Following a successful debut in Spring 2025, UX Design Fundamentals returns to the Yale School of Management curriculum for Spring 2026. Taught by Melissa Falconett, Principal Director of UX for Search at Google, the course has quickly become a vital resource for students seeking to understand how user-centered design informs successful digital products.

Falconett brings extensive knowledge building and scaling user experience teams at Google, where she has shaped how millions of people interact with technology daily. Her work centers on consumer trust – a critical intersection of design, ethics, and business strategy that has become increasingly vital in today’s digital landscape.

Falconett’s academic credentials complement her industry expertise. She holds an MFA in Interaction Design from California College of the Arts, where she developed her approach to human-centered design thinking. This combination of rigorous training and hands-on leadership experience positions her to guide students through both the theoretical foundations and practical applications of effective UX design.

The course arrives at a crucial moment for management education. "In a world where creation is increasingly cheap via the plethora of GenAI tools, it can be tempting to believe all that matters is the end output, regardless of who created it and how much time was spent creating it," Falconett explains. She warns of what Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas coined as "premature sheen" – something that looks deceptively complete or polished before it is fully developed. "Our focus shifts from developing genuine substance to perfecting the surface appearance, resulting in something that looks good but doesn’t have the backbone to deliver true, pleasurable utility and value."

The course offers SOM students a comprehensive exploration of design thinking, from its philosophical foundations to its practical application in building digital products. Structured around four interconnected modules, students journey from design theory to leadership practice, gaining both conceptual understanding and hands-on experience.

Blending multiple pedagogical styles – lectures, case studies, in-class workshops, and guest speakers – the course’s structure ensures students gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Through collaborative exercises and the capstone project, students learn to think like designers while developing the vocabulary and frameworks to effectively lead design teams or integrate design thinking into their broader business strategies.

Falconett’s objectives for the course are clear and practical. She hopes students will "know the difference between shiny outputs and well-designed, vetted products and/or service solutions" and "leverage AI in a way that does not short-circuit essential ‘human in the loop’ processes from user research, creative exploration to testing and refinement when conceptualizing and designing digital products." Ultimately, she wants students to know when and where to leverage UX expertise and have more productive collaborations with UX professionals.

For Yale SOM’s entrepreneurship community, the course offers immediate practical value. Students working on ventures can apply their learning directly to their own products, validating assumptions through user research and iterating designs based on real feedback.

But the course’s relevance extends beyond entrepreneurs; any future business leader benefits from understanding how to commission, evaluate, and champion effective design work. Falconett’s course complements SOM’s growing portfolio of technology-focused offerings, preparing graduates to lead in an increasingly design-driven business world where user experience often determines competitive success.

UX Design Fundamentals is offered during spring-2 on Tuesdays from 4:10 - 7:10 PM.