Choosing the Best Solution

Criteria List - the first step to choosing the Best Solution

A criteria list is a list of questions or characteristics that your final solution must have. It should be based on your design brief.

Sometimes you might need to do a survey. Make sure to record who you ask and what you asked them in addition to their responses and put all that information on this page. You don't need to include names, but age, and gender is helpful as well as their relationship to you or your project. For example, if they were classmates, members of your family, or members of the community.

Identify the characteristics that your final solution must have and list them. Break down the characteristics into smaller, easily measurable, characteristics. Aim for 8-10 characteristics.

Then choose a scale to use to give each characteristic a score. You may choose either:

• a simple yes/no scale if the design either has a characteristic or not (easiest, least useful)
• a 3-point scale: 1 = not good, 2 = good, 3 = excellent
• a 5-point scale: 1 = terrible, 2 = poor, 3 = good, 4 = very good, 5 = excellent (hardest, most useful)

Once your criteria list has been approved by me, you need to score each of your possible solutions.

1. List each of your possible solutions and write a sentence describing each one.
2. Under each of your possible solutions, copy and paste your criteria list
3. Give each statement in your criteria list a score. Add up the total score.
4. Repeat for each possible solution.

The possible solution that receives the highest score is your best solution.

An example is shown here. You will need the code to become a member of this wiki. The join code is JFNJF3R. It expires on March 28. If you haven't joined the wiki by then, please let me know. Please use your NLESD email to join. Any other members will be removed.