Design Process Index Page

If you are to get a high grade you must put effort into this section. Remember, all research must be relevant to your project and constantly refer to the problem you are trying to solve. Produce at least one sheet on each of the following: Suitable materials for your project. Investigate the ways in which materials can be joined together - joints and fixings. The ergonomic factors that apply to your project. Safety factors related to your design problem. Write letters to manufacturers / shops. Research using the library. Research using the Internet / CD-ROMs/DVDs. Interview people with the aim of helping you to solve the design problem (record the interview). Carry out a survey / questionnaire and present the results as a pictogram/table of results Product Review - select an existing product and determine how it could be improved. Collect pictures of existing products - photographs/catalogue pictures. How are existing products manufactured?

Design Methods Step 1: Discover This four-part guide is for anyone who wants to understand the methods designers use and try them out for themselves. We’ve grouped 25 design methods into four steps – Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver – based on the stages of the Double Diamond, the Design Council’s simple way of mapping the design process. From rapid prototyping to personas and surveys, methods like these are used all the time in our work with partners. Browse through our case studies to see how they have been instrumental in bringing about dramatic improvements to products, services and environments, ensuring they are clearly focused on the needs of users. Use the methods below to keep your perspectives wide, allowing for a broad range of ideas and influences. Creating a project space What is it? Creating a dedicated area to organise project materials, work and meet. What is it useful for? How can I do it? Find – or make – a dedicated project zone. © Image Copyright: Flickr/Daniel Foster Observation User diaries Next steps

Design and Research January 2003 (This article is derived from a keynote talk at the fall 2002 meeting of NEPLS.) Visitors to this country are often surprised to find that Americans like to begin a conversation by asking "what do you do?" I've never liked this question. I've rarely had a neat answer to it. But I think I have finally solved the problem. I don't consider myself to be doing research on programming languages. The difference between design and research seems to be a question of new versus good. What I'm going to talk about today is what your target looks like from the back. The biggest difference is that you focus more on the user. Notice I said "what they need," not "what they want." The customer is always right in the sense that the measure of good design is how well it works for the user. And yet, making what works for the user doesn't mean simply making what the user tells you to. If good design must do what the user needs, who is the user? Over in the arts, things are very different.

Drill Down Technique - Problem Solving Skills from MindTools.com Breaking Problems Down Into Manageable Parts © iStockphoto/lurii Drill Down is a simple technique for breaking complex problems down into progressively smaller parts. To use the technique, start by writing the problem down on the left-hand side of a large sheet of paper. For each of these points, repeat the process. Drilling into a question helps you... ... for the complete article: Mind Tools Club members, click here. Join the Mind Tools Club to finish this article AND get 1,000 more resources Join now for just $1, first month "When I started using Mind Tools, I was not in a supervisory position. Join the Mind Tools Club Now and Get Our People Skills Workbook FREE Access training, help and ideas to boost your career. And get a FREE copy of our Build Your People Skills workbook, plus four other career-boosting bonuses, when you join before midnight, October 23. Find out more

What is Problem Solving? - Problem Solving Skills from MindTools.com © iStockphoto/PerlAlexander Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. – Henry Kaiser (American industrialist) Having good strong problem solving skills can make a huge difference to your career. Problems are at the center of what many people do at work every day. Whether you're solving a problem for a client (internal or external), supporting those who are solving problems, or discovering new problems to solve, the problems you face can be large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult. A fundamental part of every manager's role is finding ways to solve them. There are four basic steps in solving a problem: Defining the problem. Steps 2 to 4 of this process are covered in depth in other areas of Mind Tools. The articles in this section of Mind Tools therefore focus on helping you make a success of the first of these steps – defining the problem. Defining the Problem The key to a good problem definition is ensuring that you deal with the real problem – not its symptoms.

Engineers Text Book - Market Push, Tech Pull Market pull Market pull refers to the development of new designs based on a need for either a completely new product to meet some demand or an improved product to address customer dissatisfaction with existing products. In the automotive market. for example. customers are always looking for better fuel economy. greater comfort and improved safety; as a result. manufacturers tend to focus on these areas. The identification of these needs may be through informal customer feedback. such as sales agents chatting with customers, or more formal market research. Market pull can also arise from the pressure to upgrade a product in response to competitor developments. Customer feedback and market research can be used to identify areas of the market where a new product with the correct characteristics could make an impact. Market pull does, however, have its limitations.

Engineers Text Book - Engineering and Design Briefs The designer's first task is to explore the design brief provided by the client. In some cases it may give a very clear picture of the requirements, but in others it will be necessary to help clients develop a full understanding of their needs. Briefs should not be regarded as tablets of stone; they may alter as designers begin their research and communicate their findings. A concept which many designers find helpful in analysing a design brief is that of primary and secondary functions. Information is the life blood of the design process and never more so than at the beginning. Design briefs must give sufficient information to put the problem in context and to indicate the requirements, but they must not impose unnecessary constraints on the solutions which might be proposed. Bottle disposal and recycling Users occasionally put bottles in to the wrong bin, which necessitates screening of the bottles before smashing. Portable drawing equipment. Primary functions: Secondary functions: