Topic 6.1: The design process Questions

A nurse wedges a bedside table against a chair to stop it rolling. What is this observation worth to a designer?

A designer measures the hand lengths of twenty climbers to design a new climbing glove. What kind of data is she collecting?

Explain why a problem should be defined in terms of the need rather than the solution.

A design team is writing the specification for a folding camping chair. Explain two important design criteria the team should include.

Which of these collects quantitative data?

A design team is writing the specification for a clip-on bicycle light. Explain two important design criteria the team should include.

State two sources of information a designer uses to define a problem.

Explain three consequences of defining the problem badly.

Explain three characteristics of a good design specification.

Research on a ward found that 9 of 12 bed-bound patients twisted sideways to reach a jug, that the table tips at 4 kg placed 80 mm from the edge, and that patients will not use the call button for a drink. Construct a problem statement and explain each clause.

A bicycle frame lug will be machined on a CNC mill from a solid aluminium billet. Which specification headings must state this? I. Manufacturing requirements II. Target market III. Materials requirements

A phone case will be 3D printed in a flexible polymer. Which specification headings must address the choice of 3D printing? I. Materials requirements II. Manufacturing requirements III. Ergonomic requirements

Apply two ideation techniques to the problem of bed-bound patients reaching food and drink on a hospital ward, and explain how they produce distinct ideas.

A team needs to find out how far a surface must swing over a bed. Which model is most appropriate?

What is the usual outcome of comparing several design ideas against a specification?

Explain why a design idea for a ward trolley that fails one essential criterion should be rejected even if it has the highest total score.

A student building a ward trolley makes one high-fidelity working prototype, tests it once at the end, and reports that it works. Explain why this is not iterative development.

Which instruction to a test user produces the most useful performance data?

Justify the models a team should build to test a swinging bedside table surface for reach, for hand position and for stability.

Justify including test measurements when presenting a redesigned ward trolley to a client, rather than only showing the final design.