1. (a) Implementation.

   1. (1) The provisions of this section shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
   2. (2) School districts shall implement the employability skills student expectations listed in §127.15(d)(1) of this chapter (relating to Career and Technical Education Employability Skills, Adopted 2025) as an integral part of this course.
2. (b) General requirements. This course is recommended for students in Grades 9-12. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course.

3. (c) Introduction.

   1. (1) Career and technical education instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education and succeed in current or emerging professions.
   2. (2) The Information Technology (IT) Career Cluster focuses on building linkages in IT occupations for entry level, technical, and professional careers related to the design, development, support, and management of hardware, software, multimedia, and systems integration services. This career cluster includes occupations ranging from software developer and programmer to cybersecurity specialist and network analyst.
   3. (3) In Foundations of User Experience (UX), students analyze and assess current trends in a career field that creates meaningful, approachable, and compelling experiences for users of an array of products, services, and/or initiatives of companies, governments, and organizations. Students gain knowledge of introductory observation and research skills, basic design thinking and applied empathy methodologies, collaborative problem-solving and ideation, and interaction design and solution development. The knowledge and skills acquired from this course enable students to identify real-world problems through research and data-driven investigation and to design solutions while participating in collaborative problem solving. Students are introduced to agile practices and methodologies to develop skills to take solutions from conceptual sketch to digital designs using professional software tools. Students explore how to improve the quality of user interactions and perceptions of products, experiences, and any related services.
   4. (4) Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences such as career and technical student organizations and other organizations that foster leadership and career development in the profession such as student chapters of related professional associations.
   5. (5) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.

4. (d) Knowledge and skills.

   1. (1) The student applies professional communications strategies. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) revise presentations for audience, purpose, situation, and intent;
      2. (B) interpret and clearly communicate information, data, and observations;
      3. (C) apply active listening skills to obtain and clarify information;
      4. (D) identify multiple viewpoints of potential diverse users; and
      5. (E) define and exhibit public relations skills that are used by UX designers.

   2. (2) The student describes the field of UX and common elements in user-centered design. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) analyze the current trends and challenges of the UX field;
      2. (B) analyze and describe the diversity of roles and career opportunities across the UX field;
      3. (C) define terminology associated with UX, including user, user experience, human-centered design, design thinking, persona, user journey, empathy map, mind maps, roadmaps, wireframes, prototypes, and portfolios;
      4. (D) identify and explain the differences between relevant, friendly, and useful experience design;
      5. (E) identify and explain the connection between psychology and behavior with regard to usability;
      6. (F) explain the components of the design thinking methodology for ideation, iteration, co-creation, development, and execution; and
      7. (G) explain how UX design affects everyday lives.

   3. (3) The student discusses and applies the legal and ethical practices that UX designers follow when working with technology, designs, and clients. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) identify and explain ethical use of technology;
      2. (B) explain intellectual property laws, including copyright, trademarks, and patents, and consequences of violating each type of law;
      3. (C) identify violations of intellectual property laws;
      4. (D) explain the consequences of plagiarism; and
      5. (E) demonstrate ethical use of online resources, including using proper citations and avoiding plagiarism.

   4. (4) The student identifies and demonstrates introductory observation and research methods. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) describe the difference between qualitative and quantitative data;
      2. (B) conduct user interviews to gather insights into what users think about a site, an application, a product, or a process;
      3. (C) organize ideas and user data using software tools;
      4. (D) analyze and draw conclusions from qualitative user data collection;
      5. (E) observe and document how users perform tasks through task analysis observations;
      6. (F) define affinity and explain the benefits of affinity and customer journey maps;
      7. (G) use data summaries from user interviews to create personas; and
      8. (H) create a report or presentation, including user interview and observation data summaries, data analysis, and additional findings, for a target audience.

   5. (5) The student applies an understanding of psychological principles used in user-centered design. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) identify and define design principles;
      2. (B) describe how visceral reactions inform the creation of a positive user experience;
      3. (C) select colors to influence human behavior, the human mind, and reactions toward an intended outcome;
      4. (D) explain recognition and scanning patterns and their importance in user-centered design;
      5. (E) define Hick's Law and Weber's Law and explain their impact on UX design decisions;
      6. (F) describe sensory adaptation phenomenon and perceptual set; and
      7. (G) explain the stages of human information processing, including sensing, perceiving, decision-making, and acting.

   6. (6) The student creates effective, accessible, usable, and meaningful solutions for the end user by using UX design principles. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) identify end-user problems and needs in real-world environments;
      2. (B) identify principles of accessibility such as perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust (POUR);
      3. (C) identify and discuss the differences and connections between UX Design, Visual Design, and User Interaction in regard to usability;
      4. (D) communicate potential solutions and ideas with a storytelling approach;
      5. (E) sketch and refine designs within wire-framing and prototypes; and
      6. (F) implement iterations for a design solution using structured testing protocols.

   7. (7) The student collaborates with others to apply UX project management methods. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) identify the relationship between UX research and design-thinking methods; and
      2. (B) explain three different stages and roles of UX project management methods such as agile methods.

   8. (8) The student applies UX design practices and uses technology to create digital assets. The student is expected to:

      1. (A) use design elements such as typeface, color, shape, texture, space, and form to create a visual narrative;
      2. (B) implement design principles such as unity, harmony, balance, scale, novelty, hierarchy, alignment, and contrast to create visual narratives;
      3. (C) identify and explain common elements of Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) such as tags, style sheets, and hyperlinks;

      4. (D) apply UX design techniques in order to:

         1. (i) create effective user interfaces for browser-based, native, and hybrid mobile applications;
         2. (ii) demonstrate proper use of vector and raster-based design software;
         3. (iii) explain the difference between back-end and front-end development in UX; and
         4. (iv) create a web page containing links, graphics, and text using appropriate design principles;
      5. (E) demonstrate basic sketching skills;
      6. (F) create wireframes using design software;
      7. (G) explain how design fidelity, from sketch to wireframe to prototype to visuals, aligns with and supports agile methodology; and
      8. (H) produce digital assets.

Source Note:The provisions of this §127.690 adopted to be effective August 1, 2025, 50 TexReg 3752.