IB Design and Technology Evaluation Evaluation and Designing

Product Evaluation The results of product evaluations can be useful to consumers who are choosing to buy. Meeting a demanding specification can convince people that the product is a good buy. Product evaluation can also be used as a means of generating design briefs for a designer who is looking to improve on an existing product.

Evaluating a product If you were to evaluate a product – say this kettle – what criteria would you use? 1.Performance 2.Reliability 3.Ease of Use 4.Safety 5.Aesthetics 6.Materials 7.Construction 8.Cost

Apply your Product Evaluation Criteria to these products

Criteria Relevance Would the criteria you have just used for evaluating a kettle be useful if you are evaluating a car? Criteria used to evaluate products will vary depending on the purpose of the evaluation. Crash testing cars is done in relation to safety only.

Subjective objectives! The purpose of the evaluation must be clearly defined as it determines the criteria to be used and the methodology for gathering information. Value judgments play an important role in product analysis and they vary according to the individual, the era and the circumstances. Consumers often value utility, security, availability, rarity, aesthetics and value for money while designers may consider function, reliability and ease of manufacture more important. Designers evaluate products to analyse existing solutions to design problems or to generate ideas for new product design prior to the development of a design brief. Manufacturers evaluate products in relation to the feasibility of production (e.g. cost effectiveness)

Qualitative and Quantitative Qualitative evaluation - observations that do not involve measurements and numbers. Quantitative evaluation - observations that involve measurements and numbers

Methods of evaluation Models and experiments can be used to evaluate ideas at the design stage of the design cycle. Scale models can be used to evaluate shape, form and proportion. Material test experiments can be used at the design development stage. Construction tests can be used at the design development stage. Interview with a user evaluates the needs of the consumer.

Gathering Information Product Analysis is all about gathering information. Literature Search: The use of consumer reports and newspaper items to follow historical development. Useful sources of information could include CD-ROMS, such as encyclopedias and newspapers, or more specific disks, subject specific magazines and manufacturers information. User Trial: The observation and analysis of comments made by people who have used a particular product. Expert Appraisal: The reliance on the knowledge and skills of an expert in the operation of the product. Performance Test: Observations and their record of users. User Research: Obtaining users’ responses.

Literature Search List advantages and disadvantages of a literature search for data collection. What is the importance of ICT in aiding literature searching? Many sources of information are available but there may be too much data to sort through and it may be too time consuming to do so. ICT makes it easier to access information e.g. via the internet, and allows for two way communication. It eliminates the need to travel to gain information, but necessitates the use of a computer. Issues of security and storage of information may arise.

User Trial Describe advantages and disadvantages of user trials in collecting ergonomic data. The “user” is a non-specialist which makes trials easier and cost- effective and more readily available than some alternatives. However, users may carry out tasks in different ways to those expected and be inexperienced.

Expert Appraisal Describe advantages and disadvantages of using expert appraisal in collecting ergonomic data. Expert knowledge and advice are gained compared to a user trial, but the expert may be biased. It may be difficult to locate an expert. Data is usually qualitative.

User Research Describe advantages and disadvantages of user research in collecting data. Compare user research with user trial Data is relatively easy and cheap to obtain but is largely qualitative. With user research, data is collected by obtaining users’ responses to questions. With user trial, data is collected by observing users’ behaviour and is more scientifically based.

Appropriate Strategies Different products require different strategies for obtaining data. For each product listed, which would be the most appropriate sources of information for product evaluation? 1.Baby Buggy 2.Lighting Design 3.Furniture