Balance talking and doing! Using Google design sprint to enhance an intensive UCD course

Abstract

Design, evaluation and enhancement of teaching activities in user-centred design (UCD) is characterized by limited research. This is particularly paradoxical as effective high-quality teaching is a key prerequisite for professional work in UCD. This paper reports the development of a two-week intensive UCD course for university-level students in an international setting. The first edition of the course ran during the summer of 2017. Based on both qualitative and quantitative data collected from students, the course was enhanced and a new edition that introduced Google Design Sprint (GDS) was conducted during the summer of 2018. Similar student feedback data was collected during both years (i.e., 2017 and 2018). In both editions, the course included lectures and hands-on use of UCD and interaction design methods in a design assignment. In this paper, we focus on the 2018 edition of the course and the students’ qualitative and quantitative feedback on that edition. The results illustrate that students liked the intensive teamwork, clear structure, and the international setting of the course. The main concerns from the students were on inefficient time management and the lack of user involvement in GDS. However, GDS was preferred to the traditional teaching methods, as the students saw the rapid development cycle to provide a good balance of talking and doing.