Competency D

Identify user needs, ideate informatics products and services, prototype new concepts, and evaluate a prototype’s usability.

Introduction and PLO Discussion

User Experience        

In a time when products and services have never been more customizable and where one’s experience is often paramount in determining something’s usefulness, the concept of user experience now ranks as a priority value when it comes to tailoring experiences to the individual. More than just a buzzword these days or even just a rapidly expanding technologically related field, user experience pertains to “the holistic relationship — encompassing perceptions, emotions, and interactions — between a person and a product, service, or company (Nielsen Norman Group, 2024).” When it comes to the UX design process, the following five steps in the process are essential to adhere to achieving the optimal user experience (Hunt, n.d.):

1.     Empathize

2.     Define

3.     Ideate

4.     Prototype

5.     Test

User Experience (UX) Design Process

As the first step in the user experience design process, the Empathize stage is indisputably one of the most crucial steps as it involves further exploring users’ problems in order to best determine their needs and requirements. This stage also typically involves user research utilizing such activities as card-sorting, user surveys, usability testing, and user interviews (virtual or in-person). The Define stage relates to identifying the particular constituents of what users need, which issues affect users, and the particular ways that users are affected by the issues thus discovered. Next, the Ideate stage pertains to a series of activities that enable user experience professionals to make sense of their findings in a more organized fashion. The Prototype stage challenges professionals to continually create and reiterate designs based on ideas they generate. Finally, the test stage involves – you guessed it! – testing the prototypes in order to discover a suitable solution.

Relevant Coursework, Professional Experience, & Future Goals

While I easily identified INFM 204: Human-Centered Design as a course that fulfills Competency D, I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that INFM 205: Informatics Project Management had an assignment that pertained to this competency as well. Additionally, I wanted to include my recent experience as a design-a-thon participant in the University of Florida’s Gator User Design (GUD) 2025 Design-a-Thon. Being able to ideate, prototype, and submit our team’s concept through a pitch deck and walkthrough video provided me with noteworthy material external to my graduate coursework.

As a former UX Student Assistant, I was exposed to the various stages of the UX design process in a variety of hands-on, highly applicable ways. While I do have a realistic outlook on today’s job market where user experience roles are involved, becoming a UX Designer for a healthcare organization would be my ideal role. At the very least, though, I am considering taking the Google x Coursera User Experience Professional Certificate program and courses through the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) to enhance my foundational knowledge of user experience. By enhancing my knowledge of user experience, I believe this would prepare me as an information science professional who is equipped to integrate the principles of usability, accessibility, and inclusivity wherever my next role takes me.