(Online Course Review) Springboard UX Design, Version 4

Overview

Review Published: April, 2017.

Available on the Springboard online education platform, this is a 3-4 month course that introduces students from around the world to the exciting (and rapidly growing) field of UX design.

Based upon a student-selected capstone project, this course aims to get self-motivated learners ready to enter the UX industry armed with a broad knowledge of UX techniques, and an attractive portfolio of work.

Rating:

4 / 5

(Great Content, Presentation is Clear)

What does this score mean?

Difficulty:

Beginner to Intermediate (Very approachable, but lots to learn depending on your previous knowledge).

Length:

100-120+ hours.

Where to Buy It:

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What's Good

Basic theory & comprehensive project application; this course gives you the basic theoretical foundations of UX design, but where it really shines is teaching you the techniques to carry a project through to completion.
Updated cirriculums; the course materials are updated regularly, and you get lifetime access to them so you can always keep up-to-date with the latest techniques.
Lots of help & additional resources; if/when you get stuck on a specific technique, have a general question, or want to get feedback, you have online mentor calls and general office hours every week that gives you a direct line to a professional that can answer your questions.

What Can Be Improved

A few content gaps; while a great incubator for aspiring UX designers, the course would benefit from a deeper examination of UX research techniques ("Just Enough Research" helps here), and portfolio/job-hunting basics to give students a jumpstart on their new careers (check out "Build a Powerful UX Portfolio" and "The 2 Hour Job Search" for some worthwhile resources).
Cost for those transitioning; with a fixed monthly cost of about $500 USD this course is more accessible than many UX programs, but can get expensive if you're studying while working (a full-time/part-time tiered pricing system would really help solve this).

The Bottom Line

A solid introduction to practical UX techniques & workflow; if you study hard, and take advantage of your mentor calls and office hours, this is a great course for learning the nuts and bolts of UX design so you can hit the ground running.
For beginners looking for a practical UX education; this course provides a solid working foundation to enter the UX design field, but additional work in understanding UX strategy (check out my review of "User Experience Design Fundamentals" for a good option), front-end web technologies, and business application will be needed as you progress in your career.
Lots to like here; in addition to providing a solid practical basis for a career in UX design, this course was a great way to meet pros in the field and to connect with fellow students in order to start building your professional networks.