Designing Something

How do you design something? This thing could be a research assignment (only occasionally), a project, or a machine. But regardless of what it actually is, it still needs some sort of design for it to be successful. There are several ways to design something. A few are listed below. While I am NOT an expert on how to design things and can not really give advice which is better, I have had experiance with the various methods and I can tell you what works for me. I'm not a teacher!

The method used to design an object/project/thing is usually called the "Design Process".

One method of design is to know what your goal is or what the final version should look like, and then to split it up into smaller parts. Then these parts are divided into yet smaller parts and so on. This is done untill the parts are as small as reasonally possible. Then each part is develop and built separtely, then they are combined part by part. If two parts do not work when combined, one or both of them are altered/redesigned untill they do. The various parts are combinded until the final version is produced. This method is called the `bottom up' method (I think that's it's name or top down). An example of this is a car as shown below.

Car -->Body -->Internal -->Seats
                                       -->Carpet
                     -->External -->Doors
                                        -->Frame
       -->Power -->Motovation -->Engine
                                               -->Axles
                                               -->Wheels
                                               -->Gearbox
                        -->Control -->Steering
                                          -->Brake
                                          -->Accelerator/Throttle

Now this example is by not means complete, there are many things left out. Also many of the above items can be split down further. The above is only a breif example. However, the design would not be split down to ridiculus level like the amount of molecules of rubber in the tires. (At least I don't think car designers are concerned about things that minute!) Again, bear in mind, I am not an engineer!

But before this can be done, a design must be produced. For this, I'm using the design process drummed into me at school:

Identify problem
Collect information
Analyse information
Propose many possible solutions
Select most likely solution
Develop most likely solution
Produce final drawings
Test amend refine
Evaluate

Besides the two methods mentioned above, there are many other methods to design something. Below are several other methods from my school work. The first is from when I had to design a toy for my MultiStrand Science.

Recognise a need
Specify the problem
Analyse and research
Suggest alternatives
Select best option
Plan
Prototype
Test and review
Final
Evaluate

Source: Senior Multi-Strend Science, Booklet 17, c1995, The State of Queensland Department of Education..
Produced by: acessED (formally Open Acess Unit), Gabba Towers, 411 Vulture Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland, 4102.

By applying the above, I was able to get an A+ on my toy. It was unique and original. I am currently considering selling my idea to a toy firm, but do not know where to go. The toy I designed does focus on a skill, and currently I can not find another toy on the market that performs the same function.

My graphics also compilided a list of design methods, which I have reproduced the best I can below.

Gwen Gawith's model- six stages of action learning	Skills for information Literacy (1991) - Department of Education, South Australia	TELSTAR - a seven - stage approach
1 DECIDING the purpose of the information What exactly do I need to know? What do I know already? What do I need to find out? Why do I need to find this information? What will I do with it?	1 DEFINING the purpose of the research What do I want to find out? What is my purpose? Why do I need to find this information? What do I need to do?	1 TUNE in to the topic What is the topic? Why should I investigate this topic?
2 FINDING resources Whare can I locate sources of information? What sort of information do I want? Where can I find this information?	2 LOCATING resources What do I already know? What do I still need to find out? What sources can I use?	2 EXPLORE the topic What do I already know about this topic? How do I feel about this topic? What do other people feel about this topic? What do I want to find out anout this topic? What questions do I want to find the answers to? How can I find out about this topic?
3 USING the information critically and analytically What do these resources tell me? What skills can I use to extract information? How can I analyse and interpret the information?	3 SELECTING the information I need to use How relevant is the information I've found? How credible is the information I've found? How will I record the information I've found?	3 LOOK for information Where can I get information? Have I collected enough information? How will I organise the information I've collected?
4 RECORDING relevant findings What notes do I need to make? How should I make my notes?	4 ORGANISING the information Do I have enough information for my purpose? Do I need to use alll this information? How can I best combine information from different sources?	4 SORT the information How can I sort my information? What connections can I make?
5 PRESENTING your findings clearly and accurately How can I pull this information together? How can I present this information so that the main points come across clearly?	5 PRESENTING the information How can I present this information? With whon shall I share this information?	5 TEST for results and conclusions What conculsions can I draw from the information I've found? What evidence supports these conclusions?
6 EVALUATING how well you achieved your purpose How did I go? Am I satisifed with my results and how I got there?	6 EVALUATING what I learnt from this process Did I fulfil my purpose? How well did I deal with each step of the information process? How well did I present the information? Where do I go from here?	6 ACT upon the findings
		7 REFLECT on the topic

Source: Senior Graphics, Student-centered Studies, Book 1, c 1997 The State of Queensland Department of Education.
Produced by: acessED (formerly Open AcessUnit), Gabba Towers, 411 Vulture Street Woolloongabba, Queensland 4272

That's all for the moment. If you have been given a certain method to use, use it. Also if you know of another way of doing the above, please let me know. As always, feel free to e-mail me at the address shown below. If there is an error in this page, PLEASE, contant me as I have had reports of this site being used for school projects, and I do not want to make a student fail because my information was incorrect. Any advice would be appreciated as well. I will respond to all mail, even if it might take a week or so at most (OK so the term is relative! ;-) ). Presently I am here:

m4eyes@mailcity.com

Last Upated: 7/2/00