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Your Proposal - The final piece of the puzzle
Your Proposal - The final piece of the puzzle
A proposal is a formal document that outlines a plan or idea for a project or initiative to solve a problem or offer an opportunity. They are also known a design brief.
In the real-world you would normally either be the person the proposal is for (stakeholder), or the person who carries it out (contractor). For your project, you'll probably be both!
This page takes you through all that is required...
Introduce Your Project
Introduce Your Project
What is your proposed outcome?
Describe the digital product you intend to create and the main tools or media you will use to build it.
Important: This must clearly relate to your Inquiry!!
Purpose
Purpose
What problem, need, or opportunity that affects other people could you address by using creative thinking and digital skills to develop a digital technologies outcome?
Problem: A challenge or issue that needs solving.
Need: A requirement or gap that should be fulfilled.
Opportunity: A chance to create something new, innovative, or valuable.
Whatever you choose, this becomes your purpose.
Have a go at answering these two parts:
Again, this must directly relate to your Inquiry. Your analysis should provide all you need to know...
What is the problem / need / opportunity that you have identified?
Select the category that best fits your project and explain the specific situation or gap that exists in the world right now which makes your project necessary.
How does your proposed outcome solve the problem / need / opportunity?
Explain the specific way your digital product will fix the issue or take advantage of the chance you identified, and why your chosen approach is effective.
End users
End users
You are developing this outcome for other people, known as your users or end users.
End users:
Who are the end users that would benefit from your outcome?
Identify the specific group of people who will actually use or watch your product. Be specific.
Describe what they will gain from the experience.
Stakeholders:
Who are the stakeholders that would benefit from your outcome?
List the people or organisations who have an interest in the project’s success
Explain how it helps them achieve their goals or improve their situation.
Experts:
Who are the experts that you can gain advice from?
These could be your teacher, other people you know who work in this field, or leading online designers / creators.
Explain how they could help you
Scope
Scope
The scope outlines the boundaries of the proposed project. It explains what will be able to be developed in the time available and with the knowledge and resources you have. The NCEA Level also impacts this.
Requirements and Specifications
Requirements and Specifications
Requirements
Requirements
Requirements are the key features or components that your project needs to include. In other words what it needs to include.
They are broad statements, ideally no more than 8.
You decide on these by using your inquiry research, summary, and analysis.
You could start each requirement using IT MUST
Use the scope and components to help you write these - think one requirement for each component.
Specifications
Specifications
These are the detailed, technical aspects of how each requirements will be met. They wll serve as a really good checklist for your designs.
They should:
List the specific details you plan to use to achieve each requirement
They should be clear, concise, and measurable
You could start each specification with IT WILL
You may not yet know what all of the specifications for your project are - that is what the Design phase that comes next is all about. Just make sure to include the specifications that you have learned from your inquiry.
Resources
Resources
These are the things you will need to complete your project. List the resources using these headings:
Human
Financial
Physical and digital
Time
Knowledge
This video helps you understand the difference...
Level 3 - Further questions
Level 3 - Further questions
Extras for Merit / Excellence
Extras for Merit / Excellence
This final section of the workbook is where you look back at everything you’ve researched and honestly judge your own plan. For Merit, you are "weighing up" your proposal. For Excellence, you are looking for "deeper flaws" and identifying the next steps in the development lifecycle.
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your proposed outcome (required for Merit)
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your proposed outcome (required for Merit)
To do this well, you must "match" your proposal against your research. If your research said youth like fast-paced videos, and your proposal includes fast-paced editing, that is a strength. If your research said people need to see the dolphins to care, but you don't have a boat to film them, that is a weakness.
Good structure for you to follow:
The Match: How do your identified features solve a specific problem from your research?
The Trade-off: What is a limitation of your chosen approach?
The Verdict: Overall, how effective is this proposal based on this?
Sentence Starters:
"A major strength of my proposal is [Feature], which directly addresses my finding that..."
"While my proposal successfully [Action], a clear weakness is that it fails to..."
"When weighing up the effectiveness of my plan, I believe it is a strong solution because..."
"The proposal is limited by [Constraint], which means it may not fully solve the issue of..."
And an example (Māui Dolphin Project):
"I have evaluated my proposal and believe its greatest strength is the use of high-energy GoPro footage of local surfers. This directly solves the problem I found in my research regarding youth disconnection from 'boring' scientific documentaries. However, a weakness is that I cannot get underwater footage of actual dolphins due to their rarity. This means I am relying on animations to show their habitat, which might not be as impactful as the real thing. Overall, my proposal is a strong starting point because it prioritizes local relevance over generic facts."
Possible issues relating to the proposed outcome (required for Excellence)
Possible issues relating to the proposed outcome (required for Excellence)
For Excellence, you need to be your own harshest critic. You aren't just looking for "bugs"; you are looking for conceptual flaws, ethical issues, or technical limitations. You then suggest how the project could grow in the future.
Structure for you to follow:
The "Deep" Issue: What is a hidden problem (e.g., accessibility, copyright, long-term engagement)?
The Improvement: How would you fix that flaw if you had more time/resources?
The Extension: What is the "Version 2.0" of this project?
Sentence Starters:
"A potential issue relating to my proposed outcome is [Issue], which could lead to..."
"To improve the inclusivity of this project, I would suggest..."
"A significant area for follow-up would be to [Action], as this would extend the reach of the project to..."
"An area for improvement in the next iteration would be [Technical Change] to address the limitation of..."
My Example (Māui Dolphin Project):
"A possible issue I have considered is 'viewer fatigue.' While a 3-minute film is engaging once, it doesn't create long-term change. A deeper flaw is that the film is currently English-only, which excludes a key part of the Whaingaroa community. To improve this, I suggest a follow-up version that includes a 'Māori-medium' edit narrated by local Kaumātua. An extension of this project could involve a QR code campaign at Raglan's beach entries. When scanned, the video would trigger a 'Dolphin-Sighting' notification system. This would move the project from a one-off viewing experience to a long-term, interactive community tool."
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