Most design decisions fail because teams guess instead of asking users directly. This program teaches you how to run usability tests, conduct user interviews, and analyze behavioral data without a research degree.
You'll work through real scenarios: setting up moderated tests with 5-8 participants, writing interview guides that avoid leading questions, and turning messy feedback into actionable patterns. We focus on methods you can use next week, not academic theory.
What you'll actually do
The curriculum includes hands-on practice with tools like Maze and UserTesting. You'll learn how to recruit participants on a budget, run remote sessions without technical disasters, and present findings to stakeholders who want solutions, not research reports.
By the end, you'll know how to choose between diary studies and contextual inquiry based on your timeline and resources. We cover compensation ethics, sample sizes for qualitative vs quantitative studies, and how to spot confirmation bias in your own work.
This isn't about becoming a full-time researcher. It's about having the skills to validate your assumptions before shipping features nobody needs.