Coursera Bets $100 Million That Andrew Ng Can Do What Coursera Can’t

Class Central is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

University of Maryland, College Park

Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing

University of Maryland, College Park via Coursera

Go to class Write review

Overview

Google, IBM & Meta Certificates – 40% Off
One plan covers every Professional Certificate on Coursera.
Unlock All Certificates
A validated product idea is an important milestone, but it's only the beginning of the product development journey. Before investing in development, successful product managers use design, prototyping, and customer testing to reduce uncertainty, improve collaboration, and make better product decisions. In this course, you'll discover how product managers transform ideas into experiences that customers can evaluate and improve. You'll learn how design thinking, user experience, prototyping, and testing work together to uncover customer insights, validate assumptions, and refine products before they reach the market. You'll also explore how product managers collaborate with designers, engineers, and other stakeholders to balance customer needs, technical feasibility, and business objectives throughout the product development process. By making informed decisions early, product teams can reduce development risk, improve product quality, and deliver solutions that create lasting value. Whether you're preparing for a career in product management, developing products within your organization, or building your own startup, this course will strengthen your ability to think strategically, collaborate across disciplines, and guide products from concept toward successful implementation.

Syllabus

  • Introduction to Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing
    • Every successful product begins as an idea, but ideas alone aren't enough. In this module, you'll learn how this course fits into the product development process, what you'll accomplish, and how design, prototyping, and testing help product managers reduce risk before investing in development. You'll also discover how this course builds on previous concepts while preparing you to create products customers can experience and evaluate.
  • Modern Product Development
    • Successful products don't happen by chance. They are created through structured development processes that help product teams understand customer needs, collaborate effectively, and reduce risk. In this module, you'll explore how product managers guide products from concept toward development using proven frameworks, customer insights, and modern product development practices.
  • Concept Generation and Selection
    • Successful products begin with great ideas, but successful product managers know that not every idea should become a product. In this module, you'll learn how to generate innovative concepts, evaluate competing solutions, and establish product specifications that guide development. These skills help product teams make informed decisions and build products that better meet customer needs.
  • Product Design and Architecture
    • Great product design balances customer needs, technical feasibility, sustainability, and manufacturability. In this module, you'll learn how product managers make design decisions that improve the customer experience while supporting efficient production and long-term business success.
  • Principles of Prototyping and User Experience
    • Prototypes help product teams test ideas, gather customer feedback, and improve products before investing in development. In this module, you'll learn how product managers use prototyping and user experience principles to validate assumptions, refine designs, and create products that better meet customer needs.
  • Wireframing and Prototyping Models
    • Wireframes and prototypes help product teams communicate ideas, gather customer feedback, and refine designs before development begins. In this module, you'll learn how product managers select the right prototyping approaches and tools to evaluate product concepts, improve collaboration, and reduce development risk.
  • Robust Design Considerations
    • Successful products perform reliably in the real world, not just under ideal conditions. In this module, you'll learn how robust design principles and version control help product managers create products that are reliable, adaptable, and easier to improve over time.
  • Testing and Troubleshooting
    • The best products are tested before they are launched. In this module, you'll learn how product managers plan testing activities, identify issues early, and use customer feedback to improve products before they reach the market. These practices help reduce risk, improve quality, and increase the likelihood of product success.
  • Project Management
    • Great product ideas only create value when they are successfully executed. In this module, you'll learn how product managers use project management principles to plan product development, coordinate cross-functional teams, and guide products from validated concepts to successful implementation.
  • Final Thoughts
    • Celebrate your accomplishments and reflect on how far you've come as a product manager. In this final module, you'll review the key skills you've developed, consider how to apply them in real-world product development, and identify the next steps in your professional journey.

Taught by

Cait von Schnetlage and Dr. James V. Green

Tags

Reviews

3.9 rating, based on 28 Class Central reviews

4.2 rating at Coursera based on 101 ratings

Start your review of Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing

  • Anonymous
    I found the course “Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing” to be good but I found it difficult to relate with it and comprehend it. The instructor Cait von Schnetlage is knowledgeable and experienced in her field. The course covers a wide range of topics such as product development, prototyping, and user experience (UX). However, I found some of the concepts to be complex and hard to understand. Overall, I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in product development and design.
  • Anonymous
    At most this is an entrepreneurship course which focuses on high level preparation to starts a design projects. Most of the content are relevant to industrial automotive engineering concepts and development while the lecturer background are more of software development, which can be confusing when the content can be quite irrelevant to the case study being explained. Most of her points are generic and lacks depth. However, good try in producing mass education to all. Thanks
  • Anonymous
    I had high hopes for this lecture, the presenter seemed knowledgable and competent at the beginning. However, a lack of examples, endlessly listing concepts without explaining them whatsoever, quizzes that reference concepts not talked about in any depth, and awkwardly personal interjections made this frustrating and uncomfortable to watch. Also, in the video on Lean UX there is a false start that they failed to edit out.
  • Anonymous
    I want to sincerely thank you for an engaging and insightful journey through the Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing course. Your teaching brought complex concepts to life with clarity and relevance. The hands-on approach to prototyping, the real-world case discussions, and your constant encouragement to explore innovative solutions made this class incredibly impactful. Your passion for design thinking and product innovation inspired us to approach challenges creatively and practically. I walk away from this course with a stronger foundation in product development and a deep appreciation for the design process. Thank you for your dedication and guidance throughout!

  • Anonymous
    It's a great journey to show me how to do a variety of things that are important in this prototyping, designing, and testing environment.
  • Anonymous
    Great session of learning, i had a lot of joy and gained insight. looks little bit old but gold. thanks.
  • Anonymous
    The session on Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing covered essential concepts and provided a structured approach to the design process. The content was informative, and the methodologies discussed were relevant to real-world applications. However, the presentation felt a bit monotonous at times, which made it slightly difficult to stay engaged. A more interactive approach with real-life examples or hands-on activities could have made the session more engaging. Overall, it was a decent learning experience, but there’s room for improvement in terms of delivery and engagement.
  • Anonymous
    The most fun part of the specialization yet, I'm looking forward to the last part and finishing strong.
  • Anonymous
    Very informative, for someone who is diving into this with zero idea of where to start, this course helped me lay the framework for a strong start.
  • Anonymous
    There is interesting information but the methodology and the way it is transmitted is not correct. There are good examples and the teacher's experience in her field is noticeable, but it is necessary to improve the way of teaching.
  • Anonymous
    It was a good course for one seeking to understand the concept of design and related process are required
  • Anonymous
    Course has detail information on how to begin with project planning from beginning and can be applied even on daily assigned task. Summary section which highlights key points during learning found useful. Overall good learning experince.
  • Anonymous
    It's a very comprehensive training course that shows the contours of design. From creative design and prototyping to testing, this course contains the essential elements for understanding the subject, from idea to implementation.
  • Anonymous
    The instructor is knowledgeable and experienced, and even could be nice in a personal relationship, but as instructor fails to make enough explanation of a list of issues that comprises a concept. If the list is composed of 10 things for example, she explained six or seven and jump to another slide.
    In the other hand, sometimes started talking about a concept with a graphic in the background that no explain, so leaving me a bad sensation of ignorance. She must no show up graphics or schemes that won't go to explain.
    This topic is very important and exited but I feel that I did not harness all the course as I did others with professor Green.
    Please remake the course.
  • Anonymous
    Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing is an excellent course for any looking to begin a career in product management and design. I could say I learnt a whole lot of new things. and with what I have learnt, my design workflow has been transformed greatly.
  • Anonymous
    It covers what you expect from the text and titles, well done by the trainer and a lot of understandable and useful examples.
  • Amrish Raj
    Topics and contents were good and provides with overall good understanding of Product Design, Prototyping, Testing and Project management related topics. The instructor could have delivered the lectures with more real life examples and further taken the level of the course even higher. One product from Software /app development, physical product and one from Service industry could be taken as examples in explaining and delivering the contents better. This could have been a better experience in the course
  • Anonymous
    Excellent course for learning what a new idea/vision needs to come to fruition, in terms of design prototyping and testing.
    Ms. Cait von Schnetlage humor is excellent and her way of providing information too.
    I can say it was an excellent presentation throughout all the modules.

    Thank you.
  • Profile image for Swapnil Shimpi
    Swapnil Shimpi
    Each module includes a video lecture, a quiz, and a hands-on project. The projects are designed to help you apply the concepts you learn in the course to your own design projects.

    I found the course to be very informative and helpful. Cait von Schnetlage does a great job of explaining the design process in a clear and concise way. She also provides a lot of practical advice on how to conduct user research, create prototypes, and test your designs.

    If you are a designer, engineer, entrepreneur, or anyone else who is interested in learning more about the design process, I highly recommend this course.
  • Anonymous
    I really enjoyed the course. The lecturer gave real life examples using products most people are familiar with. She is successful, knowledgeable and humorous.
Go to class

Never Stop Learning.

Get personalized course recommendations, track subjects and courses with reminders, and more.

Sign up for free
Someone learning on their laptop while sitting on the floor.