User Requirements Engineering
(CPUX-UR)
The knowledge and skills you need, the industry recognition you deserve
Represent the needs of your users
Learn how to collect and manage user requirements, from the planning and implementation of user research methods to the specification and prioritisation of user requirements.
The management of user requirements is becoming more and more important in the development of complex systems. CPUX-UR will teach you how to identify important information from user research to inform your user requirements, and how to successfully represent the needs of your users in your products and services.
The User Requirements Engineering (CPUX-UR) certificate will introduce you to the terms and concepts of user requirements engineering. CPUX-UR will help you to:
- Plan, conduct and document observations and contextual interviews
- Create user group profiles, personas and scenarios
- Systematically derive user needs from context of use descriptions
- Derive, specify, structure and prioritise user requirements
Is CPUX-UR right for me?
If you are interested in representing the needs of users in development projects, then User Requirements Engineering (CPUX-UR) is perfect for you!
Based on international standards and authored by experts in the field of user requirements engineering, the CPUX-UR certificate is perfect for anyone who wants to advance their knowledge and skills in the principles and processes of user requirements engineering.
CPUX-UR is an advanced level certificate; as it builds on the foundation level certification, you do need to be CPUX-F certified before you can take this exam.
Lukas BlickensdorfThe CPUX-UR curriculum is clearly user-centric. It has allowed us to further refine our approach to context and requirements elicitation.
CPUX-UR
Thanks to the CPUX-UR training course, I have learnt a good, tangible method for collecting requirements in a structured way. I was able to use what I had learnt in the training course in my daily work immediately afterwards. Passing the certification without additional learning effort was the icing on the cake.
Indra Burkart
CPUX-UR
What does the CPUX-F curriculum cover?
CPUX-F covers the fundamental principles and processes of human-centred design, as outlined in ISO 9241-210 Ergonomics of human-system interaction. You will learn the terms and concepts common in the UX community.
The CPUX-UR curriculum covers:
Plan context of use analyses
- Identify the rationale and goals for the context of use analysis
- Determine the approach for context of use analysis
Gather and document context of use information
- Select and recruit users for gathering context of use information
- Prepare and gather context of use information
- Create context of use descriptions based on context of use information
Introduction to context of use analysis
- Differentiate between requirements and solutions
- Differentiate between stakeholder requirements and system requirements
- The context of use as the basis for user requirements
- User requirements as a separate category within stakeholder requirements
Derive and structure user requirements from user needs
- Systematically transform user needs into user requirements
- Appropriately structure user requirements
Consolidate user requirements
- Consolidate and prioritise user requirements with users
- Determine implementation priority for user requirements together with project members
How do I get certified?
Certification in CPUX-UR is by passing both a theory and a practical exam. You can find further information and detailed descriptions about the theory and practical exams in the CPUX-UR exam regulations.
Theory exam
The theory exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions, written by us, based on the content of the CPUX-UR curriculum. You have 90 minutes to answer the 40 questions and you need to score at least 28 points out of 40 (70%) to pass the exam.
Practical exam
The practical exam lasts 5 hours and 45 minutes and involves observing, documenting and identifying errors in a contextual interview. You will be expected to create part of a context of use description, specify user groups, and identify and formulate user requirements for a specific task. The practical exam will be assessed using the CPUX-UR checklist; you need to score at least 70% to pass.
Choose what suits you
You can choose the level of CPUX-UR certification that best suits you. If you only want to demonstrate the knowledge you have gained you can take just the theory exam; if you want to demonstrate that you are able to put the theory into practice and be a practicing UX professional, capable of identifying user needs and formulating user requirements then you should also take the practical exam.
Exams are carried out by one of our independent certification providers, who between them operate across the globe, meaning you can take your CPUX-UR exams pretty much anywhere.
The process is very straightforward:
- Get CPUX-F certifiedBefore you you can take any advanced-level CPUX certification you need to have passed the Foundation in Human-centred Design (CPUX-F) exam.
- Learn your stuffBook a training course with one of our recognised training providers, or, if you prefer to pace yourself you can self-study. Whilst we recommend attending a training course, due to the additional, valuable insight you will get from your training, all our curricula are completely free and available and contain everything you need to pass your exam.
- Choose a certification exam provider
If you attend a training course, your course administrator might already have helped you organise your exam; if you are studying by yourself, you just need to register with one of our independent certification providers. - Take the certification exam
You can take the exam in person (if that is what your training provider has organised), remotely via a special exam app, or at a Pearson test centre. CPUX-F certification involves a single theory exam. - Tell the world you are a UX professional
After you have passed the exam, get on LinkedIn and tell everyone you are a Certified Professional in UX and usability. - Choose your next CPUX certification…
Once you have got your CPUX-F certificate you can take the advanced-level courses in any order, so why not start with the one that looks the most useful to you?
What is the CPUX-UR exam like?
The CPUX-UR theory exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions. Each question has one, two or three correct answers. To pass the exam you need to score at least 70%.
Here are some examples of the questions, taken from the freely available CPUX-UR practice exam questions.
Which three statements about sources for user requirements are correct?
- Anticipated usability problems are not a source for user requirements
- Market requirements can be an indirect source for user requirements
- The direct source for user requirements are always user needs identified in the context of use
- User requirements can lead to organisational requirements but not the other way round
- Heuristics can be an indirect source for the specification of user requirements
- User wants can be simply transformed into user requirements by applying the syntax rule for specifying user requirements
Which three statements about user needs in the following list are true?
- A user needs statement must not contain the interactive system
- User needs are always justified in the context of use
- A user’s need always consists of a task that a user performs that is related to the interactive system
- User needs always consist of a goal to be achieved and the prerequisite that is necessary to achieve the goal
- Resource needs are less important than information needs
- User needs that don’t lead to user requirements for the interactive system to be designed should not be identified
CPUX-UR curriculum, practice questions and exam regulations
All you need to study and get certified in User Requirements Engineering
User Requirements Engineering (CPUX-UR) Curriculum
Version 3.2.2, released March 2023
Exam regulations for User Requirements Engineering (CPUX-UR)
Version 3.1, August 2022
40 practice theory exam questions for User Requirements Engineering (CPUX-UR)
Version 2.2, released March 2023
Checklist for the User Requirements Engineering (CPUX-UR) practical exam
Version 2.0, April 2022
Sample Certificate (CPUX-UR)
released April 2025
CPUX-UR documentation and certification is also available in German language
How much does CPUX-F cost?
Costs for studying
You can self-study by reading the CPUX-UR curriculum at your own pace, however, for a good deal more insight, lots of practical exercises, and the chance to learn from expert trainers and other delegates, we encourage you to take a training course with one of our recognised training providers.
Self-study will only cost you your time, training providers will naturally charge for attending their training courses.
Prices, locations and timings vary – choose from the list of upcoming CPUX-UR training courses below and see the training provider’s website for their prices.
If, after studying by yourself or having attended a training course, you want to become certified, you will need to take the CPUX-UR certification exam.
Costs for certification
CPUX-F certification is a rigorous process designed to produce trustworthy results, so your certification has real value – CPUX certificates are far more than proof of your attendance during a training course – they demonstrate you know your stuff!
If you have attended a training course, your training provider may have organised this for you, if you need to organise your exam, take a look at the exam process and choose an exam provider that suits you.
Prices vary depending on exam provider, whether you are a student or member of a specific UX organisation, or if you are booking a retest.
CPUX-UR certification typically costs £xxx to £xxx. A 20% discount is available for members of our member organisations.
All our curricula are free!
If you just want to study the CPUX-UR curriculum without becoming CPUX-certified, you can do that for free! All our curricula are freely available – you can download them and start reading them now. You can also download a set of 40 practice exam questions, to help consolidate what you’ve learned.
Find a CPUX-UR training course
| Level | Country | Location | Date | Length of time | Course Language | Training provider |
|---|
Germany
Switzerland
Denmark
Austria
United KingdomFrequently asked questions about the CPUX-UR
In the CPUX-F curriculum the terms “user need” and “user requirements” are introduced. However, the process of performing contextual interviews and observations as well as identifying user needs and deriving user requirements from context of use information is detailed in the CPUX-UR curriculum (including structuring and prioritizing user requirements).
Deriving user requirements that can be traced back to the user needs in the context of use requires methodology. The overall goal is to uncover user needs systematically in the given context of use, to increase the probability to identify the most relevant user needs from an user perspective. If we know the user needs, that means we know user goals and necessary information, resources or competencies to achieve users goals, we are able to think how to support achieving the goals in the collaboration between the user and the system. Collaboration means to exchange information or ressources between the user and the system while using the interactive system. So known user needs lead us to derive systematically requirements on use (on the information exchange – the ISO definition call them user requirements.
User needs are the basis for user requirements, they are not the user requirements themselves. While user needs leave the solution space completely open the user requirements prescribe what shall be made possible for the users with the system to be designed.
The user requirements are the basis for designing the user interface. The user interface itself must be suitable for the user’s tasks. Structuring the user requirements by user tasks sets an early focus for the project team on the user tasks that the system must support. For (technical) system requirements it can be more suitable to structure them by system functionality.
Organisations typically develop products, systems and services using a requirements-based approach. However, often user requirements are not explicitly considered and specified and therefore the user interface is based on guesswork. The CPUX-UR curriculum closes this gap. The CPUX-UR curriculum explains the process for contextual interviews, observations and focus groups. However, the CPUX-UR curriculum focusses on the answer to the question “what to do with all this information?” that you gather from interviews, observations and focus groups.
Got a question about CPUX-UR?
If you have any questions, please contact Thomas, the CPUX-UR editor.
Thomas Geis
editor-cpux-ur@uxqb.org
Further reading recommendations from the editor
Thomas says, “The CPUX-UR exam will only test you on what is in the CPUX-UR curriculum; no further reading is required. However, you may be interested in the following recommendations which may help your understanding of the material covered in CPUX-UR.”
CPUX-UR Curriculum
by UXQB e. V.
What’s next, after CPUX-UR?
It’s on to the next curriculum! We have another two advanced-level curricula that cover Designing Solutions and Usability Testing and Evaluation.
If you are a CPUX-F certified UX professional, you are eligible to take any of these exams – good luck!
Advanced Level
Designing Solutions
(CPUX-DS)
Advanced Level
Usability Testing and Evaluation
(CPUX-UT)
CPUX CERTIFICATION IS OFFICIALY RECOGNISED BY
