Usability and UX Design

In the Usability and User-Centered Design course we focus on writing and designing technical documents that focus on the user experience and ensure the end user is successful. This involves careful organization of information, consideration of the language you use, and ensuring that your documents are accessible.

Write with UX Design in Mind

In this class, you will have an opportunity to study industry best practices around user experience. This will involve writing and editing technical documents to make them more user friendly and accessible. By honing these skills, you will ensure that your writing focuses heavily on the user experience. You will also leave with a well-designed document to add to your growing technical writing portfolio.

What You'll Learn

At the end of the course, you should be able to:

Explain what UX design is and why it's important.
Explain what user testing is and why it's important.
Apply accessibility principles to a document in Microsoft Word.
Use styles in Microsoft Word to format a document.
Consider accessibility from the beginning of construction.
Identify a specific audience and target your documentation towards that audience.
Find examples of new kinds of industry-specific documentation when necessary.
Generate questions for user testing.
Choose select information for inclusion in an FAQ or troubleshooting document.

Technical Writing Certificate

The certificate series includes the following component courses, which may be taken together or individually:

Please note that the Free Intro to Tech Writing class is self-paced and not required to receive a certificate. If you are new to technical writing, it is recommended that you complete this course and also take the other courses in the order outlined here.