Project Management
Information sources
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Choosing a Client and getting information
The easiest choice is somebody at home who is able to understand and answer with reasonable depth.
People who are familiar to you are generally easy to contact.
As the choice of person causes them to becomes less available then getting information may require different tactics or organisation. The ultimate challenge is to make a choice that is unfamiliar and willing, of whom you can justify your reasons for that choice. To justify choices means to be able to explain why the choice is of benefit to the project being done
rather than other possibilities.
Passive and Active methods of research
In reality good research involves a mixture and variety of methods. The two basic forms are:
Passive methods, where the results of the research are collected without the researcher being present.
Active Methods, where the researcher is actively involved and collects the information through personal experience.
Consider what the benefits of either are when researching and remember that good research is carefully planned to ensure that the responses are necessary and of value to help with the next stage, (designing).
Questions and answers
Before writing the questions consider what you need to know.
The information that they are married may be totally unnecessary if you are considering the information in order to design a bicycle lamp. Whereas the colour of their bike might be more useful.
If you are designing something that will be attractive to your Client then it would seem to make sense to collect information of that sort.
What sort of information can be used when designing something that must look appealing to the Client?
Consider information that can be part of a group. For example, Animals, Birds, Plants, Sea life, Cartoons, Favourites, Sports, Hobbies, Music, Collectables, Religion, Paintings, Vikings, Victorians, Mountains, Sailing, Food, Symbols or Logos and so on. Identify something from the list and use the information gathered about the shape, colour or pattern that is seen to start your first ideas.
Useful information at the research stage can therefore be applied to the designing stage.
Results and presentation
The results that are recorded are judged suitable by their usefulness towards solving the problem. They may be answers to questions or results of observations. A survey may have been used to compare several sources.
Results need to be shown clearly so that they can be used in the design stage. Avoid bulky descriptions. List the relevant answers and indicate how they will be used.
Simple Product Research
When to do it
In reality, once a Brief has been given we have some idea of focusing our attention towards suitable information. A clearer guide however will ensure that what we do is better use of the limited time given. Browsing general information is likely to be time consuming and less productive.
What to look for
The Brief is used as the starting point. Decisions are to be made about the Shape/form, size, Material, Decoration, Finish and the processes to be used. Some of these may be decided for you and some will have been identified by your questions to the Client.
Where to find it
To find information that will help with the choice of Shape and form, start with the information gathered about the Client. If they have shown that they like football, food and the colour red, then using information about the shapes and colour of these things would help your design decisions about both the bowl and the decorative design.
Information about overall size would be solved by considering what is to be held in the bowl. If patterns are used as decoration around the bowl then their size will depend upon the bowl size.
Look at existing or historic resources for shapes and decoration ideas. Set limits upon how long is spent and how many different choices are collected.
Information about materials and processes are to be found in specific resources. Design Technology or Material sources. These important resources will show materials and their properties and how they can be used.
How to use it
The information collected here is used in the designing stage.
The variety of ideas and the knowledge of the materials and how they can be used will make it easier to show different ideas and proposals. More importantly, as ideas are made better, choices will be able to be made on the basis of that information. You can show the reasons why a choice has been made.
Results and presentation
The collected information is used to refer to when designing is taking place. Pages and pages of copied text or pictures will not be of value unless it is used in the designing stage. There is nothing wrong with showing a brief reference to a publication and stating what useful information is found there. Photocopies or tracings may be needed of sources that you intend to develop.
Design Specification
When to do it
After all research and before attempting any design work.
Where to find the information
All the information that is needed will be contained in your previous research section.
How to write it
A Specification is a collection of brief sentences that show what the final product must do and what it must have. These can be listed in order of importance. The Brief is the first place to look at. The first specification statement would be " The final product must be for (who it is for). What might the follow?
How to use it
The Specification is used for two purposes. Firstly to ensure that you know quite clearly what you are going to design and make and secondly, to refer to when you are evaluating the final product.
Results and presentation
Provide a title and a clear list of statements. They should be short and clear. The more statements that are given, the clearer you will be about what is to be done. In a commercial situation, Specifications can extend to many pages. Imagine what the Specification would be for "The London Eye".
Designing
When to do it
After the Specification has been checked.
What is to be done?
Basically it is in three parts. The first part is where ideas can be explored, visualised and commented upon with localised notation. The second is the part when the best of all ideas are pulled together creating a single proposal. Finally the proposal is detailed sufficiently so that if it was given to a different person, they would have enough information to make it.
How to do it
A mixture of drawing styles and notes. Select the drawing style that will communicate in the quickest way. Freehand drawings are ideal for seeing how something will be arranged or the way it will look but will not always provide the accuracy of measurement of a formal, instrument-drawn sheet. Drawings are as important a means of communicating as speech or written methods. Learn and practise the "grammar" of drawing as much as other communication methods.
Results and presentation
Guides about how the design section should be set out are usually provided by your Teacher. What they will be looking for is a variety of ideas that have notes against them saying why you think they are worthwhile or to be discarded. They would be arranged on the paper so that one would lead to another and the pages would be numbered and sub-titled.
Some pupils use ICT to create pages with borders, titles, names, page numbers and even Logos, so that they can be printed out and used for their design work. Separate pieces of paper can be bound or tied with coverings of slightly thicker coloured paper or card.
The section should read like a visual book with introductory ideas, development of the story, the final result and conclusion.
A book, where the conclusion is thought of first is very difficult to write. The same applies to the investigation and designing process.
Making
Designing at this stage is finished although problems may continue. This is normally expected, so efforts should be made to reduce or anticipate problems of manufacture.
What is required
A step by step plan of action. This could be in tabulated form, (using a table), or by adding the tasks to be done on a time line. Doing this will help you plan the resources you need and activities to be carried out. Each stage should enable you to keep your working area uncluttered and organised for the best use of your time and access to equipment that may have to be shared. This approach to making has the added advantage of providing a safer working environment not only for you but also for your peers.
When should things be done
Some things are obviously required to be done before other activies, but there may be areas that are not so clear. Demonstrations and guide sheets given to you should help you to place them in the right order.
How should activities be done
The first guide is through the knowledge you have collected. The second is by the guided observation of demonstrations. The third is applying all your previous knowledge and doing it yourself. If you investigated the properties of a material then the selection of the correct tool to carry out a task should be easier. If your knowledge of tools or processes are appropriate to the tasks that are to be carried out then you will be more likely to succeed. If in doubt then ask.
When machinery or hot processes are involved then apply the following guidelines.
Ensure that you have permission to use the equipment.
Before starting any machine it should be set up and checked.
Ensure all safety procedures are met and that you have any specific safety equipment to wear.
To feel worried about using a machine is normal although the worry is more likely to be lack of confidence and an acceptance that the equipment is powerful and dangerous if misused. A healthy respect for all tools and equipment will keep you safe and improve the likelihood and quality of success.
Where is work done?
It may seem obvious but when you are making things, many activities are mixed together. Design Technology workshops vary in the way things are arranged but generally have places where activities are best done. Use clean areas for writing or drawing changes and dirty areas for manufacturing. If using metal, plastic or wood, use the appropriate area, tools or gripping devices. Don't put metal in a woodworking device.
Benches are often "multi-purpose" and used for all bench work and materials. Work can be spoiled if bench surfaces are not protected when drilling, painting, sawing or gluing takes place.
Oil can ruin drawings and finishing processes. If what is to be done may cause damage or deteriation then find something to protect the surfaces.
Dusty areas are provided with safe extraction devices whereas heat processing will have the tools necessary in that area. Sometimes these areas are well defined but the best thing to do is to choose the appropriate area for the job to be done.
Testing
This stage is where the specifications, written earlier, are checked against the final product. This is called "criterion-based" testing. The criterion being the specification statements. The statements can be re-listed and a comment about the test can be written. Some tests may be totally successful; others may not. Admitting that some tests have failed is the correct thing to do and will generally improve the quality of this section as long as reasons are well explained and information is given to show what could be done to improve the situation. It is normal when making things for the first time, to find that some things go wrong or improvements may be made. Just think about some of the developments and problems that have happened in our commercial inventions.
The Design Process (problem-solving method) is the best method to use. So that problems can be anticipated, our knowledge used in the best way and to prevent mistakes.
