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DS/CS‑488 / DS/CS‑688: UI/UX and Product Design Practicum

🎓 • Boston University

Course Overview

Advanced practicum in user interface and user experience design, emphasizing product thinking, stakeholder engagement, prototyping, and design critique. Students work in teams on real-world design challenges in collaboration with external partners.

Teaching Impact

Spring 2023 – Present: Recruited and supported new instructors. Provide ongoing oversight and mentorship as part of Spark’s practicum suite.

Course not authored or taught by me, but developed under Spark’s umbrella. Plays a key role in extending experiential learning into product and design domains. Positioned as an upper-level elective for undergraduates (488) and master’s students (688).

Learning Objectives

Students develop comprehensive design skills through:

  1. User Research: Conducting interviews, surveys, and usability testing
  2. Product Strategy: Understanding user needs and business requirements
  3. Design Process: Ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and iteration
  4. Stakeholder Collaboration: Working with clients and cross-functional teams
  5. Design Critique: Giving and receiving constructive design feedback
  6. Professional Presentation: Communicating design decisions effectively

Course Structure

  • Real-world Projects: Design solutions for actual client challenges
  • Team-based Learning: Collaborative design teams with diverse backgrounds
  • Iterative Process: Multiple design sprints with user feedback
  • Client Engagement: Regular stakeholder meetings and presentations
  • Design Critique: Structured peer and instructor feedback sessions

Key Focus Areas

  • Human-centered Design: Prioritizing user needs and experiences
  • Product Thinking: Understanding business context and constraints
  • Prototyping Skills: From low-fidelity sketches to high-fidelity mockups
  • Collaboration: Working effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Design Systems: Creating consistent and scalable design languages

Spark Program Integration

Extends the Spark experiential learning model into design domains, complementing software engineering and machine learning practicum courses with comprehensive product development skills.