3.3.4 Design strategies - AQA GCSE DT

Designing and making principles textbook: Section 6 designing principles, chapter 44 design strategies - idea generation strategies - idea development and exploration strategies

what are 4 strategies used to generate ideas?

collaboration, user centred design, systems approach, iterative design

collaboration

to work together, allowing people to share thoughts, inspiration, problem solve and support each other

user centred design

focused on the wants and needs of the user, design development should consider feedback from constant consultation with the user

systems approach

based on a sequence of inputs, processes and outputs, useful for electronic and mechanical designs

iterative design

a cyclical process of idea generation, prototyping, testing, analysis and evaluation used to improve ideas with each iteration

what should be avoided when generating ideas?

design fixation

what is design fixation?

to focus on one idea or strategy and not consider alternatives due to fear of making mistakes and risks or time and financial constraints

how can design fixation be avoided or stopped?

collaborate, acknowledge fixation, change your idea, prototype, allow failures to happen

4 ways to explore and develop ideas

sketching, modelling, testing and evaluation

sketching

quick drawings to capture the essence of ideas without worrying about presentation and details

modelling

testing ideas in 3D to visualise them properly using cheap materials like cardboard, paper, calico, breadboards

3 types of testing

market, destructive, non-destructive

market testing

product is given to user to analyse its performance and gain feedback

destructive testing

extreme testing to find physical boundaries of product and influence its manufacturing and safety

non-destructive testing

tests function and performance to identify weaknesses in design without destroying it

what should be done while testing a product?

record methods, results and evidence of testing and evaluate the outcomes

evaluation

using testing results to identify strengths and weaknesses, compare against design spec and existing products to find gaps and competition