VVZ API is not affiliated with ETH Zurich. Data might be outdated or incorrect. Please view the official ETHZ Vorlesungsverzeichnis for binding information.

227-0085-62L 2 Credits BSC D-ITET

Projects & Seminars: User Research for Mobile App Development

Projekte & Seminare: User Research for Mobile App Development

Lecturers & Examiners: Dr. Victoria Abou Khalil

The course unit can only be taken once. Repeated enrollment in a later semester is not creditable.

VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:21:47

Abstract

The category of "Laboratory Courses, Projects, Seminars" includes courses and laboratories in various formats designed to impart practical knowledge and skills. Moreover, these classes encourage independent experimentation and design, allow for explorative learning and teach the methodology of project work.

Objective

Students will learn how to create a product by extracting users' needs, identifying issues, prototyping ideas, and evaluating products. Qualitative and quantitative user research methods will be taught though lectures and guest talks from the industry. Students will put what they learned into practice to design and prototype a mobile app of their choice.

Content

To design a good product, companies need to understand the needs and experiences of their users. This constitutes an essential phase of the product development phase, called user research or design research. User research is a set of systematic qualitative and quantitative methods used to extract users' needs, identify issues, prototype ideas, and evaluate products. This course introduces the students to the fundamentals of user research. We will cover quantitative methods (e.g. A/B testing, instrumentation, analytics, surveys) and qualitative methods (e.g. interviews, ethnography, participatory design) along with practical experience applying these methods to design mobile applications. This course is a mix of guest lectures and practical activities. Guests from the industry will be invited to give students insights on the actual use of user research methods for product development. In parallel, using user research methods, students will pick an idea for a mobile application, identify target users, and analyze their needs. Finally, students will prototype their application using prototyping tools (no coding needed). After this course, students will become familiar with the design process, human-computer interaction paradigm, and the wide range of possible user research methods. They will also learn to use qualitative and quantitative methods to identify users’ needs and to choose which method is more appropriate in their particular context.

General Information

Language: English
Levels: BSC
Frequency: Yearly recurring

Examination

Type: ungraded semester performance

The students will either pass or fail the course. Regular attendance and the submission of a final project are required to pass the course. This course is not graded.

Registration & Places

Signup Start: 17.02.2023
Signup End: 03.03.2023

Course Components

Type	Title	Time & Place	Hours
practical/laboratory course	Projekte & Seminare: User Research for Mobile App Development Für den Zugang zum Angebot und zur Einschreibung loggen Sie sich hier ein (mit Ihrem n.ETHZ account): Bitte beachten Sie, dass die Seite jeweils erst zwei Wochen vor Semesterbeginn zugänglich ist und im Verlauf des Semesters wieder abgeschaltet wird. Die Einschreibung ist nur von Freitag vor Semesterbeginn bis zum ersten Freitagmittag im Semester möglich. Erste Sitzung: 1. März 2023 um 14 Uhr in ETZ E81. Das P&S richtet sich an Studierende des dritten Jahres. To access the offer and to enroll for courses log in (with your n.ethz account): Please note that the P&S-site is accessible no earlier than two weeks before the start of the semester until four weeks after the start of the semester. Enrollment is only possible from Friday before the start of the semester until noon of the first Friday in the semester. The first session will be held on March 1 in ETZ E 81 at 2 pm. The P&S is offered by PBL Aimed at third year students.	Wed 14:15-16:00 (ETZ J 91) 01.03 Date 14:15-16:00 (ETZ E 81) 08.03 Date 12:15-16:00 (HG E 3) 05.05 Date 13:15-16:00 (HG E 1.1)	2 h weekly

Offered In

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology Bachelor
- Laboratory Courses, Projects, Seminars (A minimum of 15 cp must be achieved in the category "Laboratory Courses, Projects, Seminars".)
  - Projects & Seminars (Enrolment is only possible for students in the BSc Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from Friday before the start of the semester. Places are allocated using the P&S application tool ( ). Please only enrol for P&S for which you apply via the tool.)