Pīkau 22: Incorporating a design process

Why this matters

Following a design process is important when working on solving a problem in your authentic context. It ensures that you are:

• meeting the needs of end-users, stakeholders/whānau/community
• working on something achievable.

The design process is described in the Technological Practice strand supports and guides learners to create a real outcome for a real need - this is what is meant by "Technology is intervention by design" (the opening statement of the Technology learning area ).

You'll need to be familiar with a defined design process so you can help your learners take account of end-users. In later progress outcomes, students begin to develop independence in carrying out learning using a design process.

This pīkau will show you how to incorporate a defined design process into your learning programmes.

You might already know some of this
 

There are many versions of the design process. You may be using one already, and we'll give some examples later in this pīkau. It is easiest to start with one design process that you can define, and show how students use it when working in the Technology learning area

When solving problems, each learning area of the NZC has its own processes that meet its unique needs. These processes often share a similar sequence of stages but they're called different things.

In the document below we have attempted to show the similarities between common stages of a design process (in the blue banner) and terms you may be familiar with from other learning areas. We have also highlighted how each stage is represented in the Technology learning area.

• Similarities in terminology across design processes

Comparing design processes

In the gallery below are some diagrams of different design processes. There are many variations as these are used widely in business and industry, but they all have common key features. You may already be using one or more of your own design processes if you are doing Technology in your school.

The purpose of comparing different design processes is to recognise the steps students need to know. Practice in applying these steps will lead to more successful outcomes. For example, when 25 students are designing outcomes, they all design in unique and individual ways, sometimes they approach the process differently. As their teacher, you need be familiar with the key features, and enable the students to design in ways they feel most comfortable (whilst still guiding them through a defined process).

Can you identify the steps that are similar to:

• Empathise
• Define
• Ideate
• Test/model
• Looping back to previous stages in response to new information (Iterate)
• Prototype

Industry video: How is a digital outcome developed?

In these next clips, Peter from Clever Medkit explains how they developed a digital outcome. See if you can identify some of the stages of the design process in these videos.

This clip describes how a need was identified from an issue in our everyday lives

First aid kits are tricky to keep stocked, and in the workplace, items can often be 'taken' by employees creating an issue when first aid is needed to treat an injury.

Peter explains how his company designed and developed their digital outcome. For more information and to use as a possible industry example of a digital outcome, see Clever First Aid.

The digital first aid kit is the physical outcome (it has a plastic case, shelves, control buttons etc).

The digital outcome is usually the hidden part, that is not usually seen by the end-user. This is called a 'black box' in the Technological Knowledge Strand (Technological systems, NZC Level 3). From approximately end of Year 6, students are expected to understand that a ‘black box’ is a term used to describe a part of a system, like the digital first aid kit, where the inputs and outputs are known but the transformation process is not known. In other words, they know what goes into and out of a system that is doing a job, but not how the input transforms into an output.

The 'black box' part - the electronics and digital systems within the Clever MedKit (computer code to communicate instructions, internet connection to re-order supplies etc) - is explained briefly here:

Activity: Incorporating a defined design process into your learning programme

Congratulations! You're almost done! This is the last part of content needed before you can review your digital learning programme.

The student hauora/wellbeing example Designing a mara/garden shows the steps of a defined design process.

Incorporate into your template, the steps you could use to incorporate a defined design process, in the 5th column of your template.

Watch this clip that explains how you might do this.