Experience Design @ GuilfordXD Minor ProposalGuilford Faculty Meeting, April 20, 2016

Experience design (XD) is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, omnichannel journeys, and environments with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions.AKA User Experience, User Design

An often-cited definition…

The AlumniMichael KopcsakDirector, UX

Mary LuongCX Strategist

Wendy LamDesign Strategist/Innovation Leader

Guilford Class of ‘08Integrative Studies

NCSU Class of ’14MS, Human Factors & ErgonomicsPhD, Human Factors & Applied Cognition

Guilford Class of ‘02Economics/Visual Art

Guilford Class of ‘94Art/Business Management

NYU Class of ’99MPS, Interactive Telecom

XD@GUILFORD

Source: Nathan Shedroff, “New Methods for Designing Experiences”

• Mark Dixon, Art• Kathryn Shields, Art• Michael Dutch, Business• Richard Schilhavy, CTIS• Kathy Adams, Psychology• Robin Vest, Theatre Studies

Planning

July 28, 2015 Presentation by alums about the possibility for a UX program at Guilford

2015-16 Faculty Committee researching and developing proposal for the program (UX UXDXD)

March-April 2016 Minor proposal completed: approved by Department Chairs (March 31) approved by Curriculum Committee (April 8) approved by Clerk’s Committee (April 13) considered by Faculty (April 20)

Fall 2016 Begin XD Minor and offer introductory Experience Design course (ART 250)Proposal for XD Major

Fall 2017 Begin XD Major (still under development)Add upper level Experience Design course

Connection to the Guilford College MissionTo provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education for every student that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, emphasizing the creative problem-solving skills, experience, enthusiasm and international perspectives necessary to promote positive change in the world. 

User experience is an emerging field that examines the how humans interact with products and services. While the field has an emphasis on human computer interface, its essence is improving the human the experience with products, services and other people. The field builds on elements of psychology, art, business, and computer technology and has applications in both the profit and nonprofit sectors. While the specific user experience design courses within the proposed minor are new, the core of the minor already exists within the current catalog of courses.

User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with a product, service or physical presence.

User experience is the emotions, behaviors and attitudes that any given interaction conjure.

Program Description (from the proposal)

Further Connections to Guilford’s values and missionIt reframes “design” by emphasizing• interdisciplinary approaches• research-driven analysis• relevant planning for effective applications• human interactions• issues of access for underserved communities• critical processes to arrive at creative solutions

Our program seeks to use technology as a means and compliment rather than the center of design strategies.

Five Academic PrinciplesThe philosophical framework of this program emphasizes Guilford’s values and the ethical dimension of knowledge based on both designers’ and users’ identity, experiences, background, access, and needs. It highlights those social and cultural factors (e.g. race, ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, ability, age) that impact the interaction between relevant people and services. XD requires skills and tools to step outside one’s limited perspective to meet specific design challenges.

Innovative, Student-centered learning The Experience Design sequence will be interactive in nature and focus on learning through discussion and experiential activities.

Engage in creative and critical thinking The nature of the subject, Experience Design, requires students togather disparate information to create original work.

Cultural and global perspectives Understanding the cultural perspectives of users is a criticalrequirement in the field and will be discussed in the Experience Design sequence.

Values and the ethical dimension of knowledge

Ethical/unethical workplace behavior, ethical decision making, andsocial responsibility issues are discussed in the Experience Designsequence. The practical considerations of this field lend directly todesign oriented to all users, including diverse communities, Universal Design Learning (UDL), etc.

Focus on Practical application Students will apply their knowledge to realistic problems within theExperience Design classes and in the elective internship .

Source: outoftheinkwell.wordpress.com

Works CitedKetut Sulistyawati, “Experience Design Mindmap,”April 15, 2011, tyawatihttps://tyawati.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/experience-design-mindmap/

Nathan Shedroff, Experience Design 1.1 book (design, writing, and production) (Waite Group Press, 2009/2001)http://nathan.com/experience-design-books/

Patrick Newberry, “Experience Design: When Innovation Isn’t Enough,” Wiredhttp://www.wired.com/insights/2014/03/experience-design-innovation-isnt-enough/

Fredy D. Oré, “Experience Design is Shaping Our Future,” reloade, October 31, 2014.http://www.reloade.com/blog/2014/10/experience-design-is-shaping-our-future.php

Out of the Inkwellhttps://outoftheinkwell.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/living-the-experience-design/

The Guilford OpportunityA UX Program Proposal

IntroductionsMichael KopcsakDirector, UX

Mary LuongCX Strategist

Wendy LamDesign Strategist/Innovation Leader

Guilford Class of ‘08Integrative Studies

NCSU Class of ’14MS, Human Factors & ErgonomicsPhD, Human Factors & Applied Cognition

Guilford Class of ‘02Economics/Visual Art

Guilford Class of ‘94Art/Business Management

NYU Class of ’99MPS, Interactive Telecom

XD@GUILFORD

The Question at Hand

• With increasing budgetary pressures and a crowded competitive landscape, how can a new degree program make a difference for Guilford and it’s students?

UX@GUILFORD

What we heard from Jane in San Francisco…

Connection to the Guilford College MissionTo provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education for every student that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, emphasizing the creative problem-solving skills, experience, enthusiasm and international perspectives necessary to promote positive change in the world. 

“The ideal [UX professional] is this hybrid person who's both right-brained and left-brained, high tech and high touch…”Donna Farrugia, Executive Director, The Creative Group

UX@GUILFORD

"User experience" encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction

with a product, service or physical presence.

User experience is the emotions, behaviors and attitudes that any given interaction conjure.

Anybody care to comment/explain a great user experience they’ve had recently?

UX Careers – An ROI in Education2012 Report“User Experience Designer”

• Ranked #43 out of 100• Median Pay: $95,000• Top Pay: $150,000• 10 year job growth: 22% • Total Jobs: 3,426,000

2015 Report“User Experience Designer”

• Ranked #14 out of 100• Median Pay: $89,000• Top Pay: $138,000• 10 year job growth: 18%

“Best Jobs in America” list

Breadth of Opportunities• A recent search for “user experience”

– Indeed.com• 20,000 employment opportunities• Lowest salary $60k with the highest being $140k

– Linkedin.com• 7581 employment opportunities

– Simplyhired.com• 343,458 employment opportunities

• Queries specific to the NC market– The Charlotte area: 128– The Research Triangle area: 253– Greensboro: 11

UX@GUILFORD

From 2010-2012, QConnects, a leading CA Based Digital Recruitment Firm saw demand for UX Designers jump 50%

+50%

Job satisfaction 5.4 on a 1-7 scale. 2014 Nielsen Norman

survey 1000+ UX designers worldwide

Largest Employment Sectors for UX

• Information Technology

• Finance• Healthcare• Education• Advertising/Marketing

UX@GUILFORD

Industry Analysts Views

Leading companies in every country and every industry are making CX a strategic priority, investing millions to improve how customers perceive their interactions with the firm.

The State of CX Maturity in 2014, October 1, 2014

UX@GUILFORD

What’s the top imperative at your company? If it’s not a transformation to make the company customer experience focused, you’re making a mistake. Technology and economic forces have changed the world so much that an obsession with winning, serving and retaining customers is the only possible response.

Become more Customer-Obsessed or Fail, April 6, 2015

Hundreds if not thousands of leading corporations have created chief customer officer (CCO) positions in recent years to help them become more customer-centric. Now US federal government agencies are toying with the idea of adding CCO positions and four have already taken the plunge.

The Rise of Federal Chief Customer Officers, March 6, 2015

Companies with customer-obsessed cultures — think USAA or Southwest Airlines — differentiate themselves in their industries and earn major financial benefits as a result. But customer-obsessed cultures don't just happen: To help transform a culture, customer experience professionals must develop a training and coaching curriculum that touches all employees.

The Customer Experience Curriculum, January 6, 2015

UX@CollegeInstitutions with a UX Curriculum include major brand names…

UX@GUILFORD

Parsons The New School for DesignCarnegie Mellon UniversityArt Center College of DesignDePaul UniversityUniversity of MichiganBentley University

University of WashingtonClemson UniversityRutgersUniversity of TexasPurdue UniversityGeorgia Tech

BS: 5 programs in NY, WA, NJ, CABFA: 1 program in NYMS: 13 programs, only 1 in the Southeast (Georgia Tech)

National View of UX Programs

The Opportunity for Guilford College

To become a regional leader in UX Education

Offer 3 Degree Tracks • UX Design• UX Research• CX Strategy

Getting the program off the ground• To minimize costs and time to market,

leverage existing courses to form the core curriculum for the UX Degree program

• Tweak/slightly revise existing courses to better fit with the UX Program

• Leverage Adjunct (read, “inexpensive”) faculty from industry

UX@GUILFORD

Core curriculum (sourced from existing Guilford courses/offerings)

Psychology, Math, Csci, Business Management, Art, Sociology / Anthropology

At least 2 internships

A thesis project(need to be added)

Net New Courses(need to be added)

A mix of Greater GSO consortium sourced courses, new courses taught by industry experts, existing online courses offered by others

The Guilford UX Curriculum

UX@GUILFORD

+ +

+VMware Internship

Commitment

What do you think?• Reactions, comments, concerns? • Is there a consensus on this concept?

UX@GUILFORD

Next Steps• Assess the level of interest in the Guilford

Community in a UX Degree program.

Assuming there’s interest…• Formalize a UX Curriculum.• Establish a timeline and a route to market.

UX@GUILFORD

Thank You