INDIVIDUAL LEARNERS

SCHOOL OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Product Design
Course Syllabus
Overview
Once the problem has been defined and a market opportunity has been identified, it is important to create a solution that
is desirable to users. Bring an idea through concept, design, and user validation, as well as create a spec to hand off to
engineering for development. Use design thinking methodologies to diverge in order to explore ideas, and then ultimately
focus in and converge on a single idea. Map out the full concept through creation of a prototype that can be used to validate
problem-solving for real users.

Program information

Estimated Time Skill Level

1 month Beginner

Prerequisites

None

Required Hardware/Software

Learners will need to use Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Docs or Microsoft Word, as well as have access to
the internet and a 64-bit computer. Learners will use Figma, which has the following requirements:

Minimum browser requirements: Minimum operating system (OS) requirements:

• Chrome 49+ • Windows 8.1 or later

• Firefox 57+ • Apple MacOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later

• Safari 10.1+ (Apple/macOS) • Any Linux OS that supports the browsers mentioned above

• Edge 14+ (Windows) • Any Chrome OS that supports the browsers mentioned above

Product Design 2
 Course Project

Run a Design Sprint

The most desirable products have been built iteratively with the user in mind. In this project, learners will
take a problem/opportunity through a design sprint. During the design sprint, they will explore multiple
ideas, narrow down ideas to the most compelling one, create a storyboard and prototype, conduct user
research, refine their ideas, and incorporate findings into a final product spec.

• Describe the purpose and process of a design sprint.

• Identify good candidates for a design sprint.

Lesson 1
• Learn how to plan and involve necessary stakeholders in a design sprint.
Intro to Design Sprint
• Differentiate between the responsibilities of the product manager and designer
roles.

• Describe the “understand” phase of the design sprint.

• Describe how lightning talks, interviews, and competitive analysis can be used
as an input during the “understand” phase.
Lesson 2
• Use the “How Might We” method to identify opportunities.
Understand
• Utilize the “Rose Bud Thorn” method to classify things as positive, negative, or
opportunities.

• Apply affinity mapping to identify thematic insights.

• Describe the “define” phase of the design sprint.

• Define success metrics using the HEART framework.

Lesson 3
• Explain the difference between goals, signals, and metrics.
Define
• Craft design principles.

• Write a future press release.

Product Design 3
 • Describe the “sketch” phase of the design sprint.

• Use the Crazy 8s method to brainstorm ideas through sketching.

Lesson 4
• Facilitate a process for sharing and voting on sketches within the team.
Sketch
• Create a more detailed, in-depth solution sketch that contains at least three
frames.

• Describe the “decide” phase of the design sprint.

Lesson 5 • Identify assumptions behind ideas and formulate questions about them.

Decide • Create a decision matrix to narrow down ideas to those worth pursuing.

• Represent perspectives from a wider audience using thinking hats.

• Describe the “prototype” phase of the design sprint.

• Create a storyboard to map out a plan for your prototype.

Lesson 6
• Learn how to utilize different types of prototyping.
Prototype
• Create a high-fidelity, interactive prototype.

• Apply best practices for creating prototypes.

• Describe the “validate” phase of the design sprint.

Lesson 7 • Create plans and data collection processes for a user study.

Validate • Run a user study and interview users.

• Conduct a feasibility discussion with an engineer.

• Describe the benefits of iteration and identify when iteration is appropriate.

Lesson 8
• Evangelize your idea across cross-functional development teams.
Next Steps
• Create documentation for the engineering team.

Product Design 4
Meet your instructor.

Alex King
Product Manager

Alex King is a product manager at Google, where he works on Pixel Camera. He previously worked
on setup experiences for smart home devices like Google Wifi, Google Home, and Chromecast. He
formerly worked at Uber where he led the rider experience team for JUMP bikes and scooters. He
graduated from the University of Washington.

Product Design 5
Udacity’s learning
experience

Hands-on Projects Quizzes

Open-ended, experiential projects are designed Auto-graded quizzes strengthen comprehension.
to reflect actual workplace challenges. They aren’t Learners can return to lessons at any time during
just multiple choice questions or step-by-step the course to refresh concepts.
guides, but instead require critical thinking.

Knowledge Custom Study Plans

Find answers to your questions with Knowledge, Create a personalized study plan that fits your
our proprietary wiki. Search questions asked by individual needs. Utilize this plan to keep track of
other students, connect with technical mentors, movement toward your overall goal.
and discover how to solve the challenges that
you encounter.

Workspaces Progress Tracker

See your code in action. Check the output and Take advantage of milestone reminders to stay
quality of your code by running it on interactive on schedule and complete your program.
workspaces that are integrated into the platform.

Product Design 6
Our proven approach for building
job-ready digital skills.
Experienced Project Reviewers

Verify skills mastery.

• Personalized project feedback and critique includes line-by-line code review from
skilled practitioners with an average turnaround time of 1.1 hours.

• Project review cycle creates a feedback loop with multiple opportunities for
improvement—until the concept is mastered.

• Project reviewers leverage industry best practices and provide pro tips.

Technical Mentor Support

24/7 support unblocks learning.

• Learning accelerates as skilled mentors identify areas of achievement and potential
for growth.

• Unlimited access to mentors means help arrives when it’s needed most.

• 2 hr or less average question response time assures that skills development stays on track.

Mentor Network

Highly vetted for effectiveness.

• Mentors must complete a 5-step hiring process to join Udacity’s selective network.

• After passing an objective and situational assessment, mentors must demonstrate

communication and behavioral fit for a mentorship role.

• Mentors work across more than 30 different industries and often complete a Nanodegree
program themselves.

Product Design 7
Learn more at
www.udacity.com/online-learning-for-individuals →

03.27.23 | V1.0