- Which CUA This Sheet Covers
- The Exam at a Glance
- The Four Domains and Their Weights
- Domain 2 Must-Knows: User-Centered Analysis
- Domain 3 Must-Knows: Web and Application Design
- Domains 1 and 4: Foundations and Usability Testing
- Exam-Day Rules and Mechanics
- Fees, Retakes and Conflicting Sources
- Scheduling Your Review by Domain
- Where the Credential Gets Used
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The exam has 100 multiple-choice questions, four options each, and requires at least 70% overall to pass.
- User-centered analysis and Web and application design each carry approximately 30% of questions, together roughly 60% of the exam.
- HFI course materials and personal notes are allowed during the exam; online resources and help from another person are prohibited.
- Standard time is 2 hours 30 minutes, the exam cannot be paused, and submitted sections cannot be reopened.
Which CUA This Sheet Covers
This cheat sheet covers the Certified Usability Analyst (CUA), the credential examined online by Human Factors International (HFI). Several unrelated credentials share the same three letters, and their fees, domains and pass requirements do not apply here. Everything below comes from HFI's own exam documents: the CUA Exam Fact Sheet and the one-page outline of topics covered in the test.
One wrinkle worth knowing: HFI's current marketing pages use the title "Certified Usability Architect" and revised course names, while the linked exam documents and FAQ still say Analyst. This sheet follows the Analyst exam documents and does not substitute any Architect curriculum. If you want the broader background first, start with What Is CUA Certification? or What Does CUA Stand For?.
The Exam at a Glance
Print this table and keep it beside your notes. Every row is drawn from the five-page HFI fact sheet.
| Item | What HFI Specifies |
|---|---|
| Format | 100 multiple-choice questions, four response options each |
| Question selection | Randomized from equivalent items |
| What it assesses | Factual knowledge and application |
| Passing requirement | At least 70% overall |
| Standard time | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Extended time | 3 hours for India; candidates not fluent in English may request a total of 4 hours |
| Prerequisites | None; HFI courses are optional |
| Allowed materials | HFI course materials and personal notes |
| Prohibited | Online resources and assistance from another person |
| Delivery | Online, through a secure application |
| Expiry | Certification does not expire |
Because items are randomized from equivalent pools, two candidates will not see identical papers. You cannot study "the" question set; you have to study the competencies. For a deeper look at the numbers, see CUA Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The Four Domains and Their Weights
HFI publishes four official competency areas with approximate percentages of total questions. These are exam objectives, not editorial allocations, so treat them as the authoritative map of where points live.
| Domain | Approx. Share of Questions |
|---|---|
| Domain 1: User experience foundations | 20% |
| Domain 2: User-centered analysis | 30% |
| Domain 3: Web and application design | 30% |
| Domain 4: Usability testing | 20% |
The practical reading: Domains 2 and 3 together account for roughly 60 of 100 questions. A candidate who is strong in only those two still has to find the remaining points elsewhere, since 70% is the bar, so neglecting Domains 1 and 4 is risky. The full breakdown lives in CUA Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Domain 2 Must-Knows: User-Centered Analysis
Domain 2: User-Centered Analysis (approx. 30%)
This domain is about understanding users, their tasks and their context before any design decisions are made. Expect questions that ask you to choose the right analysis activity for a described situation, not just define a term.
- Why analysis precedes design, and what goes wrong when teams skip it
- Identifying who the users are and how their characteristics differ
- Capturing tasks, goals and the environment in which work happens
- Selecting appropriate methods for gathering user and requirements data
- Turning findings into inputs a design team can act on
The word "application" in HFI's description of the exam matters here. Scenario questions typically describe a project situation and ask what an analyst should do next or which method fits. Memorizing a list of method names is not enough; you need to know when each one is appropriate and what it produces. Check the one-page topic outline from HFI to see the exact subtopic wording, then map each line to a method you can explain in your own words.
Domain 3 Must-Knows: Web and Application Design
Domain 3: Web and Application Design (approx. 30%)
The second heavyweight domain. It covers how interfaces are structured and presented so users can accomplish their goals, applied to both websites and software applications.
- Principles that make interfaces learnable, efficient and forgiving
- Organizing information and navigation so users can find things
- Page and screen layout, and how visual presentation supports tasks
- Interaction and control choices, including forms and feedback
- Differences and overlaps between web design and application design
Questions in this domain often present a design problem and ask which option best solves it. Four answer choices can include several plausible-sounding designs, so the skill being tested is applying established principles, not recalling a slogan. Practice by taking any screen you use daily and asking what a usability analyst would criticize and why.
Key Takeaway
Domains 2 and 3 are the same size on paper but feel different in practice: Domain 2 rewards methodical process knowledge, Domain 3 rewards design judgment. Study them differently, process by sequencing and rationale, design by critiquing real interfaces.
Domains 1 and 4: Foundations and Usability Testing
Domain 1: User Experience Foundations (approx. 20%)
User Experience Foundations
The vocabulary and concepts the rest of the exam assumes. Because it is the entry point, it is also where careless misses happen.
- What usability and user experience mean and how they relate
- Why human capabilities and limitations shape interface decisions
- The place of usability work within the product development lifecycle
- The business rationale for investing in user-centered work
Domain 4: Usability Testing (approx. 20%)
Usability Testing
How to plan, run and interpret evaluation of an interface with users or against established criteria.
- Choosing between evaluation approaches for a given stage and constraint
- Planning a test: goals, participants, tasks and measures
- Facilitating sessions without biasing participants
- Analyzing results and communicating findings so they drive change
Each of these domains is smaller than 2 or 3, but at 20% each they represent roughly 40 questions combined. Fumbling them makes the 70% line hard to reach. For a read on how demanding the whole exam feels, see How Hard Is the CUA Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Exam-Day Rules and Mechanics
Several rules affect strategy more than most candidates expect. Read them before you schedule.
- Secure application required. The exam runs inside a secure application, so test your setup in advance rather than discovering a problem at the start.
- 24-hour start window. You must begin within the scheduled 24-hour window. Once started, the exam cannot be paused.
- Skip, flag, revisit. You can skip questions, flag them and return to them, but only within the current section.
- Submitted sections are final. Once you submit a section, it cannot be reopened. Use your flagged list before you submit, not after.
- No outside help. Online resources and assistance from another person are prohibited. HFI course materials and personal notes are permitted.
Since the exam cannot be paused, plan a block of uninterrupted time. Standard time is 2 hours 30 minutes; candidates in India are specified 3 hours, and those not fluent in English may request a total of 4 hours. For scheduling details, see CUA Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Fees, Retakes and Conflicting Sources
This is the area where HFI's own pages disagree, so read carefully and do not rely on a single number.
| Scenario | Published Figure |
|---|---|
| Exam-only fee | USD 800, including two attempts |
| Separate exam purchase after completing all four CUA courses (per the five-page fact sheet) | USD 400, including two attempts |
| Training packages | Exam included |
| Included retake window | Six months (per the five-page fact sheet) |
Where the sources disagree
- The legacy two-page fact sheet quotes USD 230 for course graduates and classroom proctoring in India.
- The current FAQ calls the USD 400 charge an exam reattempt and retains classroom-proctoring wording for India, whereas the five-page fact sheet specifies online proctoring in India and a separate exam purchase with two attempts.
- HFI's India exam page gives a one-year free-retake window; the five-page sheet, the current North America course FAQ and the general exam page give six months.
The specifications in this sheet follow the currently linked five-page fact sheet. Your regional booking terms must resolve any conflict in fee, retake window or proctoring method, so confirm them at checkout and keep a copy. For a fuller pricing walkthrough, see CUA Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown, and for eligibility questions, CUA Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Key Takeaway
There are no prerequisites and the courses are optional, but the cost structure rewards deciding early: exam-only, exam after the four courses, or a training package with the exam included. Choose the path before you pay, not after.
Scheduling Your Review by Domain
Rather than generic study advice, sequence your review by how the domains depend on each other. Foundations vocabulary comes first because analysis, design and testing all build on it; the two 30% domains get the most time; testing closes the loop. Adjust the weeks to your own calendar.
Foundations plus outline mapping
- Read HFI's one-page topic outline and turn each line into a question you can answer
- Cover Domain 1 vocabulary so later domains make sense
User-centered analysis
- Practice matching methods to project situations
- Rehearse the sequence from user data to design inputs
Web and application design
- Critique real screens against design principles
- Drill navigation, layout, forms and feedback scenarios
Usability testing and full review
- Walk through planning, facilitating and reporting a test
- Take timed mixed-domain practice and review misses by domain
Timed practice matters because of the section-lock rule and the continuous clock. Try our CUA practice tests to rehearse pacing across all four domains, and see the CUA Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt for a longer plan. If you want to gauge how you are doing against others, read CUA Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows with the understanding that HFI's exam documents state the passing standard, not a published pass rate.
Where the Credential Gets Used
The CUA is a professional certification in usability and user-centered design. It is relevant to roles where people analyze users, design web and application interfaces, or evaluate them through testing, which maps directly onto the four exam domains. Typical settings include organizations that build websites and software and need staff who can justify design decisions with user evidence.
Because the certification does not expire, it works as a durable line on a profile rather than something you renew. This sheet does not cite salary figures, since none are in HFI's exam documents; for a qualitative discussion, see CUA Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis, CUA Jobs and Is the CUA Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026. To understand the course side, read CUA Training.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam has 100 multiple-choice questions with four response options each, randomized from equivalent items. Passing requires at least 70% overall.
User-centered analysis and Web and application design are jointly largest at approximately 30% each. User experience foundations and Usability testing are approximately 20% each. These percentages are HFI's approximate shares of total questions.
Yes. HFI course materials and personal notes are allowed. Online resources and assistance from another person are prohibited, and a secure application is required.
No. There are no prerequisites and the HFI courses are optional. Training packages include the exam, while the exam can also be purchased separately. See the CUA requirements guide for details.
The published exam-only fee is USD 800 including two attempts. The five-page fact sheet lists USD 400 including two attempts for a separate purchase after all four CUA courses, with a six-month included retake window. Other HFI pages show different figures, so confirm your regional terms before paying.