UX Research & Design

User Research & Synthesis

Required. User research synthesis is the genuine prerequisite for all design work on this path — a prototype without documented research findings cannot be defended at postgraduate depth. Proof requires: a research plan specifying methods and participant criteria, primary research data (interviews, surveys, or observations) from a minimum of 5 participants, and an affinity diagram or equivalent synthesis artefact identifying actionable insights. Qualified UX researcher (minimum 3 years industry experience) review required. Genuine prerequisite for prototyping (seq 20).

Interaction Design Prototype

Required. Interaction design prototype — a medium-to-high-fidelity interactive prototype in Figma (free), Adobe XD, or equivalent, with a documented interaction model (user flows, state transitions, error states). Every major design decision must trace to a research insight from seq 10. Qualified UX designer (minimum 3 years industry experience) review required. Genuine dependency on design-user-research-synthesis (seq 10).

Usability Evaluation

Elective. Moderated usability evaluation of the prototype with a minimum of 5 participants — think-aloud protocol, task completion measurement, and SUS (System Usability Scale) scoring. A findings report documenting observed issues, severity ratings, and prioritised redesign recommendations is the proof artifact. Qualified UX researcher or usability evaluator review required.

UX Design Case Study

Elective. Published UX case study documenting the complete design process — research findings, design decisions, prototype iterations, and evaluation results — written for a professional audience. The case study must explain why each major decision was made, not just what was done. Qualified UX professional review required. The primary portfolio proof in UX hiring.

Ship a Design System in Production

Elective. Ship a component library and design system — extending the prototype into a documented, reusable design system with component specifications, usage guidelines, and a handoff artefact ready for engineering. This richMilestones outcome is the advanced capstone for the path, bridging UX design and front-end engineering. Figma Community has free design system templates as starting references.

Free archive from Nielsen Norman Group — the primary research authority in UX. Covers user research methods, usability testing protocols, interaction design principles, and information architecture. Use for every step: the research synthesis methodology, interaction design heuristics, usability evaluation scoring, and case study structure all draw on NN/g's published frameworks.

Free component library and design system templates from Figma's community — real design systems (Material Design, iOS HIG, Atlassian) available as free Figma files. Use for the prototype step as starting material, and for the design system step as reference implementations of professional-grade component documentation.

Free Google design system covering interaction design principles, component specifications, accessibility standards, and motion design. Use as a reference implementation throughout: how does a production design system document components? What level of specification is expected in a professional handoff? Use the Components and Foundations sections when building the design system capstone.

Free open-source design system from IBM — fully documented component library with design rationale, accessibility guidance, and code. Use as the reference model for the design system capstone: Carbon's documentation structure (anatomy, usage, style, code, accessibility) shows what a professional design system entry looks like in practice.