Critique a Tech Outcome's Design

Undertake a critique of a technological outcome’s design 

Generic Technology | Level 3 | AS 91617 (3.10) | 4 Credits 

This is a Digitally submitted report. It needs to be submitted to NZQA by Wednesday 28th of October 2026
(aim to have it completed and submitted on Tuesday 27th)

This Level 3 NCEA standard is about critiquing the design of one specific technological outcome and making informed judgements about its quality.

You will explore what good design means, how ideas and values around design change over time, and the design judgement criteria people use to decide whether an outcome is successful. You will then select criteria that are relevant to your chosen outcome and use evidence to evaluate its design.

The focus is not simply on describing the outcome or identifying what you like and dislike. You need to make a balanced, evidence-based critique, considering how well the design works for its purpose, users and intended context, and justify the judgements you make.

2026 ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS 

Your report must be submitted digitally to NZQA as a single PDF.

Your report should:

• be no more than 10 pages

• use approximately 12 pt Arial or a similar font

• have approximately 2.5 cm margins.

USE OF AI

The use of chatbots, generative AI, paraphrasing tools, or other tools that automatically generate content is not permitted. Material generated by these tools must not be submitted as part of your report.

MATERIAL IN THE REPORT

Your report needs to clearly communicate your understanding and critique. It may include:

• annotated photographs

• annotated illustrations, diagrams, graphics or screenshots

• written descriptions, explanations and discussions

• relevant material from research sources.

Images and other evidence should support what you are discussing. Including evidence on its own does not demonstrate understanding — you need to explain how the evidence supports the judgements you are making.

Why you should look at the Assessment Report

Every year NZQA releases an assessment report explaining what successful reports did well and where candidates commonly lost opportunities to demonstrate their understanding.

For 91617, the main focus of your report must be the critique of one specific technological outcome. The majority of your report should be evaluating the quality of its design using relevant judgement criteria — not simply describing the outcome, explaining how it was developed, or suggesting improvements.

Key advice from the 2025 NZQA Report

• Choose one specific technological outcome that you can investigate and critique in depth. Avoid outcomes that are too broad, such as an entire category of products.

• Make sure you understand the design judgement criteria you are using. Select criteria that are genuinely relevant to the outcome, its purpose, users and context.

• Support your judgements with specific and authentic evidence. Do not assume the marker already knows the outcome you have chosen.

• Keep the critique balanced and objective. Consider several relevant aspects of the outcome rather than simply describing its features.

• For higher grades, explain why contemporary judgement criteria are important and why the criteria you selected are appropriate for this particular outcome.

• For Excellence, go further and consider how the criteria you choose influence the judgement you reach. Think about what might be emphasised or overlooked and how cultural, societal or personal values — including your own experiences or bias — can affect design judgements.

Assessment Reports, Assessment Schedules, Exemplars 

2026

• 2026 91617 Assessment specification

In the drop downs below you will find the Assessment Report, the Assessment Schedule and any exemplars NZQA provided

Task 1 - Understand Good Design and Judgement Criteria 

Work through Slides 3–33 of the slideshow.

These slides will help you understand:

• what good design means

• why views of good design and the criteria used to judge it can change over time

• different recognised views and frameworks for judging design

• contemporary design judgement criteria

• how the criteria we choose can influence the judgement we make.

You will use this understanding as the foundation for your report.

Task 2 - Choose the Technological Outcome You Will Critique 

Read Slides 34–35, then choose one specific technological outcome that you can investigate and critique in depth.

A good choice:

• has a clear purpose, intended users and context

• gives you access to enough evidence to support your judgements

• can be meaningfully evaluated using relevant design judgement criteria

• is something you know, have used, or can research well enough to make a balanced critique.

You may critique an outcome you have developed yourself or an existing technological outcome.

Avoid broad categories such as cars, phones or shoes, future concepts that do not yet exist, or outcomes where you can only describe features rather than make supported judgements.

Before you commit: Can you explain why particular judgement criteria would matter for this outcome, its users and its context?

Task 3 - Open the Writing Frame

Open the 91617 Writing Frame

Use this alongside the slideshow to help you plan and structure your report. It includes:

• what each section of your report needs to cover

• questions and prompts to develop your thinking

• key design terminology

• useful language for explaining, discussing and critiquing.

The Writing Frame is a guide, not a formula. Your report needs to reflect your own research, outcome, evidence and judgements.

Task 4 - Write Your Report 

Open the report document you have been given. It contains the basic headings you need to organise your report.

Use the Report Document, Writing Frame and Slideshow together as you work.

Remember:

• your report should focus on one specific technological outcome

• support your judgements with specific evidence

• select design judgement criteria that are relevant to your outcome and explain why you chose them

• focus on critiquing the quality of the existing design, rather than describing features, explaining how it was developed, or suggesting improvements

• your final judgement should develop from the evidence you have discussed.

Task 5 - Prepare and Submit Your Report 

Before submitting:

• export your report as a PDF

• check that it is no more than 10 pages

• open the PDF and check that all text, images and evidence display correctly

• make sure your sources are included in your Reference List

• check that the work you are submitting is your own.

Get your NSN - this should be 9 digits. Remove the 0 from the beginning if your NSN displays as 10 digits.

Name your file:

0319-yourNSN-91617.pdf

For example: 0319-123456789-91617.pdf

Upload your correctly name PDF to NZQA by

Term 4 Week 3

Tuesday 27th October 2026