The Usability Training Centre: Full curriculum

Full list of training courses

Choose your course from this list or download a brochure (pdf format) describing our curriculum.

Usability immersion training

Web Usability

For web designers who want hands-on experience with usability tools and techniques, "Web Usability" is a 2-day immersion seminar that shows delegates how to boost sales and conversion rates, increase usage and improve customer satisfaction. Unlike shorter introductory courses, this in-depth workshop covers the entire design and development lifecycle.

Intranet Usability

For intranet developers who want to help employees find and use content quickly and easily, "Intranet Usability" is a 2-day immersion seminar that gives delegates hands-on experience with several usability tools and techniques. Unlike web usability courses, this intranet-specific workshop contains examples of award-winning intranets for delegates to compare their own intranet against.

GUI Usability

For developers designing desktop software who want to make their interfaces simple to use, “GUI Usability” is a 2-day immersion seminar that gives delegates hands-on experience with several usability tools and techniques. Unlike shorter introductory courses, this in-depth seminar covers the complete design and development lifecycle.

Usability design training

Web accessibility for developers

For developers and designers who need to create accessible web sites, “Web accessibility for developers and designers” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to design accessible web pages and how to evaluate web pages for accessibility. This seminar provides a practical path through the legislation, describing what you need to do to meet the minimum requirements, how to retrofit inaccessible pages and how to make sure new content is accessible.

Forms usability

For web developers who need to improve the usability of forms on their web site, “Forms that work” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to improve forms in three ways: better fit between users' needs and business purpose, questions that are easier to answer, and forms that look easier to fill in. Unlike other usability courses, this workshop focuses exclusively on the techniques you need to design better forms.

How to write on-line documentation

For technical authors who need to create browser-based user assistance, "How to write, structure and test on-line documentation" is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to deliver usable content on the web. Unlike general courses on writing for the web or usability testing, the examples and activities in this course are tailored specifically to on-line documentation.

How to write an effective Style Guide

For design teams that want to avoid inconsistencies in their user interfaces, “How to write an effective style guide” is a 1-day workshop that shows you how to develop a style guide for use within your organisation. Unlike theory-based courses, this workshop is grounded in the realities of user interface design and includes tried and tested techniques to manage compliance.

How to use colour on the web

For web developers who want design guidance on the use of colour, “How to use colour on the web” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to use colour to produce web pages that are easier to read and scan. Unlike competitor courses, this seminar provides a basic grounding in the human visual system, which allows delegates to generalise to their own situation.

Web site localisation

For web developers responsible for localising their web site to other countries or cultures, “Web site localisation” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to avoid common pitfalls in localisation. Unlike other courses, delegates leave this seminar with a localisation strategy for their web site.

Writing for the global web

For web developers responsible for localising their web site to other countries or cultures, “Writing for the global web” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to communicate more effectively with an international audience. Unlike other courses, this seminar emphasises that it is not enough to just use the local language; the content has to be appealing and to "feel" local.

Usable mobile applications and IVRs

or usability specialists who work in the mobile industry, “How to design usable mobile applications and interactive voice response systems” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to develop customer-centred user interfaces. Unlike generic usability courses, this seminar focuses exclusively on mobile technologies, demonstrating good and bad examples of mobile interfaces.

Usability research training

Contextual inquiry

For people in design teams who need to base their designs on reality, not assumptions, "Contextual inquiry: how to plan, execute and analyse a site visit" is a 1-day seminar that teaches delegates how to get the most from a field visit to a customer location. Unlike academic courses, delegates on this seminar carry out their own study and so learn the practicalities of contextual inquiry on the job.

Ethnography and field work

For design teams who are actively involved in requirements capture, “Ethnography and field work” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to conduct, collect and interpret the data from field research. Unlike theoretical courses, this seminar shows delegates how to practically apply their ethnographic insights to the design of new technology.

A practical guide to usability testing

For people in design teams who want to gain confidence in usability testing, “A practical guide to usability testing” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to obtain customer feedback on prototypes and finished products. Unlike lecture-based courses, delegates get practical, hands-on experience moderating and logging usability tests.

Build your own usability lab

For usability professionals and market researchers who need their own usability facility, “Build your own usability lab” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to set up and configure digital video technology to record usability tests. Unlike software-based solutions, this usability lab can be used to evaluate physical products, like mobile phones.

Best practice in usability test moderation

For usability professionals who need to develop their usability testing skills, “Best practice in usability test moderation” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to administer a usability test. Unlike lecture-based courses, delegates get practical, hands-on experience moderating usability tests.

Morae Essentials

For new users of Techsmith's Morae who want to run a usability test, “Morae Essentials” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to set up, observe, log and analyse a usability test with Morae. Unlike training from software vendors, this workshop shows delegates real-life examples of how Morae is used in practice by usability experts.

Advanced usability testing with Morae

For experienced users of Techsmith's Morae who want to use all aspects of the software, “Advanced usability testing with Morae” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to use Morae like an expert. Unlike training from software vendors, this workshop shows delegates how to use Morae's advanced features to support user-centred design activities like paper prototyping.

A practical guide to card sorting

For user experience researchers who want to improve web site navigation, "A practical guide to card sorting" is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to obtain and analyse customer feedback on a site's information architecture. Unlike theory-based courses, delegates receive a fully licensed copy of card sorting analysis software (SynCaps).

How to carry out an expert review

For people in design teams who need to spot usability problems in prototypes and finished products, “How to carry out a usability expert review” is a 1-day seminar that teaches delegates cost-effective methods to evaluate designs. Unlike courses in usability testing, this seminar teaches delegates how to find and fix usability problems without involving end users.

How to design web surveys

For market researchers who create web-based questionnaires, “How to design and implement web surveys” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to create and analyse valid and reliable web surveys. Unlike standard courses on questionnaire design, this seminar shows delegates how to avoid the specific bloopers and pitfalls that bedevil most web surveys.

The CIF for Usability Test Reports

For usability professionals who want their usability test reports to be best of breed, “The common industry format for usability test reports” is a 1-day workshop that describes the ANSI test report standard. Unlike other courses that describe several standards, this seminar drills down on this one standard and covers it in real depth.

SPSS Essentials

For researchers involved in analysing data within their organisation, “SPSS Essentials” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to use SPSS to input and analyse data and how to interpret and present the results. Unlike advanced statistical courses, this workshop focuses on descriptive statistical techniques like means, medians and cross-tabulation.

Advanced Statistics Using SPSS

For researchers involved in analysing data within their organisation, “Advanced statistics using SPSS” is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to use SPSS to perform advanced statistical analyses. Unlike beginner courses, this workshop focuses on inferential statistical techniques like correlational analyses, regression and ANOVA.

Usability management training

Usability briefing for senior managers

For senior managers who need to understand the business benefits of usability, “Usability briefing for senior managers” is a half-day workshop that reveals the design principles behind successful web sites. Unlike theory-based courses, this hands-on course gives delegates an intuitive feel for usability by demonstrating good and bad examples of web sites.

Usability standards and legislation

For designers and managers who need to get to grips with UK legislation, “Legs & Regs: a no-nonsense guide to usability standards and legislation” is a 1-day seminar that provides concise and authoritative coverage of key standards and legislation in usability and accessibility. Unlike competitor courses, a nominated BSI UK expert, responsible for writing and contributing to British, European and International usability standards, trains this course.

Web accessibility briefing

For managers who need to understand their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act, “Web accessibility briefing for managers” is a half-day workshop that describes the legal issues surrounding accessible web sites. Unlike competitor courses, this workshop cuts through the jargon and clearly explains what you need to do to meet your legal obligations.

Cost justifying usability

For usability managers and team leaders who need to prove the financial benefits of their work, “Cost justifying usability” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to accurately estimate the payback of usability interventions. Unlike simple accounting approaches, this seminar shows delegates how to develop measurable usability metrics and express them as key performance indicators.

How to set and track usability metrics

For usability specialists who want to measure usability improvements in a project, “How to set and track usability metrics” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to develop, use and measure quantifiable usability metrics. Unlike a simple objective-setting approach, this seminar shows delegates how to make systematic, measurable improvements to a site's user experience, like raising conversion rates from 3% to 5%.

Consultancy skills

For internal or external consultants who need to market usability, “Consultancy skills for usability professionals” is a 1-day seminar that shows delegates how to sell user centred design projects to managers and budget holders. Unlike conventional sales training, this seminar teaches delegates the specific techniques that work when selling usability projects.

User experience as a strategic process

For managers or advocates charged with championing user-centred design processes, "Repositioning User Experience as a Strategic Process" is a 1-day workshop that shows delegates how to think strategically about user centred design. Unlike 'tools and techniques' training, this workshop shows that the 'user experience' is more than an isolated set of techniques and best practices.