Glossary
User experience: what a person lives while using the product
User experience covers what a person lives while using a product: what they understand, what they accomplish, and how long it takes them. It is measured by observation. It is designed from the field and verified through usability tests.
What is designed, and what is observed
User experience gathers the understanding, the effort and the outcome a person achieves in front of a product. It is designed from field research — what people genuinely do — then verified through usability tests with people encountering the product for the first time. The design field holds 11 modules in the catalogue.
- Design starts from what people do, observed in the field
- Usability tests are run with people meeting the product for the first time
- 11 modules in the catalogue's design field
The four stages of a design
The Design and User Experience programme runs the full cycle: interviews, journeys, mockups, usability tests, documented iterations. The Web and Mobile Development programme takes over on the build side, turning design decisions into an interface genuinely delivered.
- 01
1 — Observe
Interviews and field observation establish what people genuinely do today.
- 02
2 — Frame the journey
The full path is written out, step by step, from the initial need to the outcome achieved.
- 03
3 — Mock up
A manipulable representation makes the proposal testable before a single line is written.
- 04
4 — Test and revise
Five people meeting the product for the first time reveal most of the points to revise.
Programmes that work on it
2 catalogue programmes put “User experience” to work: 240 credits and 2400 taught hours in total. The official rule holds throughout — one credit stands for 25 hours of work, 10 of them taught. Every line below is recomputed from the programme page: level, duration, credits, taught volume and fees in Guinean francs appear exactly as filed in the official catalogue.
| Programme | Level | Duration | Volume | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| User Experience Design and Digital Creation | Bachelor's degree | 2 years | 120 credits · 1200 taught hours | 4 800 000 GNF per year |
| Web and Mobile Development | Bachelor's degree | 2 years | 120 credits · 1200 taught hours | 5 200 000 GNF per year |
Before you apply
Do you need to be able to draw?
The discipline rests on observation, structuring and testing. The representation tools are installed during the programme.
How many people for a usability test?
Five people meeting the product for the first time already reveal most of the points to revise. The programme has you run those tests in real conditions.
Is the portfolio built during the programme?
Yes: research, mockups, tests and iterations form the pieces you later present in interviews.
Explore next
- MockupMockups and prototypes: fidelity levels, use in testing, handover to build, in IHETC design and digital creation programmes.
- AccessibilityDigital accessibility: contrast, structure, keyboard navigation, alternative text and performance, in IHETC design and web programmes.
- Search engine optimisationSearch engine optimisation: search intent, page structure, technical performance and internal linking, in IHETC marketing programmes.
- CreditThe credit at IHETC: 25 hours of work of which 10 are taught, the official catalogue rule, and what 180 credits represent across a full programme.
- Course unitThe course unit at IHETC: content, hours, credits and its own assessment. The 181 units published in the catalogue, with their teaching year.
- Competency blockCompetency block: definition, hours and role within the 72 IHETC professional qualifications. 360 blocks published, each certifiable separately.