Cohort 9 of the OOUX Masterclass Certification Program is SOLD OUT. Stay tuned for Cohort 10 to become available in Summer of 2024!
Enrollment for Cohort 9 of the OOUX Masterclass Certification Program is OPEN.
A rigorous, face-paced course designed and delivered by Sophia Prater; for UX designers, developers, and digital product people who are tackling complexity, wrangling stakeholders, and trying to make systems-level change in the experiences they create. Enrollment for Cohort 9 is OPEN!
10 transformative weeks to become a certified expert in complexity-wrangling, cross-functional collaboration, and a methodical-yet-flexible design process. Join us for the professional development experience of a lifetime: 1-on-1 coaching, personalized assignment reviews, office hours, and small-group study sessions.
Doors open to the waitlist on July 29!
Cohort 7 ended in November, so we are currently between cohorts, but you can still enroll in the Self-Paced Object-Oriented UX Masterclass. Start on the content today and simply upgrade to a Certification spot if and when you are ready! Stay tuned for Cohort 8 to kick off May 1, 2023!
The Certification Program is a rigorous, face-paced course designed and delivered by Sophia Prater. It's for UX designers, developers, and digital product people who are tackling complexity, wrangling stakeholders, and trying to make systems-level change in the experiences they create.
Sharpen your UX and information architecture skills so you can see the matrix inside of the matrix. OOUX is often called “rocket fuel” or“X-ray goggles”. Take on the most complex design challenges without hesitation — and always know exactly where to start. Bye-bye, lingering imposter syndrome.
With OOUX, you can drop the guesswork — creating technically-feasible designs that check all the boxes when it comes to mind-boggling business rules and test beautifully with users. Finally, you can be confident in your design decisions — even if your access to good user research is ...errr... sparse.
Reduce frustrating miscommunication and misunderstandings (by like a lot) — reducing rework, increasing design quality, and making working together actually enjoyable. Facilitate productive deep work sessions that bring out the genius of each diverse team member. A Rosetta Stone for product teams.
The OOUX Masterclass shows you how to create a shared language — bringing a cross-functional team of business stakeholders, developers, content strategists, and UX designers together into collaborative flow.
Leverage repeatable, scalable, flexible, and step-by-step playbook that frees you to focus on that actual problem and not the process needed to solve the problem. ORCA is known among OOUXers “the key” and “the missing piece” to solving complex design challenges. It's been tested and wildly successful in hundreds (if not thousands) of problem domains. Yes, it will work for yours, too. Really.
In this robust continued-education program for UXers, content folks, PMs, and developers looking to stretch into design, students learn the ORCA Process: a simple but comprehensive framework for synthesizing chaos into a clear scaffolding for design. This process is methodical — and so much fun.
In short, experience a deep inner knowing that you are capable of solving complex problems — reliably and efficiently — while fostering seamless collaboration among the amazing people on your team (even the toughest clients and stakeholders).
If you are not already enrolled in the Self-Paced OOUX Masterclass, you'll get immediate and lifetime* access to the "video textbook", all 19 modules of content that many claim "I've watched three times!" It's good stuff. If you are already enrolled in the SPMC, amazing. Make sure you use your discount code when you enroll so you can apply your investment in the SPMC to your Cohort experience. (*Sophia's lifetime, not yours!)
I really can't even count how many extra resources you'll get to help make your job (and your certification experience) easier. And we are always adding to and updating our Resource Library, and once you have access you're in for good.
Your mentor will organize optional small-group coaching sessions to answer your questions and help you connect with others in your "Mentor Pod".
You’ll choose 1 of 3 example projects to work on for the duration of the course (during each cohort, we introduce new design challenges). Our example projects are designed with a "just right" dose of complexity for learning. During the 10 week course, you'll complete 15 assignments, each aligning to a step in the ORCA Process. Linked together, your assignments will build into an impressive, process-rich portfolio piece, showcasing your ability to think beyond screens and into structure and strategy. You'll be highly supported as you work, receiving personalized feedback on every assignment.
🎁 COHORT 10 BONUS! A brand new live session on OOUXing your UX Portfolio and case studies.
In the Certification program, you'll get detailed individual feedback on your work from your mentor, a super-star Advanced Strategist. Often you'll go through several review cycles on your work, as the team makes sure you understand the methodologies.
You might already be a member of the OOUX Forum, enjoying our Public Spaces or even the premium spaces of the OOUX Masterclass. Now, you'll get access to ORCA-step specific spaces where all the Cohorts before you posted their assignments. Basically, you'll have access to a growing archive of examples AND the feedback given. It's a treasure trove of information ready to mine whenever your stuck on a step.
You'll be invited to ten weekly office hours! Office hours take place at 11am EST (4pm GMT) on Mondays — starting on our kick-off day! Recordings are always provided the next day. And if you can't make Office Hours live, you can always submit your questions beforehand.
You'll be able to schedule up to three 1-on-1s with your mentor, a Certified OOUX Strategist training for their Advanced Certification. Mentors are paired with a small group of mentees and they are excited to help you out in the Forum and on private coaching calls.
On completion of all the assignments and a passing grade on the final exam (yes, there’s a test), you’ll get your certificate in OOUX along with a profile on OOUX.com and lots of official bling to add to your Linkedin profile. So legit.
You'll learn to really use sticky notes — like really. Sticky notes are great for a brainstorm or an affinity map, but they can also be leveraged to help teams collaboratively craft elegant information architecture, content strategy, and database design. You'll be the person who always has a stack in their bag.
You'll learn to dig into the often-overlooked critical product requirements that have immense implications for UX, content, and development. You'll learn a method of documenting those requirements that is organized, scaleable, collaborative, and even sometimes called "delightful".
You'll learn a completely new way to scope, plan, and iterate on complex systems — giving you the skills to facilitate and lead strategy and road map conversations. You'll learn how to intentionally prioritize elements, never again placing UI arbitrarily.
You'll discover what is so often called "the missing piece" of the design process. You'll now have strength and structure to contain the "soft science" of UX — giving you confidence, clarity, and results that you and your team can be really freaking proud of.
Nope. We want to make sure this certification really means something. You'll need to complete all the weekly assignments (and post them in the Forum) as well as pass the test at the end of the program to get certified.
Don’t worry. If you do the work, we will do the work to make sure you understand the material. Pay attention, ask questions in office hours, complete your assignments, leverage your mentor, and you'll be fine. If you don't pass the test, there are options to make sure you get your certificate, involving a bit more (paid) 1-on-1 coaching. So far, 95% of people who have taken the test have passed. This includes several folks who are very new to UX.
Your certification will last three years. To renew and "level up" you'll need to re-certify by joining a future cohort of the program — and you'll only pay 50% of the current cost of certification! When you come back to re-certify, you'll be able to bring your own custom design challenge. In fact, even if you DON'T make it past the finish line, you still have three years to re-join at 50% off.
If you decide the timing isn't right, you have three years to re-join a cohort at 50% off! Since our cohorts sell out every year, you are still taking up a spot when you enroll, so we can't just "move you to next year" (that's you taking up two spots). But, we give every Cohortian three years of membership in the "Half-off Club" — you are welcome to return to re-certify or re-try for three years, over and over! So as long as you join us every 3 years or less, you'll always pay 50% of the going rate. For example, if you join us in 2024 but don't get certified, you can return in 2025, 2026, or 2027 at half-off. Let's say you come back in 2026 and get certified. You might decide to come back in 2027 (at half-off!) to take a custom design challenge through the program or get your Advanced Certification. Then, you'll have 2028, 2029, or 2030 to return to recertify at half off.
YOU BET. We hope to give you a 100x return on your investment, which will pay dividends throughout your career. Honestly, we hope to completely super-power your career trajectory. But if you don't enjoy the course, we promise a full refund. You'll need to participate fully for the first three weeks: attending office hours and submitting your assignments. After three weeks, if you are not feeling it and you are disappointed with what you are getting out of this course, just let us know. We will only ask that you provide feedback to help us understand what was missing. Fair?
If within the first three weeks of the course, you decide the timing is not right, you also have the option to move to the next cohort for a $998 fee.
Sometimes people see “object-oriented” and think that OOUX is all about appeasing developers. I’ve heard: “I want our product to be USER-oriented, not OBJECT-oriented!” It’s true that developers love it when designers start to work this way. That said, the main reason we are so obsessed with focusing our design on clear, valuable, recognizable objects is because humans think in objects.
We build our mental models in objects; we think and navigate our memory through relationships between objects. The cognitive science (which you’ll learn in the Masterclass) is clear: to understand an environment (digital or physical), you have to understand the objects that make it up. OOUX is about as human-brain-centered as it gets.
Oh, and in case you are worried, In the OOUX Masterclass, we won’t show you one line of code. But you will learn about cardinality, inheritance, and a little something called Junction Objects. OOUX has been called “design technical” — as a term of endearment. We’ve been fed a lie that UX is 100% a “soft science” and a squishy process allows our wild creativity to flyyyyy! 🙄 ORCA gives needed structure to the softness, balancing the art and science of our profession.
This might turn out to be true. But don’t worry — you don’t need to become a crusader for OOUX, you don’t need to push others into it, and definitely don’t need to identify yourself as a diehard OOUXer! That is, unless you want to and you're in a position to do so.
As soon as you scratch the surface of the OOUX Masterclass you’ll start seeing the opportunities for a bright new day with your team, but we actually recommend you start with “quiet OOUXing.” In other words, don’t ask for permission — just do it. OOUX is a tool for understanding, and you never need permission to use a tool that helps you understand complexity!
Within the first couple modules of the course, you’ll start asking better questions and producing cleaner designs. Eventually, others will notice. It might take a few months, but people will get curious about your well-organized sticky notes and uncanny understanding of the business. Don’t stress about being a boat-rocker unless that’s your vibe. Let them come to you.
OMG! You have a legit IA, content strat, and design system practice? That’s amazing! Count yourself lucky. This just means that your organization is that much more ready to up-level with the ORCA Process.
See, ORCA is a methodology for bringing IA, content, and UX together. It doesn’t replace these practices, it enhances them and helps them shine. Neither does OOUX even pretend to replace a design system, but it can add a critical semantic layer atop your design system. OOUX-style sketching helps you create a rulebook for how best to put all those UI legos together.
(And if your team doesn’t have any IA, content, or a design system practice? OOUX! Now! Now! Now!)
If mind-melty complexity, chaotic collaboration, and a hectic and haphazard design process are top professional headaches, you are in the right place. Imagine if you drastically improve those areas — how much easier will everything else will be?
But you are right — our industry is always changing and there is always something new to learn and some of it feels urgent. But here’s the twist. ORCA is a tool for understanding complicated stuff. I’ve had so many students say, “I wish I’d had this in college!” Or “I’m using ORCA to help me learn XYZ!”
They say our brains are elastic (neuroplasticity and all that). I can’t say that the OOUX Masterclass will make you smarter, but it sure as hell will help you feel and operate smarter. Whenever I am confronted with a new thing to learn, ORCA is my go-to tool and it can be yours, too. Cheers to a lifetime of learning, with that killer whale as your powerful sidekick!
In my experience and in all the hundreds of stories I’ve heard about OOUX bringing design and development together, I think I’ve heard two head-scratching reports of developers not “getting” OOUX and wondering why the designers are doing the “fun part” of their job. It is true that in OOUX we use slightly different terminology (for example, what we call objects, your developers might call classes or entities) — but always with good reason. That’s why the glossary that you receive in the Masterclass has a column for “dev speak”. Throughout the course, we continuously tie in the developer’s perspective to make sure you don’t sound like a clueless poser when you talk to them — because you won’t be. Instead, we make sure you sound like a godsend — a designer finally speaking (something really close to) their language.
If you’ve listened to the OOUX Podcast, read all my articles, and watched my talks on You Tube, amazing — thank you. I’d say you are an OOUX White Belt. If you’ve been practicing and taking copious self-study notes, you might be at an OOUX Yellow Belt.
If you’ve taken the Udemy Course (OOUX Fundamentals) or attended an workshop, you might be at an OOUX Orange Belt, if you were an active participant and you’ve been practicing more on your own.
The OOUX Masterclass can take you straight to an OOUX Black Belt. I say “can” take you to Black Belt, because many OOUXers do find that leveling up true mastery requires the hands-on personalized coaching of the OOUX Certification. (Think of the OOUX Masterclass as the textbook for the OOUX Certification. Some people can read the textbook and become an expert without ever going to class. If you decide you want to join a Cohort — amazing, you already have the textbook! You’ll be able to put the cost of the Masterclass towards the cost of a Cohort spot.)
Post-certification, some OOUXers go on to my advanced training program, mentoring Certification Cohortians and earning stripes on their OOUX Black Belt as they step up to leadership, take on more facilitation, and learn to spot a junction object from a mile away.
(Thank you, Karate Belt System for helping me explain that!)
Nope! Scrap everything and blindly use ORCA! Please spend 8-weeks-solid building an Object Map consisting of 10,000 sticky notes.
Just kidding!
Ok, so yes, ORCA is structured and methodical, providing a step-by-step process that brings peace-of-mind to the whole team. But it’s also flexible, remixable, and scalable. OOUXers have loved blending it with Jobs to be Done, How Might We Statements and Design Sprints, the Core Model, and all of their existing favorite practices. ORCA can be stretched to a glorious 8-week massive modeling effort, or it can be squeezed into 2-hour sessions here and there. It can apply to a massive redesign of a complex legacy enterprise system, or it can apply to a single feature. Slip OOUX in where you can and you’ll start to reap the benefits.
In the OOUX Masterclass, ORCA is taught in four rounds: we iteratively define and design our objects, relationships, CTAs, and attributes. One of those rounds is Prioritization. As you learn about how to prioritize, plan, and phase the growth of your system through the lens of ORCA, iterations actually become more strategic. Divvying up complexity into sprints starts to make more sense.
You might be! I’d say if you are brand new to UX design and have less than a year’s experience in the field, you might want to give yourself some more time to break in your shoes before you come on this particular journey. Most of our students are mid-level, senior-level, and director/leadership-level. That said, often those with only a few years of experience find OOUX easier than those that have been in the field for 10+ years. It requires an open mind and a willingness to turn a few aspects of your existing process inside out — which can be hard for professionals set in their ways. So, enroll with at least some basic industry knowledge and a growth mindset.
To be clear, we are talking about the OOUX Masterclass here, not OOUX in general. OOUX and ORCA is for everyone — even non-technical end users can learn the basic ropes in 10-15 minutes, allowing them to actively participate in co-creation ORCA workshops. I’ve taught OOUX to my 70-year-old neighbors, to help them plan their local non-profit website. And we had so much fun.
If you are the type of person that wants to be a complexity wrangler, if you enjoy tough problems but just feel like you are using blunt tools to work through them, if you are accused of "over-thinking", if you prefer moving sticky notes around to moving pixels around — I'm not worried about you! But you may have read some testimonials about how tough the course is and how mind-melty parts of the course can be. Remember, that's a good thing. Learning to do hard stuff is what will set you apart. There's rarified air on the other side of the OOUX Masterclass. And if you need extra support? Monthly Q&A is included (indefinitely) and if you need to book a call with an OOUX Mentor for some added support, their rates are usually around $100/hour. There's also so much access to peer-to-peer support in the OOUX Forum. You are in good hands!
