How long does it take to complete this course?

Expect about 17 hours of work in total. At a pace of around 10 hours a week, many learners could finish in about 2 weeks, with time spread across lessons, readings, quizzes, and peer-reviewed assignments. The course includes lessons, quizzes, UML assignments, and a final capstone update to a Java app.

Is this course more focused on theory or hands-on learning?

It's more concept-first than project-heavy, with guided practice throughout. The course spends a lot of time on modeling, design principles, and UML, then reinforces those ideas through assignments and a capstone update to a Java app.

Object-Oriented Design

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Object-Oriented Design

This course is part of Software Design and Architecture Specialization

Instructor: Kenny Wong

157,998 already enrolled

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

2,419 reviews

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

2,419 reviews

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

7 assignments¹

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Taught in English

93%

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This course is part of the Software Design and Architecture Specialization

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There are 4 modules in this course

This course takes Java beginners to the next level by covering object-oriented analysis and design. You will discover how to create modular, flexible, and reusable software, by applying object-oriented design principles and guidelines. And, you will be able to communicate these designs in a visual notation known as Unified Modelling Language (UML).

You will be challenged in the Capstone Project to apply your knowledge of object-oriented design by evolving and documenting the Java codebase for an Android application with corresponding UML documentation. After completing this course, you will be able to: • Apply the Class Responsibility Collaborator (CRC) technique to analyze and design the object-oriented model for a problem. • Explain and apply object-oriented modeling principles and their purpose (e.g., abstraction, encapsulation, decomposition, generalization). • Explain and apply different types of inheritance • Explain the difference between association, aggregation, and composition dependencies. • Express object-oriented models as Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagrams. • Translate between UML class diagrams and equivalent Java code. • Apply design guidelines for modularity, separation of concerns, information hiding, and conceptual integrity to create a flexible, reusable, maintainable design. • Explain the tradeoff between cohesion and coupling.

Good software design begins before coding. After establishing the initial software requirements, design practices involve two main activities: conceptual design and technical design. In this module, you will realize the importance of design and object-oriented thinking, and learn how to design software using techniques like CRC cards.

What's included

6 videos9 readings4 assignments

6 videosTotal 59 minutes

1.1.1 – Welcome to Software Design and Architecture9 minutes
1.1.2 – Software Architect and Design Roles in Industry20 minutes
1.1.3 – Object-Oriented Modeling3 minutes
1.1.4 – Software Requirements, Conceptual and Technical Designs10 minutes
1.1.5 – Competing Qualities and Trade-offs9 minutes
1.1.6 – Record, Organize, and Refine Components7 minutes

9 readingsTotal 90 minutes

Meet Your Presenter – Sam Jeffery10 minutes
Meet Your Facilitators10 minutes
Java Knowledge10 minutes
Object Oriented Design Course Notes10 minutes
Course Glossary10 minutes
Discussion: Introduce Yourself10 minutes
Expressing Requirements with User Stories10 minutes
Categories of Objects in Design10 minutes
Discussion: Modeling CRC10 minutes

4 assignmentsTotal 120 minutes

Module 1 Review30 minutes
Java Proficiency Quiz 130 minutes
Java Proficiency Quiz 230 minutes
Java Proficiency Quiz 330 minutes

Best software design practices have evolved alongside programming languages. Today, all developers should be familiar with abstraction, encapsulation, decomposition, and generalization, which are fundamental principles in object-oriented design. You will learn all of these principles and how they are expressed in Java and communicated visually in Unified Modelling Language.

What's included

11 videos4 readings1 assignment2 peer reviews

11 videosTotal 70 minutes

1.2.1 – Models: Bridging Concepts and Solutions4 minutes
1.2.2 – Languages Evolution7 minutes
1.2.3 – Abstraction6 minutes
1.2.4 – Encapsulation6 minutes
1.2.5 – Decomposition5 minutes
1.2.6 – Generalization5 minutes
1.2.7 – Abstraction in Java and UML7 minutes
1.2.8 – Encapsulation in Java and UML5 minutes
1.2.9 – Decomposition in Java and UML8 minutes
1.2.10 – Generalization with Inheritance in Java and UML7 minutes
1.2.11 – Generalization with Interfaces in Java and UML9 minutes

4 readingsTotal 30 minutes

Discussion: Design Principles and Language Evolution10 minutes
Ungraded Assignment - UML Class Diagram (Solution)10 minutes
Peer Review Request Forum0 minutes
Capstone Assignment 1.1 - UML Class Diagram (Solution)10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Module 2 Review30 minutes

2 peer reviewsTotal 120 minutes

Capstone Assignment 1.1 – UML Class Diagram60 minutes
Ungraded Assignment - UML Class Diagram60 minutes

Additional design principles will help you to create code that is flexible, reusable, and maintainable. In this module you will learn about coupling and cohesion, separation of concerns, information hiding, and conceptual integrity. You will also learn to avoid common pitfalls with inheritance, and ways to express software behavior in UML.

What's included

8 videos6 readings1 assignment4 peer reviews

8 videosTotal 63 minutes

1.3.1 – Coupling and Cohesion7 minutes
1.3.2 – Separation of Concerns9 minutes
1.3.3 – Information Hiding6 minutes
1.3.4 – Conceptual Integrity5 minutes
1.3.5 – Inheritance Issues5 minutes
1.3.6 – UML Sequence Diagram8 minutes
1.3.7 – UML State Diagram8 minutes
1.3.8 – Model Checking15 minutes

6 readingsTotal 60 minutes

Discussion: Coupling and Cohesion10 minutes
Discussion: Design Principles10 minutes
Ungraded Assignment - UML Sequence Diagram (Solution)10 minutes
Capstone Assignment 1.2 - UML Sequence Diagram (Solution)10 minutes
Ungraded Assignment - UML State Diagram (Solution)10 minutes
Capstone Assignment 1.3 - UML State Diagram (Solution)10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Module 3 Review30 minutes

4 peer reviewsTotal 240 minutes

Capstone Assignment 1.2 – UML Sequence Diagram60 minutes
Capstone Assignment 1.3 – UML State Diagram60 minutes
Ungraded Assignment – UML Sequence Diagram60 minutes
Ungraded Assignment – UML State Diagram60 minutes

In the previous modules you were introduced to object-oriented analysis and design, object-oriented modeling, and design principles. To cement your understanding of this material, you created a UML class diagram from an example Android code base, and used your understanding of the code base to make sequence and state diagrams to model its behavior. Now, in the final module of the course, given a description of new functionality and an updated UML class diagram, you will implement the updated design into the Android code base. After completing this development task, you will be ready to complete the final exam.

What's included

4 readings1 assignment1 peer review

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Instructor

Instructor ratings

(525 ratings)

Kenny Wong

University of Alberta

12 Courses483,845 learners

Offered by

University of Alberta

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Reviewed on Feb 20, 2019

The course covers the fundamentals of object-oriented design in a clear and systematic way. The homework assignments are defined clearly. The quiz sometimes feels a little overly simplistic.

Reviewed on Nov 9, 2019

Really helpful. I give this curs the maximum though I thing that it would be better if there were more assignments to practice. Or more examples even they are not reviewed in the videos.

Reviewed on May 16, 2021

El curso, me oriento significativamente en la mejora de mi diseño de aplicativosponiendo en practica sus lineamientos para poder tener un mejor producto. Gracias

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Frequently asked questions

You'll learn how to think through software design before coding and how to express that design clearly in UML and Java. It starts with object-oriented analysis and modeling, then builds into principles that help you create software that's modular, reusable, and easier to maintain. In the capstone, you'll apply that thinking to an Android app codebase by creating diagrams and updating code.

Yes, some Java background is expected. The course includes refresher quizzes, but it quickly moves into class design, inheritance, UML-to-Java translation, and work with a Java Android codebase. You don't need prior UML experience, but basic programming in Java will make the course much easier to follow.

It can be beginner-friendly for object-oriented design if you already know basic Java. The course doesn't assume much prior design experience, and it starts with problem breakdown and modeling before moving into UML and design principles. If you're new to programming or still shaky on Java classes and syntax, the pace will likely feel more demanding.

Yes, there's meaningful hands-on work, though it's more design-focused than lab-heavy. You'll create UML class, sequence, and state diagrams from an Android codebase, then use an updated class diagram to modify the Java application itself. The work is fairly guided at first and becomes more open in the capstone, so you apply each idea as you learn it.

It covers object-oriented modeling, design quality, and the use of UML to communicate software structure and behavior. You'll use CRC cards to identify classes and responsibilities, then learn how inheritance and class relationships show up in UML and Java. Overall, the course is about designing software that's easier to extend, reuse, and maintain.

After finishing, you should be able to turn a software problem into an object-oriented design, document it in UML, and relate that design to Java code. For example, you could examine an existing codebase and produce a class diagram or sequence diagram that explains its structure and interactions. You should also be better able to judge design choices around modularity, inheritance, and coupling.

Choose this course if you want object-oriented design taught as a bridge between early analysis, visual modeling, and actual Java implementation. Instead of stopping at broad principles, it asks you to work through UML class, sequence, and state diagrams and then use those designs to update an Android codebase. It's a strong fit for learners who already know some Java and want a more disciplined way to design software before they code.