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Identify a Design Need or Situation
Identify a Design Need or Situation
Project ideas or needs can come from many sources including friends, family, boarding house, companies, your local context (Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, medical center etc.), RST school staff, competitions, new technology or material development, technology websites or a review of previous projects. Think of where there is need.
Look at existing products and look for opportunities for improving designs or transferring features or functions to other products or changing them for different environments or different users.
Look for new technological possibilities that could change existing products or make innovative products feasible, such as miniaturisation of electronics, new lightweight materials, wireless communication, rechargeable batteries, renewable power, etc. You can ask Mr Douglas about newly developed programmable circuit boards that you could use.
Look for instances of genuine human need and review available alternatives to identify a better solution. Consider older products in the light of current or future social, political or environmental needs i.e., can an old product be redesigned to minimise waste, minimise power, be reusable, recyclable or eliminate harmful materials.
Review previous A level (or even University) projects, not to reproduce them, but to see if the user need that was addressed can be reinterpreted or looked at from a different perspective, or tackled afresh with newer technologies.
Read through the Project Ideas Starting Points on the D&T Website
Ask for (and accept!) suggestions from Mr. Douglas or Mrs. Douglas of possible starting problems to investigate or analyse that could become a major project.
Please note that some of these suggestions may be very advanced or may not ‘float your boat’ but they will allow you to access the highest possible mark scheme!
User, Client and Company Projects
User, Client and Company Projects
There are advantages and disadvantages in being offered an idea from a client or sponsoring company. The advantages are that the company can provide detailed knowledge relating to the market, technology or commercial constraints. This leads to a project that is realistic in terms of costs, deadlines and specifications. There will also be the external pressure to perform to high professional standards, which provides excellent experience.
Taking the views of the client into account through your designing can enhance your design decision-making. There is also the possibility of financial support, which may be a significant benefit.
The potential disadvantages are that the client may have relatively fixed ideas about what they want. Their commercial constraints may make it difficult for you to demonstrate all of your design capability, for example, materials or manufacturing processes might be predetermined or the cost restrictions might be too restrictive. For example, previously (in the UK) we worked with a company called Nav-Comm who wanted the Sat Nav system for emergency service vehicles redesigned. The company were very slow at providing the circuit boards and additional components as they were not working to the same time constraints as you are. Despite this major problem the company did put into full production one of the designs, but this was 18 months after completion of the A level project!
Identification of Need or situation
Identification of Need or situation
Use the blank spreadsheet below to help you to complete the identification of potential project ideas, based upon a Need or Situation. Please Save a Copy of this spreadsheet before adding any information.
A Level Major Project Identification of Need.xlsxExample of a partially completed one with 3 design possibilities. Please read!
Of course you can then add imagery to explain the context and make it look more visually exciting.
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