The Major Design Project
Project Proposal and Management
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- presenting and exploring the intended need and providing direction for idea development
- presenting criteria related to the project.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- developing action, time and finance plans which reflect the methods used and providing evidence of how or when this was achieved
- ensuring that multimedia presentations are clearly related to the intended project.
Project Development and Realisation
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- presenting projects and documentation in a progressive manner
- using a wide range of sources
- using practical skills to develop and test possible solutions
- using current equipment, technology and software
- applying a wide and varied range of techniques to clearly communicate the development of concepts.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- ensuring that testing and decision making are relevant to the proposed problem
- providing evidence of resources used in the development of the project
- adhering to recommended font size and page restrictions
- applying relevant testing to enhance the quality of the project.
Project Evaluation
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- judiciously selecting and modifying alternatives to projects in order to better fulfil a need
- providing evidence of ongoing decision making related to the development of a quality product.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- relating aesthetic attributes of the project to the problem being solved
- providing evidence of the effect of the project on individuals and society
- providing depth of discussion in the multimedia presentation, when used as an evaluation tool, including links between the need and the project.
Written Examination
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- stating how design factors can be applied in the development of two similar products (Q11)
- understanding the importance of ongoing evaluation (Q12a)
- demonstrating an understanding of how some technologies can be used in the process of evaluation (Q12b)
- describing a number of innovative products that contribute to the quality of life (Q13).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- working beyond ‘aesthetics’ and ‘ergonomics’ as the only factors that a designer would apply in the development of designs (Q11)
- ensuring that all technologies, referenced in their response, are clearly linked to evaluative processes (Q12b)
- providing a broader scope of understanding of what is meant by ‘quality of life’ and utilising the language of ‘cause and effect’ to provide for clear and explicit explanations (Q13).
Section III
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- drawing upon a number of stimulus items to support the foundations of an extended response
- providing relative examples to support responses
- demonstrating some understanding of the relationship that exists between emerging technologies and social impacts.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- utilising examples other than those presented in the stimulus to form the basis of their analysis
- providing responses that are logical and cohesive in structure
- developing a greater understand of the difference and interrelationship that exist between emerging technologies and innovations
- developing a broader understanding of how emerging technologies impact on different facets of society, working beyond the immediate user.
