Rugby School Thailand Design & Technology Senior School

Testing and evaluating the improvement

Plan to test and evaluate the product improvement

You need to create a Plan of Testing, which will lead to an Evaluation Plan i.e. if you plan to test the Ergonomics this will then lead you to be able to use the data from the test to Evaluate the ergonomics based on the data set you get.

You should present your plan in the form of a table with some additional written statements.

The first thing you should do is to Define your Objectives.

1. Define your Objectives and Scope

Clearly articulate what you aim to achieve with the testing. For instance:

Objective: Evaluate the functionality / ergonomics / sustainability / safety of the improved 'prototype' you have designed and made compared to the original design. Comment upon your improvement (not the whole product!).
Scope: Focus on structural integrity, user interaction, and overall appeal.

Other Objectives could be:

Assess functionality and durability of the handle during extended use.
Evaluate ergonomic comfort and ease of use.
Identify any potential safety hazards or design flaws.
Gather user feedback for further refinement.

2. Identify your / the Evaluation Criteria

Establish specific metrics for Evaluation:

Functionality: Does the product improvement work as intended? Does it improve the product?
Ergonomics: Is the product more comfortable to hold and interact with? Have your ergonomic changes improved the product?
Aesthetics: Is the product improvement for the area you have chosen also aesthetic? Do the colour and design meet user expectations?
Durability: Can the product improvement withstand everyday use without damage?
Safety: Is the improvement electrically safe and free from sharp edges or other hazards?
User Feedback: How do users perceive the product improvement in terms of usability and design?
Manufacturability: Is the new prototype easier or more cost-effective to produce?

3. Prepare Testing Tools and Environment

Ensure you have all necessary tools, equipment, and spaces:

Durability testing equipment (e.g., weight tests or simulated handling scenarios).
User feedback forms or digital surveys (Google Form, Email questions, Menti, etc.).

4. Create a Testing Timeline

Develop a timeline with phases:

Initial Testing (2 / 3 days): Internal testing by you for functionality, safety, ergonomics or performance.
Controlled User Testing (1 week): Provide the product improvement to a small group of users for feedback.
Long-Term Testing (2 weeks over Songkran): Simulate extended use to evaluate wear and durability. This is really difficult for you to test but if you show that you have considered this that is good! Any product that is developed would / should be long term tested before being released i.e. Dyson vacuum cleaner test models are used by a robot testing rig for thousands of hours https://www.dyson.com/videos/product-testing-video

5. Conduct Specific Tests

Functional Tests:

Test the product improvement quality in your specified area i.e. safety, ergonomics, sustainability etc. - is it more ergonomic?

Aesthetic Evaluation:

Assess the quality, material, and finish.
Evaluate the product's design against user preferences through surveys or a client interview

Durability Tests:

Conduct drop tests from typical table height.
Test stability under weight stress (e.g., books or small objects placed on the product improvement).
Subject the product to environmental tests (e.g., heat, moisture) to ensure material resilience.

Safety Tests:

Inspect for sharp edges or other potential hazards.

User Feedback:

Provide your prototype to users and observe their interaction.
Collect qualitative and quantitative data through interviews and surveys.

Manufacturability Review:

Assess whether the prototype’s new design would affect production time, material cost, or complexity. i.e. how detailed would the moulds need to be to make your product improvement?

6. Analyse and Document Results

Use tools like Excel or Google Sheets for quantitative data (e.g., stress test metrics).
Summarise qualitative (opinions) feedback into themes and actionable insights.
Compare findings against baseline performance of the original product.

7. Make Iterative Improvements

Identify weaknesses or areas for improvement based on the test results.
Sketch refinements to the design and suggest testing as needed to achieve optimal performance - further improvements.

8. Final Review and Reporting

Compile a detailed Summary slide, with conclusions, that includes:
- Test Results: Summarised data and key insights.
- User Feedback: Quotes, survey statistics, and satisfaction scores.
- Conclusions: Did the prototype meet improvement objectives?
- Recommendations: Suggestions for further refinement.

This could all be presented as a table (see below); as a checklist or combinations of both.

Testing and Evaluation Plan example

Visual Checklist for Testing a Hot Glue Gun

☑ Fit and Assembly Check ☑ Trigger Reach Test ☑ Operational Stress Test (30 mins continuous use) ☑ Drop Test (3 drops from 1 metre) ☑ Grip Comfort Survey (5 users) ☑ Hand Fatigue Test (15 mins) ☑ Slip Resistance (wet grip test) ☑ Heat Resistance (after 30 mins use) ☑ Material Safety Check (odour, warping, softening) ☑ Electrical Isolation (multimeter test) ☑ First Impressions from 3 users ☑ Usability Challenge (gluing 3 items) ☑ Suggestions for Improvement (collected from users)

Take notes or photographs of each step to include in your final evaluation.

Evaluation of your prototype - 1 -2 slides

You need to honestly, without bias, Evaluate your product improvement against your Design Specification that you created. This can be a checklist or better still, comments (positive / negative / advantages / disadvantages) against the design specification. This should most likely be one slide with some photos of your product improvement.

Summary of Feedback - 1 slide

This should be one slide that includes feedbacks from users about your product improvement. Again, honesty is key here and the comments should ideally be unbiased and ideally include any comments from users on how they think your product imrpovement could be improved further.

Evaluation of resources - 1 slide

This may be half a slide! You should comment upon the materials you used and also the production methods and whether these were fit for purpose and appropriate.

Further Proposals - 1 slide (but possibly 2)

This is really important and students always lose marks if you do not do this slide(s)! So make sure that you do!!

You need to sketch (or use CAD), with notes to explain, further improvements you could make (and how) to develop your prototype. This is an opportunity to comment on the other three areas (function, ergonomics, safety or sustainability) that you could do a product improvement upon, and you can also add in aesthetic improvements.

Share examples from 2025

Manufacturing your Design Proposal in quantity

You need to consider how you could manuafcture your final design proposal in a higher quantity. You have made a prototype but you need to consider what changes may be needed to make either a Batch (10 - 10,000) or Mass (10,000 - 1,000,000+) of your design. The most common form of this type of manufacturing is Injection Moulding (if your design is made from plastic). Find an image (s) of the manufacturing machine i.e. Injection Moulding machine and add that image to your slide.

What you could do is add a photograph of your product or a part of your product, and show how that part could be injection moulded (for example). You could create a 'mock' Injection Mould yourself in Onshape by drawing a rectangular block around your part, splitting it along the centre line and then use the Boolean feature to subtract the part from the block which would create the negative part of a mould. You could repeat that for the other side but adding the part to the rectangular block which would give you the positive side of the mould. see example

Example of Onshape Boolean feature to create a 'mock' injection mould

Use the section view to show part of the mould.

If you wanted to take this further then there is a fantastic website www.protolabs.com that you can upload a part to, and then choose the type of materials you want to use, and quantity, and finish etc. and then it will run a simulation of any changes that your part would need to be modified in order to injection mould. It is great and you can use the screenshot images the simulation produces, and explanation of what it is showing, as evidence of your evaluation of this.

The screenshots below show the step by step process to create a Quote.

create an account

create a new project

name your project

create a new quote

start a quote

choose injection moulding

open Onshape to export a part

export as a step file

add the exported step file

continue with file

select options

complete the wizard

choose materials

choose colour

request the quote

confirm and wait for an email

now you wait for the results

Analyse wider issues in D&T (including cultural, economic, environmental and social factors) for your product

You also need to add information about the consideration of production and manufacturing processes to make your product improvement commercially, as well as any Cultural, Economic, Environmental or Social factors that you could make i.e. certain colours have more significance in some countries. Bleow are a few suggestions. Use CHAT GPT to help you with this perhaps? But DON'T just copy and paste the response. Read it and then remove what is not needed and add that into your Evaluation and Testing.

Cultural Factors

Aesthetic Preferences:
- Ensure the design aligns with cultural aesthetics, especially if targeting specific markets. For instance, incorporating Thai cultural motifs or patterns could enhance local appeal.
Symbolism and Meaning:
- Consider cultural significance of colours, shapes, and materials (e.g., certain colours or wood types might carry specific meanings in Thai culture).
Usability in Cultural Contexts:
- Understand how people interact with products in different cultures.

Economic Factors

Cost of Materials:
- Assess the cost-effectiveness of using certain materials. Are there alternative materials or suppliers that could reduce costs without compromising quality?
Production Efficiency:
- Evaluate the cost implications of manufacturing changes (e.g., changes in design complexity may require new tools or longer production times). The addition of rubber grip is a process called Overmoulding and typically this adds complexity to the moulding process and so adds cost.
Market Pricing:
- Analyse whether the improved product can remain competitively priced while justifying its value proposition to customers.
Scalability:
- Consider whether the proposed changes can scale economically as demand grows.

Environmental Factors

Material Sustainability:
- Ensure that wood used is sourced sustainably, such as from FSC-certified suppliers.
Manufacturing Impact:
- Evaluate the environmental footprint of the production process (e.g., energy consumption, emissions, or chemical use).
End-of-Life Recycling:
- Consider how easily the product can be disassembled and recycled.
Durability and Longevity:
- Design for durability to reduce the frequency of replacements, thus minimising waste.

Social Factors

User Accessibility:
- Ensure the product is easy to use for all users, including those with physical limitations (e.g., accessible switches or adjustable angles).
Workforce Impact:
- Assess how proposed changes impact the labour involved in production, particularly if working with local artisans or small-scale manufacturers.
Consumer Trends:
- Account for increasing consumer preferences for eco-friendly and handcrafted products.
Community Impact:
- If collaborating with local artisans, highlight the social benefits of preserving traditional craftsmanship or creating employment opportunities. For example, Amara Babault's chair has been made by a local company.

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