions. Students apply these as a rapid audit framework.

Lesson 1 • Surveys and Contextual Inquiry

Introduces survey design and observational research to complement interviews with broader or behavioral data. Expands the student's method repertoire.

Lesson 2 • Conducting User Interviews

Covers interview design, facilitation, and note-taking techniques that surface genuine user needs. Builds the core qualitative skill used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Synthesizing Research into Insights

Teaches affinity mapping, thematic analysis, and insight prioritization to turn raw data into actionable findings. Outputs feed directly into persona and journey work.

Lesson 4 • Research Planning and Scoping

Teaches how to define research questions, select methods, and scope studies to available time and budget. Prevents wasted effort by aligning research to decisions.

Lesson 1 • Designing the Future-State Journey

Guides students from current-state analysis to envisioning an improved experience. Bridges research artifacts to ideation and feature prioritization.

Lesson 2 • Mapping the Current User Journey

Teaches how to document the as-is user experience across touchpoints, emotions, and pain points. Creates a baseline for identifying high-impact design opportunities.

Lesson 3 • Jobs-to-Be-Done Framework

Introduces the jobs-to-be-done lens as a complement to personas for understanding user motivation. Provides a causal model for why users adopt or abandon products.

Lesson 1 • Principles of Information Architecture

Covers organisation systems, labelling, navigation, and search as the four pillars of IA. Establishes vocabulary and mental models used throughout the chapter.

Lesson 2 • Card Sorting and Tree Testing

Teaches user-driven methods for validating and refining content organisation before building. Connects IA decisions to real user mental models.

Lesson 3 • Sitemap and Content Hierarchy

Guides students through creating sitemaps and defining content hierarchy for web and mobile products. Produces a deliverable used in wireframing and developer handoff.

Lesson 1 • Sketching and Rapid Ideation

Builds the habit of generating many layout ideas quickly before committing to any single direction. Reduces attachment to first ideas and improves final design quality.

Lesson 2 • Building Low-Fidelity Prototypes

Teaches how to link wireframe screens into clickable prototypes for early user testing. Connects wireframing output to the usability testing chapter that follows.

Lesson 3 • Wireframing Fundamentals

Introduces wireframe conventions, fidelity levels, and the role of wireframes in the design process. Sets expectations for what wireframes should and should not communicate.

Lesson 1 • Usability Testing Fundamentals

Defines usability testing goals, types, and when to use each. Distinguishes testing from research to clarify the method's specific role in the design cycle.

Lesson 2 • Writing and Running Test Sessions

Covers test script writing, facilitator behaviour, and session logistics for both remote and in-person formats. Builds facilitation confidence through structured practice.

Lesson 3 • Remote and Unmoderated Testing Tools

Surveys tools and techniques for running tests asynchronously at low cost. Expands testing capacity beyond what moderated sessions alone can provide.

Lesson 4 • Iterating on Designs from Findings

Guides students through translating usability findings into design revisions and re-testing cycles, reinforcing the iterative nature of UX practice within startup timelines.

Lesson 1 • Iconography and Imagery

Covers icon design principles, sourcing, and the use of illustration and photography in product UI. Prevents common visual inconsistency issues in startup products.

Lesson 2 • Typography in Digital Interfaces

Introduces type selection, scale, and pairing for digital readability and brand expression. Students define a typographic system for their product.

Lesson 3 • Colour Theory for Product Design

Covers colour models, palette construction, and the functional use of colour in UI contexts. Students build a product colour system that communicates brand and state.

Lesson 4 • Building a UI Component Library

Guides students through assembling reusable UI components into a structured library. Connects visual design decisions to scalable, consistent product development.

Lesson 1 • UX Metrics and Measurement Frameworks

Introduces HEART, PULSE, and task-based metrics for measuring UX quality over time. Students select and define metrics appropriate for their product stage.

Lesson 2 • Scaling UX as the Startup Grows

Addresses how UX processes, team structure, and tooling must evolve from seed to growth stage. Prepares students to lead design maturity improvements over time.

Lesson 3 • Analytics and Behavioural Data

Covers how to use product analytics, funnel analysis, and heatmaps to identify UX problems at scale. Complements qualitative research with quantitative behavioural evidence.

Lesson 4 • Connecting UX to Business Outcomes

Maps UX activities to business metrics such as activation, retention, and conversion. Gives students a framework for prioritising design work by business value.