1. The Design Process
Technology Design & Applications

2. The Need for Problem Solving
Every day, we are faced with situations that require thoughtful solutions. Some of these situations, like designing a video game, are fairly short-term and involve a specific goal. Others are more general and long-term.
Click the picture to find out more about these long-term solutions.

3. Below are examples of problems that involve society and the environment:
Disposing of wastes without harming the environment
Producing enough energy to meet our increasing needs
Ensuring a continuing supply of clean, safe water
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4. The problems below deal with people’s needs:
Providing more independence for people with vision-impairment or other disabilities
Improving the sound quality of recorded music
Allowing automobile drivers to communicate with each other to prevent accidents
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5. Each of the problems mentioned in the previous slides can be solved using science, technology, and design.

6. Good Design in Problem Solving
Solving a problem is rarely quick and easy. It often takes time, thought, and creativity. We must understand exactly what is needed to solve the problem. More money, extra time, or other people’s help may be needed. Solutions or products should be as inexpensive and easy to use.
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7. Problems in technology are seldom well-defined when we first encounter them. For example, if the problem is to design a house for a family, many questions need to be considered:
How big will the house be?
What styles and materials will be used?
How will it be heated and cooled?
How much money and time are available?
The architect, builder, and customer must work together to clarify each problem and arrive at the best possible solution.
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8. To solve any kind of problem, decisions and compromises need to be made. This is done through a process called informed design.

9. Informed Design
The process of informed design is a method of making choices and then coming back to refine or revise those choices at any point in the process as often as necessary. Using the steps to make choices and decisions, more detail is added, resulting in a better defined problem, which leads to an acceptable solution.
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10. make trade-offs when selecting the best design from all the choices.
Informed design is used by engineers, architects, craftspeople, and artists. All of these people are designers. The choices that they make to create their designs often involve compromises. Cheaper materials may be used, or a simpler, less sophisticated design may be required to finish the project on time. These compromises are known as trade-offs. Designers often
make trade-offs when selecting
the best design from all the
choices.
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11. The Informed Design Process

12. Step 1 Clarify the Design Problem

13. Clarify the Design Problem
The design brief states the problem and lists the specifications for a design.
The specifications for a design problem are the performance requirements, or output requirements, that the solution must fulfill.
Constraints are the limits imposed on a design solution.
Click here to see a design brief

14. Sample Design Brief Design Brief
Design Problem: Design a durable, comfortable, and moderately priced backpack to carry materials for school and other activities.
Requirements
Backpack should be able to hold at least 3 textbooks, a CD player, a thin jacket or fleece, a palm pilot, and a cell phone.
Backpack should have several smaller pockets for money, keys, pens, and pencils.
Material should be brightly colored, waterproof, and durable.
Constraints
Backpack cannot cost more than $35 retail.
Backpack must be adjustable so one size can be used by 5th-8th graders.

15. Step 2 Research and Investigate the Problem

16. Research and Investigate the Problem
Search for and discuss existing solutions to solve the problem at hand or similar problems. This is where you will learn about good and bad solutions.
Research opens many doors. Click the arrow to find out more.

17. Research
Through research, you can identify problems, issues, and questions that relate to the design challenge.
You can gather information from other people, from research in the library or the Internet, and from visits to stores that sell products similar to the one you are designing.
Click the arrow to learn about investigating the problem.

18. Investigation
You will need to take measurements and gather data about different types of materials and the performance of those materials. Using mathematics and other skills, you will need to rate different alternatives to compare them. As you research, always keep the design criteria in mind. They will help you identify the important questions that you need to answer.
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19. Product Research
To learn more about a product and how it will be used, many companies perform market research or scientific investigations. For example, a company that is developing a new toothpaste might ask potential buyers to try the toothpaste and then fill out a questionnaire. Do they like the taste? What kind of dispenser do they prefer to use – a tube or a pump? A more scientific investigation could be used to determine what levels of fluoride and tartar control are most effective in stopping cavities.

20. Step 3 Generate Alternative Designs

21. Generate Alternative Designs
Don’t stop at the first solution that might work. Continue to approach the design in different ways. Because there are many possible design solutions, good designers are rarely satisfied with the first idea that pops into their minds.
Brainstorming is a useful
method for Step 3.
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22. Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a method by which a person or group of people can come up with alternative solutions. Each person in the group suggest ideas, one person writes
down all the ideas, and no one is
allowed to laugh at or criticize
them – no matter how foolish
or unusual they might seem.
At this point, all ideas have
value. After many ideas have
been proposed, the group
will review them all. The best
ideas are developed further.

23. Step 4 Choose and Justify the Optimal Design

24. Choose and Justify the Optimal Solution
Decide on a design that best meets the specifications, fits within the constraints, and has the least number of negative characteristics. Good design solutions are those that work well, are inexpensive, and cause little or no harm to the environment or to people. They meet all of the design requirements within all of the limitations that have been imposed.

25. Design Alternatives
For each of your design alternatives, you will need to list its strengths and weaknesses in relation to the original design criteria. Each of the alternatives must be examined to see if it meets the original design criteria, specifications, and constraints. The alternative you choose will be the basis of your preliminary design

26. You may find that you have to conduct more research or gather more data to examine each alternative completely. Improvements to a design can lead to better performance, increased safety, and lower cost. The process of improving each alternative is called optimization. When people choose the best solution, they normally make trade-offs, giving up one desirable thing for another.

27. Step 5 Develop a Prototype

28. Develop a Prototype
A scale model is a model of an object with all parts in correct proportion to those of the object.
A prototype is a full-scale, fully operational version of the solution.
If the final product is very small (like an integrated
circuit) a large-scale version
might be built so all parts
can be seen clearly.
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29. Models
Models are important for several reasons. The solution or product may be very large and costly. Alternatively, the individual product might be inexpensive, but plans to make several thousand would involve a large expense. Sometimes, the proposed solution might need evaluation
of its possible risks to people or the
environment. For example, a model
of a nuclear power plant would be
built and debugged before
construction of an actual power plant.
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30. Step 6 Test and Evaluate the Design Solution

31. Test and Evaluate the Design Solution
Develop one or more tests to assess the performance of the design solution. Test the solution, collect performance data, and analyze the data to see how well the design satisfies the original constraints and specifications.
Monitoring the results of the tests may suggest improvements to a design or its construction. You should note each different factor that affects the performance of your design. These differences are known as variables.

32. Sometimes, tests are run on a computer using computer simulations, in which a computer tests different models to predict how a product will perform. Computer simulations are most useful
when a large number of
calculations must be
carried out.
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33. Step 7 Redesign the Solution with Modifications

34. Redesign the Solution with Modifications
During this phase of the design process, identify and change any variables that affect the performance of your design.
Even at this point, you should be willing to consider new ideas.
Identify and change any variables that affect the performance of your design.

35. Step 8 Communicate Your Achievements

36. Communicate Your Achievements
In this phase, you will “sell” your final design. In many ways, the presentation of the design is just as important as the design itself. Describe the final product and how it will be used. You may also want to describe phases of the design process that were important for creating the final design.

37. Works Cited Hacker, Michael, and David Burghardt. "Design and Problem
Works Cited Hacker, Michael, and David Burghardt. "Design and Problem Solving."  Technology Education: Learning by Design. Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall,