This course is conducted in a hybrid format - lecture sessions on Thursdays 6:00-8:45 PM plus asynchronous online work. You will participate using the Cal State LA learning management system Canvas at calstatela.instructure.com.
The course follows an iterative, studio-style approach. Weekly topics provide structure while allowing flexibility to adjust based on student work, discussion, and learning pace.
Human-centered Design is an interactive problem-solving approach that prioritizes users' needs, behaviors, and experiences, integrating empathy, creativity, and usability principles to design effective, accessible, and meaningful systems, products, or services.
These principles ground everything we build in this course - ensuring the systems we design are effective, meaningful, and built for real people.
To fully participate in this course you will need:
- A device (laptop or desktop recommended) with a modern web browser
- Reliable internet access
- Access to Canvas at calstatela.instructure.com
Demonstrate the design thinking process from empathy through delivery, producing artifacts at each phase that document decision-making and user focus.
Conduct real client research, synthesize findings, and produce personas, user stories, and validated project goals that ground the design in actual need.
Evaluate foundational concepts and apply them to real-world problems - understanding not just what to build, but how to think about what gets built and why.
Develop a working product that meets accessibility standards and reflects intentional, principled design decisions grounded in course design principles.
Produce status reports, in-class demos, and a client handoff that demonstrate the ability to adjust format, language, and level of detail for different audiences.
Apply sprint-based feedback loops across three development cycles, documenting changes through accessibility reviews, change logs, and status reports.
Create systems that add value beyond the classroom - understanding that what gets built affects real users, real organizations, and the communities they serve.
| Category | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Activities | 25% | Weekly activities accompany the lectures to reinforce the concepts. Most involve participation and therefore require class attendance. Many of these activities lead directly to project artifacts. |
| Weekly Status Reports | 25% | Beginning with the first sprint, each team publishes a status report every week. Authorship rotates, contributions are attributed, client interactions are logged, and blockers are distinguished from risks. Graded on consistency and honesty, not on how good the news is. |
| Presentations & Providing Feedback | 10% | Group and individual presentations throughout the semester, including in-class demos of the work in progress. The feedback you give your classmates is also graded - receiving a demo well is a professional skill. |
| Midterm - Team Artifact Site | 5% | A checkpoint review of the team's artifact site at the course midpoint - assessed on completeness and whether the site shows how the team's thinking evolved. |
| Group Participation | 15% | Periodic requests for feedback from team members, which will be graded. Roles can shift; effort shouldn't. |
| Client Evaluation | 10% | Structured feedback from your client on responsiveness, professionalism, and whether the delivered work met the needs they described. |
| Final | 10% | Final product delivered, handoff documentation, and the closing retrospective. |
| Total | 100% |
You can view your grades using the GRADES button in the Canvas course navigation. Please check your grades regularly to ensure all your assignments have been received.
The first two weeks are about getting organized - understanding what systems are, forming your team, and mapping the landscape of your project.
From there, weeks three through six follow the Design Thinking process directly. You’ll spend two weeks in the field - researching your client’s world, preparing smart questions, and conducting real interviews - before stepping back to define the problem clearly and explore multiple solution directions. You cannot design well for people you don’t understand.
Weeks seven and eight are where research becomes something tangible. You’ll build a prototype, put it in front of real people, and learn what needs to change before development begins.
The remainder of the semester is development - three sprints with structured feedback at every checkpoint. You’ll track your progress, demo your work, and keep refining based on what you hear. By the end of the semester you will have designed and delivered a system, product, or service that adds real value to real people.
Tip - click any concept tag for more detail.
| Wk | Date | Phase | Focus & Concepts | Site 1 - Artifact Site | Client Interactions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 27 | Initiate |
What is a system and who is it built for?
Overview of design thinking methods and principles. Introduction to the group project concept.
Systems What/Why/Who/How Framework Design Thinking
|
- | Each student identifies a few people they could ask to serve as the team's client |
| 2 | Sep 3 | Initiate |
Form teams, build the team charter, choose and contact clients
Elevator pitches presented. Teams form, write a charter, and rank three client candidates with an outreach plan. Design principles checklist introduced.
Team Dynamics
|
Team Charter | Contact all three candidate clients - secure at least one confirmed commitment before next class |
| 3 | Sep 10 | Empathize |
Requirements Gathering Part 1 - self-directed research
Secure the client, study their industry, draft interview questions. Build the team webpage with AI tools - the foundation of Site 1.
Requirements Gathering
|
Hosted Team Webpage Client Overview Research Summaries Interview Questions | Meeting 1 - Interview #1: post-research interview with the client |
| 4 | Sep 17 | Empathize |
Requirements Gathering Part 2 - formal client interviews
Execute interviews, listen, document and summarize findings.
Requirements Gathering
|
Formal Interview Summaries | Meeting 2 - Interview #2: follow-up after the learning download. Frame early ideas as "Would something like this help?" |
| 5 | Sep 24 | Define |
Synthesize research and define the real problem
Build personas and user stories. Validate and finalize project goals.
Design Thinking - Personas & User Stories
|
Personas User Stories Validated Project Goals | Meeting 3 - Confirm the project goal resonates with the client |
| 6 | Oct 1 | Ideate |
Generate multiple solution directions before committing to one
Produce 3+ meaningfully different concepts. Present directions in class, vote, then choose and scope one direction.
Design Thinking - Ideation
|
Ideation Board Chosen Direction and Scope | Meeting 4 - Run the chosen direction and scope past the client - "Does this match what you imagined?" |
| 7 | Oct 8 | Prototype |
Sketch it, prompt it - AI-first prototyping
A prototype is a question, not a promise. Sketch the first page in class, turn it into an AI prompt, generate a working draft, and validate before investing further.
Design Thinking - Prototyping
|
Sketch Photos Initial Prompt | Meeting 5 - Client check before the client sees the full prototype |
| 8 | Oct 15 | Test Midterm |
Put the prototype in front of real people
Show the prototype to the client, capture structured feedback, and sort every item through the funnel into a managed backlog. Midterm checkpoint: artifact site review.
Feedback Change Management
|
Change Log | Meeting 6 - Client showing: show the prototype, capture reactions, and say honestly where their feedback landed |
| 9 | Oct 22 | Sprint 1 |
Development begins
Choose the development approach, stand up the sprint board, lock the Sprint 1 goal before class ends, and start the weekly status-report habit.
Development Methods
|
Development Plan Sprint Board Weekly Status Report Change Log | - |
| 10 | Oct 29 | Sprint 1 |
Sprint 1 continues
Development Tracking & Reporting
|
Weekly Status Page Accessibility Report | Meeting 7 - Demo Sprint 1 to client |
| 11 | Nov 5 | Sprint 1 → 2 |
Sprint 1 demos; Sprint 2 begins
Effective Presentations
|
Weekly Status Report Change Log | - |
| 12 | Nov 12 | Sprint 2 |
Sprint 2 continues
|
Weekly Status Report Accessibility Review | Meeting 8 - Demo Sprint 2 to client |
| 13 | Nov 19 | Sprint 2 → 3 |
Sprint 2 demos; final sprint (Sprint 3) begins
Organizational Change Management
|
Weekly Status Report Change Log | - |
| 14 | Nov 26 |
Thanksgiving - No Class
|
|||
| 15 | Dec 3 | Sprint 3 |
Sprint 3 continues
Final review before delivery. Post-go-live support planning - what happens after handoff?
|
Weekly Status Report Accessibility Review | - |
| 16 | Dec 10 | Deliver |
Final Presentation
The final product is handed off to the client - a system, product, or service that adds real value to real people. Clients invited to the final presentation.
|
Handoff Documentation | Clients invited to the final presentation |
| F | Dec 17 | Closure |
Closure
Retrospective, lessons learned, and reflection on the full semester journey.
|
Lessons Learned | - |
Being here is part of the experience - this course is built around in-class work, discussion, and collaboration that can't be replicated outside the room.
- Excused absences - illness, family emergencies, religious observances, jury duty, and university-approved activities. Contact me before class when possible, and submitted work will be accepted by the original due date.
- Unexcused absences - no credit for that week's in-class work.
Late work is not accepted by default.
AI tools are encouraged in this course as learning partners - not shortcuts. See Expectations → AI Policy for full guidelines on encouraged uses, misuses to avoid, and the AI literacy goals for this course.
All work submitted must be your own scholarly and creative efforts. Cal State LA defines plagiarism as: "the act of using ideas, words, or work of another person or persons as if they were one's own, without giving proper credit to the original sources."
This includes improper use of AI tools, copying from classmates, and misrepresenting your contributions to group work. Violations will be reported to academic affairs.
You are expected to familiarize yourself with the Cal State LA Academic Honesty Policy: ecatalog.calstatela.edu
Information on student rights and responsibilities, standards of conduct, etc., can be found by visiting the Cal State LA Student Conduct Office: calstatela.edu/studentconduct/policies-and-procedures
Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops, academic renewal, etc. Students should be aware of current deadlines and penalties for adding and dropping classes by visiting the GET Schedule Planner: calstatela.edu/registrar/get
Reasonable accommodation will be provided to any student who is registered with the Office of Students with Disabilities and requests needed accommodation. For more information visit the Office for Students with Disabilities: calstatela.edu/osd
Students are expected to attend all class sessions and communicate proactively about any absences. Please refer to the Cal State LA Missed Class Time and Makeup Policy: calstatela.edu/academicsenate/handbook/ch5
Tip - click any concept tag for a quick summary and Field Guide page reference.
Every framework, tool, or method gets presented in a way that connects to real-world use - including stories from my own work, the challenges, pivots, and lessons learned.
You'll gain a high-level understanding of the major dimensions of human-centered design. You don't need to specialize in everything - but as a designer, you must understand the landscape.
You are not just students - you're future colleagues. Your voice matters. We'll learn from each other, not just from me. Your unique insights and experiences will enrich this course.
Whether it's your final project or a simple class exercise, everything we do is designed to be genuinely useful to you - not just a hoop to jump through.
Just like in real-world projects, plans are a starting point - not a finish line. Based on your interests and feedback, we may pivot or iterate on activities, topics, or scope.
Behind every successful project is a web of relationships, communication, and trust. We'll focus on leveraging emotional intelligence to lead with empathy and clarity.
The goal isn't perfection - it's engagement.
Humor and personality are welcome.
- Unexcused absences - no credit for that week's in-class work or homework
- Excused absences - submissions accepted, must be turned in by the expected dates