Coursera Usability
Testing
A comprehensive usability testing report on the Coursera mobile app. Two-phase mixed-methods research combining in-depth user interviews and moderated in-person testing sessions, resulting in actionable design interventions.
Role
UX Researcher
Collaborator
Yuvraj Soni, Sujal Dixit
Timeline
Jul 2024 to Sep 2024
Status
Published
Cross-functional Team
3 researchers
Tools
Full visual documentation
See every screen, prototype and motion design on Behance
A 58-page usability study on one of the world's largest learning platforms.
This was a Semester IV academic assignment at JKLU submitted to Prof. Devanuj Balkrishan. The brief was to conduct a rigorous usability evaluation of any production digital product using professional research methodology. We chose the Coursera mobile app because it serves a global mission of accessible education, and because its complexity gave us enough surface area to demonstrate a full research cycle.
The study was conducted in two phases. Phase one was in-depth interviews with 10 users to understand demographics, usage patterns, and surface areas of friction. Phase two was moderated in-person usability testing with 6 participants completing defined tasks while we observed and recorded their behaviour.
Two phases. Real users. Structured observation.
The methodology was designed to produce complementary data rather than redundant data. The interview phase surfaced attitudes and mental models. The usability testing phase surfaced behaviour and friction points. The combination allowed us to identify where users said one thing and did another, which is where the most valuable design interventions live.
In-Depth Interviews
Semi-structured interviews covering Coursera experience levels, learning habits, challenges encountered, and feature discovery. Sessions were audio recorded with participant consent. Findings were synthesised using affinity mapping.
Moderated Usability Testing
Participants completed four defined tasks on their own devices: login, set a course reminder, enrol in a course, and download course material for offline viewing. Think-aloud protocol throughout. Screen recording captured interaction paths.
Materials used
Informed consent forms, brief app overview, background questionnaire (pre-test), task scenarios, semi-structured post-test interview guide.
Four critical usability failures and a systemic discoverability problem.
The testing sessions surfaced consistent friction across all four task types. No participant completed all four tasks without at least one moment of confusion or error. The systemic issue was discoverability: features that Coursera considers primary were placed in locations that users did not expect and did not find through natural exploration.
Friction observed per task, 6 participants
Log in
3 of 6 had to retry login at least once
Set a course reminder
2 of 6 set the same reminder twice
Download for offline
4 of 6 could not find it without assistance
Discover recommendations
Consistently overlooked across sessions
Login confusion between Google and college email
Users with both personal Gmail accounts and college email addresses consistently hesitated or failed when attempting to log in. The two paths were visually equivalent but had incompatible authentication flows. Three of six participants had to retry login at least once.
Reminder confirmation absence
After setting a course reminder, there was no clear confirmation state. Participants were uncertain whether the reminder had been saved successfully. Two participants set the same reminder twice because they could not tell the first attempt had worked.
Download functionality discoverability
The download feature for offline course access was several interaction levels deep and not surfaced in any obvious primary navigation. Four of six participants could not locate the download option without assistance.
Personalised recommendation placement
Coursera's recommendation engine surfaces personalised course suggestions, but the placement within the interface was not where users expected to find it. Users exploring for new courses consistently overlooked the recommendation section.
SUS Score
The System Usability Scale was administered post-test. The SUS results are detailed in the full Behance report with per-question breakdowns and comparative benchmarks.
Five design interventions mapped to findings.
Each finding produced a specific, actionable design intervention. The interventions were scoped to be implementable within Coursera's existing design system rather than requiring a full redesign. They were prioritised by severity of the usability failure and frequency of occurrence across participants.
Differentiated login paths
Maps to Finding 01Visually distinguish the Google login and institutional login paths. Add explicit labels explaining which to use for which account type. Consider email domain detection to surface the correct path automatically.
Explicit confirmation states
Maps to Finding 02Add a visible confirmation modal or persistent badge after reminder setting. The state should remain visible for at least 3 seconds and persist as a visual indicator in the course overview.
Surface download in primary navigation
Maps to Finding 03Move the download option to a consistently visible location on the course detail screen. Consider a persistent bottom sheet or a clearly labelled icon in the primary course action area.
Optimised course flow
Maps to All four tasksThe report contains a full redesigned user flow for the primary task paths. The optimised flow reduces task completion steps for all four tested tasks. See the full Behance report for the detailed flow diagrams.
Recommendation surfacing
Maps to Finding 04Reposition personalised recommendations to appear in the user's primary home state rather than in a secondary browsing path. Users looking to discover new content should encounter recommendations before reaching the search interface.
The complete 58-page report is on Behance.
This portfolio page covers the research approach, key findings, and design interventions. The full report including HTA task descriptions, qualitative analysis transcripts, quantitative analysis with SUS scoring, all participant data, comparative testing results, and the complete optimised Coursera flow is published on Behance.
View full case study on Behance
HTA task descriptions, SUS scoring, transcripts, and the full optimised flow.