Teaching UX Design to Engineers in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The Double Diamond as a Framework for Reskilling
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: As generative artificial intelligence transforms software development and digital design practices, engineering education must address the interplay between technical expertise, an understanding of user needs, and critical judgment. This article examines the contribution of UX Design education to this evolution, using the Double Diamond model as a framework for structuring the design process. The research is based on a pedagogical experiment conducted at the École Supérieure Privée d’Ingénierie et de Technologies (ESPRIT) in Tunisia, as part of a 21-hour module for fourth-year students in web and mobile development during the 2025–2026 academic year. The methodological approach is based on the observation of teaching practices and the analysis of student work, including user interviews, personas, usage scenarios, and prototypes. The Double Diamond framework organizes the process into four phases: discover, define, develop, and deliver. It allows for an examination of how students explore usage scenarios, reframe problems, develop solutions, and subject their proposals to evaluation. The article also proposes a cross-cutting examination of the role of generative artificial intelligence in these phases, distinguishing between assisted production and the validation of design choices. It advances the hypothesis that teaching UX design can help broaden the skill set of future engineers, provided that technical mastery is integrated with human understanding, experimentation, and decision-making responsibility. This exploratory research proposes an analytical framework for studying this integration without presupposing the effects of the approach prior to the analysis of empirical data
Author: Ayari Chaima
Institution: Manouba University
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225374493