Formal Design Methods: Formalism and Design
How This Course Will Help Your Career
What You’ll Learn
- An introduction to formal methods, and how formalism can help in design problems
- A brief history of the development of formalisms (in logic, mathematics, and science)
- What states are, and what the various kinds of states that can exist in an interactive product are
- How to model and specify the states of a design in a detailed manner
- How to use dialogue notation, such as state transition networks, to present the different states in your designs as well as annotate any danger states that might be present
You've just fixed a usability problem and are about to release the updated app or website... but have you really got it right this time? Is there an unusual use case you haven't thought of? Can you ever be sure? Thankfully, applying formal methods to your design can help you.
Formal methods are usually employed in mathematical and scientific fields, as the preferred way of presenting information. Many mathematical and scientific theories we know today are in fact written in a formal manner. The scientific theory of gravity, for instance, is presented with all variables, parameters, and factors clearly named and defined, and all assumptions explicitly stated. The power of formalism is that it allows a concept, theory, or model to be completely and clearly defined, so anyone who reads it can easily spot any gaps in logic or exceptions to the rule.
When applied to design, formal methods allow designers to flesh out the entire product (e.g., all the states of an app) explicitly and completely. This allows designers to spot potential flaws in the design (e.g., incomplete user flows, links, or buttons that are not defined in the design, etc.) in less time.
In this course, you will learn how various forms of formal notation and methods can help you catch potentially disastrous problems early in a design process. Formal design methods will also give you confidence that the delivered systems are both what you intended and as free from major usability flaws as possible. You will also learn how to use formal methods to increase the probability that the developers will deliver precisely the design you intended.
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Is This Course Right for You?
This is an advanced-level course on formal methods, and it is recommended for designers with some form of experience:
- UX designers keen on boosting their workflows by incorporating formal methods into their designs
- Project managers looking to improve the product development process with formalism
- Software engineers interested in creating a close integration of design and development, by using models and notations to specify designs
- Entrepreneurs keen on creating products that are free from major usability flaws
- Newcomers to design who are considering making a switch to UX design
Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.
Learn and Work with a Global Team of Designers
You’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of design.
Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 13 hours 44 mins spread over 6 weeks .
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
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0.1: An introduction to courses from the Interaction Design Foundation (37 mins)
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0.2: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.3: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.4: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (5 mins)
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0.5: Meet and learn from design professionals at an upcoming meet-up (1 min)
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0.6: Gain Timeless Knowledge Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.7: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.8: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (6 mins)
Lesson 1: Formalism In Action
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1.1: Formal methods - introduction (45 mins)
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1.2: Early examples - formalism in action (1 hour 40 mins)
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1.3: Discussion Forum (6 mins)
Lesson 2: What Is Formal?
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2.1: What is formal? (41 mins)
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2.2: A brief history of formalism (1 hour 5 mins)
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2.3: Discussion Forum (6 mins)
Lesson 3: Dialogue
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3.1: Dialogue notations (16 mins)
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3.2: State transition networks (12 mins)
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3.3: Properties of dialogue (51 mins)
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3.4: Checking properties: Reversability and completeness (15 mins)
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3.5: Checking properties: Dangerous states (27 mins)
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3.6: Lexical issues and layout (19 mins)
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3.7: Discussion Forum (6 mins)
Lesson 4: A Success Story
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4.1: A success story (1 hour 6 mins)
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4.2: Lessons about state (55 mins)
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4.3: Discussion Forum (6 mins)
Lesson 5: Modelling State
Lesson 6: Generic interaction models
Lesson 7: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
How Others Have Benefited
Jim Brown, United States
“I was completely unfamiliar with formalism prior to this course and am looking forward to see how I can apply this methodology in my day to day work. Certainly applicable to interaction design and experience design.”
Richie McGirr, United States
“Great course. It made me think about things and use parts of my brain that I haven't used for a while. I really needed this.”
Neha Hall, United Kingdom
“This is an interesting course; not being very advanced in mathematics I was initially quite taken aback by the formulaic nature of the slides, however as the course instructor goes through them, the takeaways make sense. You wouldn't necessarily need to do the equations to prove your UX/UI recommendations to the client, however you can use that logical basis to validate your design recommendations and ensure that you design products that are logical to use and thus don't create a burden on the user to try and figure out what they need to do.”
How It Works
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Control your learning.
Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline. Learning and life, hand in hand.
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Earn Course Certificates.
Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to show you’ve put in the work.
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Advance your career.
Grow your professional knowledge by watching Master Classes, networking within our UX community, and more.
Start Advancing Your Career Now
Join us to take “Formal Design Methods: Formalism and Design”. Take other courses at no additional cost. Make a concrete step forward in your career path today.
Advance my career nowFrequently Asked Questions
When I finish a course, do I have to pay extra to get my certificate?
Can I take more than one course at a time?
With a Student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. You can still take as many courses as you would like – free of extra charges – just as long as you finish or drop them so that you don’t have more than two ongoing courses.
I missed the enrollment, and now the course is closed. What can I do?
Don't worry if you missed the course. We will re-run it shortly. One of the reasons we continually open and close courses is in order to control the classroom size.
Networking is a large part of our value proposition, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That is also why we display the "XX % percent booked" on our course icons.
Do I have to be online at an exact time to study?
No. You can set your own study schedule. There are no "live sessions" since we have members from all timezones around the world. We are a truly global community.
Thus, once you are enrolled, you can take all the time to complete a given course. Every "classroom" in each course will never close, so you’ll have permanent access to your classmates and your course material (as well as your own answers).
Will I receive a Course Certificate?
Yes. You will get a digital industry-recognized course certificate every time you complete a course. Certificates never expire and can be saved as a .jpg file, so it's easy to be shared. Also, there is no limit to how many certificates you can earn during your membership.
You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue.
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I have updated my name, but my course certificate is not updated — how can I change it?
Don't worry; once you change your name, your certificate will be updated automatically in the next 48 hours.
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For how long will I have access to the course materials?
You will have access to the course materials for the entire duration of your membership. So, if you pay for a one-year membership, you will have access for one year. Renewing your membership for a second year means you will have access to one more year, and so on.
New lessons are starting before I have completed the previous lesson(s). Am I going to be locked out of these unfinished lessons?
No, you will not be locked out of any lesson or course. You will have access to all course materials throughout your membership, so there is no pressure to keep at the same pace as the specified lesson release dates.
All we recommend is that you try to stick to the same schedule as other participants. The reason is they may have moved on to other lessons, thereby meaning you could miss out on the social aspects of the course(s).
Do I have a specific date to award my certificates?
No, you can generate your certificate as soon as you score at least 70% of the total course points.
When will I receive my Course Certificate?
Course certificates will be given to participants when they have scored more than 70% or more of the total course points. For example, if a course contains ten lessons each with ten questions, you will receive a course certificate when the instructor has awarded you at least 70 points (70% of the total course points).
There is no specified time that certificates will be awarded — instead, they are given to participants as and when they have answered all questions, even if this is long after the official end date.
How do I add my Certificate to my LinkedIn profile?
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
Below your profile description, click on the button Add profile section, choose Recommended and then select Add license or certification.
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3. In the following fields add:
Name – Course name
Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
Check the field “This credential does not expire”
Issue date - Input the date written on your certificate (e.g., May 2021)
Credential ID – Your membership ID number – it's written on your certificate. (For non-members, you can leave this field blank or, if you prefer, insert the certificate ID, which can be extracted from the certificate link. This ID will begin with "mcc_" and be followed by a string of numbers and letters.")
Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your course page
4. Click the Save button.
Congratulate yourself! Earning the certificate is a great accomplishment and now you can share it with the world!
How do I add the Interaction Design Foundation Membership Certificate to my LinkedIn Profile?
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
Below your profile description, click on the button Add profile section, choose Recommended and then select Add license or certification.
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3. In the following fields add:
Name – Membership Certificate
Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
Check the field “This credential does not expire”
Issue date - Input the date when you joined our community (e.g., May 2019)
Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your profile page
4. Click the Save button.
It is as simple as that. Now, anyone who visits your profile can see your certificate!
How much will I have to pay for the courses?
After you pay for your membership, you can take as many courses as you want with no additional costs. There are no further charges on top of the membership fee.
Do you provide mostly beginners' or more advanced courses?
How long does it take to complete a course?
You will need approximately 5-8 hours to complete one lesson. Each course has between 3 and 16 lessons.
Once enrolled in a course, you will gain access to a new lesson each week, which you are free to complete without any deadlines and no end date, either.
I scored less than 70% in a course, so I didn't qualify for a certificate. Can I try again?
Yes! Everyone's learning journey looks different, and we'd never stop our members from trying again. To retake a course, just follow these steps:
1. Go to your profile and click on the relevant course you'd like to retake.
2. Underneath your progress bar, you'll see a phrase "UX Courses" with an arrow (>) pointing to a clickable landing page of that course. Click on that link.
3. Once on the landing page, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. You'll see a red button, which you can simply click to drop the course.
4. Head back to our main list of UX Courses, and re-enroll yourself in the course. You'll all set to try again!
Please note that when you drop a course, you will lose any answers and progress you submitted. We advise that you screenshot or save any answers you'd like to reuse.
In some cases, we can open up lessons for members who are retaking a course, so that they don't have to wait for familiar lessons to unlock each week. If you'd like us to do this for you, please get in touch with our support team at hello@interaction-design.org, and we can help you out.
How do I drop a course?
To drop a course, the following should be done:
1. Visit your profile page and click the 'continue lesson...' button for the course you want to drop.
2. Click the course name link breadcrumb near the top of the page that opens (this only appears in unlocked lessons, not upcoming lessons)
3. Click the red 'drop my course now' button at the bottom of the page that opens
