Your Design Journey

The Iterative Design Process

Design is iterative: testing and new information can send you back to improve earlier decisions.

• A design brief outlines the problem or task you need to solve.
• A design specification lists the measurable criteria your solution must meet; use these to compare ideas.
• Primary research collects fresh data through user interviews, direct measurements, or questionnaires.
• Secondary research uses existing products, books, and websites to find out what has already been done.
• Check whether findings were expected, sources are reliable, information is biased, and conclusions follow the evidence.
• Idea generation means quick freehand sketches and notes to produce several different solutions.
• Emerging technologies are developing technologies; consider how they could improve your design.
• An innovative approach solves a problem in a new way, such as 3D printing a bracket.

User Needs, Ergonomics, and Constraints

Every technological solution must be designed around real people and practical limitations.

• User-centred design places the comfort, safety, and abilities of the end user at the heart of every decision.
• Anthropometrics is the study of human body measurements, such as hand span or sitting height.
• Ergonomics fits products to users' abilities and needs for comfortable, safe, and efficient use; body measurements help.
• Accessibility features include large tactile buttons, clear visual contrast, and wide doors for wheelchair access.
• Design constraints are real-world limits you must work within, including budget, available tools, physical dimensions, and deadlines.
• Justify materials and processes using technical suitability, cost, environmental impact, and ethical factors such as responsible sourcing.

Prototyping, Planning, and Workshop Realisation

Prototyping and planning bridge the gap between initial drawings and a finished artefact.

• A model can be made at any scale, often from card or foam, to check rough shape and proportion.
• A prototype is the first full-size, complete item used to test and refine the design before final manufacture.
• Simulations imitate mechanical, electrical, or digital operations, such as testing a circuit on software before soldering.
• Plan the task order, materials and sizes, tools, safe methods, time, and checks.
• Follow your plan; review and update it when testing or workshop problems require changes.
• Workshop safety requires tying back long hair, wearing safety goggles, and securing materials before cutting or drilling.

Evaluation, CBA 2, and State Certified Assessment

Recording and reflecting on decisions is just as important as building the physical artefact.

• Record tests, changes, and reasons using labelled sketches, photographs, or logs; follow the SEC brief's instructions.
• For an evaluation, state the original criterion, give a test result, and judge whether the solution met it.
• CBA 2 (Student self-analysis and evaluation) is completed within a three-week period in term one of third year.
• Use evidence from past coursework to judge strengths and improvements, then explain how these will guide your SEC project.
• The SEC project contributes 70% of the state-certified grade; the 90-minute common level written examination contributes 30%.
• The two CBAs receive separate descriptors on the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA), outside that percentage grade.

Key terms

Iterative process

Incrementally refining designs through researching, modelling, prototyping, and testing, using new insights at every stage to improve the product.

Prototype

The first full-size, complete item of a product, which distinguishes it from a model where scale is arbitrary.

Simulation

The imitation of a situation or process through mechanical, electrical, or digital modelling.

Solution

A completed product or process integrating all design and manufacturing stages, incorporating optimum ergonomics, efficiency, and sustainability.

Ergonomics

Fitting products and systems to users' physical dimensions and capabilities for safe, comfortable, and efficient use.

Anthropometrics

The study and collection of human body measurements used to establish product dimensions.

Constraints

Real-world limits placed on a design, such as available materials, equipment, budget, dimensions, or time.

Justify

Giving valid reasons and evidence, such as material properties, costs, or user needs, to support a design choice.