Mastering GRASP Principles in Object-Oriented Design

A practical, example-driven guide to GRASP principles, trade-offs, and real-world architectural decisions
What you'll learn
Understand the real purpose of GRASP and why it is foundational to object oriented design
Assign responsibilities correctly using Information Expert instead of guesswork
Design controllers that handle system events without becoming God classes
Balance Low Coupling and High Cohesion in real design decisions
Replace conditionals with Polymorphism only when it improves maintainability
Apply Pure Fabrication without destroying the domain model
Use Indirection to reduce coupling while preserving clarity
Protect unstable parts of a system using Protected Variations
Identify and fix common GRASP anti-patterns in existing code
Make explicit trade-offs when GRASP principles conflict
Apply GRASP across domain, application, and infrastructure layers
Understand how GRASP relates to SOLID and GoF design patterns
Requirements
Basic knowledge of object oriented programming concepts (classes, objects, inheritance, interfaces)
Experience with at least one object oriented language (Java, C#, or similar)
Ability to read and understand simple class diagrams and code examples
Familiarity with basic design concepts such as encapsulation and separation of concerns
No prior knowledge of GRASP is required
Description
This course is a deep, practical, and brutally honest guide to GRASP - not a theoretical overview and not a slide driven abstraction.GRASP is one of the most misunderstood and misused foundations of object oriented design. Many developers hear the names of the principles, but almost nobody knows how to apply them correctly, how they conflict, and how real design decisions are actually made. This course fixes that.You will not just learn what each GRASP principle is.You will learn how to think like a designer.What makes this course differentThis is not a definitions course.This is a decision making course.You will see:Why GRASP is more fundamental than SOLIDWhy many "best practices" directly violate GRASPWhy blindly following principles creates worse designsHow professional architects actually balance trade-offsEvery principle is explained through:Clear mental modelsReal domain driven examplesExplicit anti-patternsLive refactoring and demosArchitectural context, not isolated classesWhat you will learnYou will master responsibility assignment, which is the core skill behind all good object oriented systems.Specifically, you will learn how to:Identify the true Information Expert in a domain model instead of creating fake experts and data classesDecide when Low Coupling is more important than perfect responsibility placementAvoid God Controllers and correctly map system events to controllersDesign classes with High Cohesion and detect cohesion violations earlyReplace conditionals with Polymorphism only when it actually improves the designUse Pure Fabrication without turning your system into a service soupApply Indirection to reduce coupling without destroying clarityProtect unstable parts of the system using Protected Variations and abstractionsEach topic includes:Correct examplesIncorrect examplesClear explanation of why one design fails and the other worksBeyond individual principlesGRASP principles do not work in isolation. This course explicitly teaches how they interact.You will understand:Why Information Expert often conflicts with Low CouplingWhy Polymorphism and Protected Variations reinforce each otherHow Controller decisions impact cohesion and coupling across layersHow to choose the dominant principle when rules conflictThis is the part most courses completely ignore.GRASP in real architectureGRASP is not just about classes.You will see how it applies across architectural layersomain layer: responsibility, behavior, and modelingApplication layer: orchestration and control flowInfrastructure layer: boundaries, indirection, and change isolationClear cases where GRASP should not be applied at allYou will stop misusing GRASP where it does not belong.GRASP vs SOLID vs GoFThis course clearly explains:What problems GRASP actually solvesWhy SOLID came later and builds on GRASP ideasHow GoF patterns emerge naturally from GRASP decisionsHow to map GRASP principles to SOLID and GoF without cargo cultingAfter this section, design principles will finally make sense as a system, not a checklist.Who this course is forThis course is ideal if you:Write object oriented code but feel your designs degrade over timeKnow SOLID but struggle to apply it consistentlyWant to move from "code that works" to code that lastsAim to think like a senior engineer or software architectAre tired of vague advice and want clear design reasoningOutcomeAfter completing this course, you willesign classes with confidenceExplain and defend your design decisionsRecognize bad designs immediatelyApply GRASP naturally, not mechanicallyWrite systems that are easier to change, test, and extendThis course does not teach rules.It teaches judgment.If you want to truly understand object oriented design at its core, this is the course you have been looking for.
Who this course is for
Software developers who use object oriented programming in daily work
Junior and mid level developers who want to improve design skills
Senior developers who want to solidify and systematize design thinking
Software architects who want a clear responsibility driven design framework
Developers familiar with SOLID who want to understand deeper foundations
Engineers working with legacy OOP codebases who need better refactoring guidance
Homepage