How can you teach interaction design with agile or lean methodologies?

1 Define learning outcomes

Before you start teaching interaction design, you need to define what you want your students to learn and achieve. What are the core skills and competencies that they need to master? What are the specific goals and objectives that you want them to accomplish? How will you measure and evaluate their progress and performance?

Defining learning outcomes will help you design your curriculum, choose your tools and resources, and plan your activities and assessments. It will also help you align your teaching with the agile or lean values of delivering value, responding to change, and validating assumptions.

2 Use project-based learning

One of the best ways to teach interaction design with agile or lean methodologies is to use project-based learning (PBL). PBL is a pedagogical approach that engages students in solving real-world problems or challenges through collaborative and creative work. PBL allows students to apply their knowledge and skills in authentic contexts, develop their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and reflect on their learning process and outcomes.

PBL also mimics the agile or lean workflow of UED projects, where teams work in short cycles of planning, designing, testing, and iterating. You can use PBL to teach interaction design by assigning students a specific problem or challenge related to a product or service, and guiding them through the stages of research, ideation, prototyping, evaluation, and iteration. You can also use PBL to teach interaction design by involving real clients or stakeholders, and incorporating feedback and validation into the learning process.

3 Incorporate design thinking

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that helps teams understand and empathize with users, define and frame problems, generate and test ideas, and implement and iterate solutions. Design thinking is widely used in UED projects, as it helps teams create products and services that meet the needs and expectations of users, while also being feasible and viable.

You can incorporate design thinking into your teaching of interaction design by using its methods and tools, such as personas, scenarios, journey maps, brainstorming, sketches, wireframes, prototypes, and usability testing. You can also incorporate design thinking into your teaching of interaction design by fostering a culture of empathy, collaboration, experimentation, and feedback among your students.

4 Use online tools and platforms

Teaching interaction design with agile or lean methodologies requires using online tools and platforms that support collaboration, communication, and documentation. Online tools and platforms can help you and your students share and access information, work together on projects, create and test prototypes, collect and analyze data, and showcase and evaluate outcomes.

There are many online tools and platforms that you can use to teach interaction design with agile or lean methodologies, depending on your needs and preferences. Some examples are Miro, Figma, InVision, Balsamiq, Marvel, UserTesting, and Google Docs. You can also use online tools and platforms to enhance your teaching by creating interactive and engaging content, such as videos, podcasts, quizzes, and gamified activities.

5 Adapt and iterate

Teaching interaction design with agile or lean methodologies is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to adapt and iterate your teaching methods and strategies according to your context, your students, and your goals. You need to be flexible and responsive to the changing needs and expectations of your students, as well as the evolving trends and practices of UED.

You can adapt and iterate your teaching of interaction design by soliciting and incorporating feedback from your students, your peers, and your clients or stakeholders. You can also adapt and iterate your teaching of interaction design by monitoring and evaluating your learning outcomes, your teaching effectiveness, and your students' satisfaction and engagement. You can also adapt and iterate your teaching of interaction design by experimenting with new tools, resources, and techniques, and learning from your successes and failures.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?