Criterion D: Evaluating
Example material from the MYP
Objective D: Evaluating
When critically evaluating the success of a solution, you must objectively judge the solution against the specifications. This objective evaluation comes from analysing the data gathered by carrying out the tests designed.
You must analyse this data and make conclusions that identify strengths and weaknesses of the solution, along with opportunities for further development.
Testing against the design specifications template
Test against design specifications
Recording the results of tests against the design specifications example
Figure 72 - Suggested improvements example: Clock
To identify or predict the impact that a solution will have on a client or target audience, you must refer to the original problem, the design brief, the specification and the evaluation. You should use these aspects to draw conclusions about how well the design brief has been met. These conclusions may be presented in written form, as a list or as a table.The following questions may help you to explain the impact of the solution on the client or target audience.
(i) Design detailed and relevant testing methods that generate data to measure the success of the solution.
By the end of year 5 you should be able to:
Testing methodsAn effective and authentic measure of a design solution means that you tested against every aspect of the design specification. These tests can be classified as follows:
User observation
- The user is presented with the solution and is set a task to achieve with little or no guidance. The user’s interaction with the solution is observed and recorded.
User trials
- The user is presented with the solution and guided on how to use it. The user is asked questions as he or she interacts with the solution or is given a survey to complete. User trials may include focus groups.
- The design of interview or survey questions needs to be targeted to draw out responses that assess the solution against the specification.
Expert appraisal
A person considered an expert in the use of similar products is presented with the solution, given time to interact with the solution and then interviewed on aspects of its success. The expert has particular knowledge and skills that allow him or her to make judgments on the success of the solution. The expert may be the client.
Field trial
- A field trial is a test of the performance of a solution under the conditions and situation in which it will be used. For example, an interactive information point (developed in HTML) for a museum exhibit may be tested by the exhibit visitors in the museum, structured as a user trial or user observation.
Performance testing
- The performance of a solution is tested under the conditions in which it would normally be used. Quantitative data is collected through a variety of tests such as:
- destructive tests assessing impact strength or flammability
- cyclic tests
- measurement of physical properties such as weight and size
- timed tests for web pages to load
- ease of navigation through an interactive story, game or website.
Collecting dataBoth types of data collected through testing are considered primary sources of data.
Qualitative data deals with quality and is data gathered as descriptions. This data tends to be subjective and can be converted to a numerical value, eg “I like the overall shape of the solution, it fits my hand well, I would give it a 9 out of 10 for comfort” or “The layout of the webpage looks intuitive, it looks easy to navigate and the use of negative space makes it clear. I would rate the clarity of the page as 8 out of 10.”
Tests that can be used to obtain qualitative data include:
Tests that can be used to obtain quantitative data include:
Feedback from users example
Qualitative data deals with quality and is data gathered as descriptions. This data tends to be subjective and can be converted to a numerical value, eg “I like the overall shape of the solution, it fits my hand well, I would give it a 9 out of 10 for comfort” or “The layout of the webpage looks intuitive, it looks easy to navigate and the use of negative space makes it clear. I would rate the clarity of the page as 8 out of 10.”
Tests that can be used to obtain qualitative data include:
- using a questionnaire to find out if the target audience likes the look of a product
- surveying students to find out which parts of a video game they found too easy and which were too difficult
- interviewing an expert after he or she has interacted with a solution
- performing a user trial by giving a toy to children to play with and observing reactions.
Tests that can be used to obtain quantitative data include:
- timing users who are tasked with finding a particular piece of information on a website
- measuring a product to ensure it is the correct size and within weight limits
- beta-testing interactive media to find bugs
- running performance tests to determine the strength of a product
- checking the capacity of a storage device
- counting the number of hits on a website over a set period of time.
| Test - comparison with existing product | |
My product
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From the surveys, I can conclude that my product met most of my design specification. My product has three sections for putting different writing utensils and all sections are at least 11cm deep. Every section can stored more than 20 pencils and I have a drawer that can put more than 3 erasers. My product is made out of plywood and is joined well using glue and nails. I finished my product in time (10 create classes). For my fourth design specification (The design theme must be aesthetically pleasing to a female teenager around 14 to 16 years old, the colour theme will be plain solid colour), 6 people said it looks excellent and 5 said it looks good. Some like its simplicity and they said that the colour theme and popsicle sticks make the product looks pretty. However some also say that it is a little bit too plain and not very attractive.
What most students like about my product is its function and how it can stored many stationary. They also like the design: circular form and decorations (popsicle stick).
What they said can be improved id the drawer because it looks a bit small and it didn’t fit well, therefore it is hard to pull out. They also said I should make each sections less deep and wider because it is quite hard to pull the pencils out. They also said to change the colour theme from white to yellow or add more colour in the front (because it is too simple). |
(ii) Critically evaluate the success of the solution against the design specification
By the end of year 5 you should be able to:You must analyse this data and make conclusions that identify strengths and weaknesses of the solution, along with opportunities for further development.
Specification | Testing method | Evidence from tests |
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Test against design specifications
| Specifications | Yes/No | How is it met? |
| Must have at least 3 sections for putting different types of writing utensils | 5/5 | There are three sections for putting different types of writing utensils: one big section and two small sections |
| Must have enough space for storing at least 20 pencils | 5/5 | One of the small sections of my product can store 40 pencils |
| Must have 1 drawer for storing erasers that can store at least 3 small erasers | 5/5 | My drawer can stored 4 erasers |
| The design theme must be aesthetically pleasing to a female teenager around 14 to 16 years old. The color theme will be plain solid color | 3/5 | According to the survey results, 6 people said the design is excellent and 5 said it is good. Some say that the product is too plain |
| The depth of each section must be at least 11 cm drop | 5/5 | The long section is 11cm deep and the small ones are 14cm deep |
| Must be made out of wood | 5/5 | The product is made of plywood |
| Must be joined well using glues and screws/nails | 5/5 | The product is joined using latex glue and nails (from nail gun) |
| Must be completed within the time given (the create part) | 5/5 | The product is completed within the given time below |
(iii) Explain how the solution could be improved
By the end of year 5 students should be able to:
How can students identify how the solution could be improved?Through the objective evaluation of your solution, you should have identified weaknesses in your solutions. These weaknesses provide opportunities for further development and allow you to consider how you would refine your solution further.
Students can suggest these improvements in many forms, including:
Presenting possible improvements to a solution examples
Students can suggest these improvements in many forms, including:
- written text—paragraphs or tables
- diagrams and charts
- annotated photographs/screenshots of the prototype
- sketches
Amended drawings/diagrams/storyboards etc. Adding the name of the places in the pictures (Applies to both model and final) | This was suggested by the ministry of tourism and it is a valid improvement. This would be beneficial to my product because it would provide tourists with some information on what these places are called and it would help them later for further inquiries into Phnom Penh. It is also a good idea in general because it also advertises certain areas of Phnom Penh. |
Adding the Cambodian tourism website (Applies to both the model and full size display) | This was also suggested by the ministry and is a good idea as well. This will provide tourist with easy contact information. Most airports have Wi-Fi in them, thus, they are able to check out the website easily and find out more if they wish to. This is also smart. |
Add some facts or other information about Phnom Penh such as transport (Applies to both the model and full size display) | This would allow the tourists to see more about Phnom Penh without having to do further inquiries. This is helpful for them because they can decide just by seeing the booth. It may also provide for something more to look at in the booth because my booth is rather simple. |
Size of the lotus needs to be bigger (Applies to model) | The lotus on the model was a little too small that it would not look very good on the full size display. Therefore, it would be better to have a bigger lotus because it would look more impressive and would be a better central attraction. The lotus was small because of the sizes of paper used to create it. These sizes could be made bigger. |
| Strengths | Weakeness | Improvements |
| Tastes of the dishes The taste of both the dishes were excellent according to all of my target audiences. The pasta had a creamy flavour with juicy mushrooms, mock chicken which adds to the texture and soft spinach which balances out the dish. The salad had a wide range of vegetables which when eaten provide a crunchy experience for our tasters, but when combined with the sour of the lemon and thickness of the feta cheese, it tastes very sublime. Nutrients in the dishesThe nutrients in the dish ranged from protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals to dairy products. Even though the dish was for a vegetarian, it provided a sufficient amount of nutrition which is what an athlete needs in order to perform. Organization and Time-managementWe organized the cooking fairly and equally so that we could be efficient when cooking the dishes as well as have time to clean up as we go. This really benefitted us at the end because we finished just on time, even though we encountered a few problems during the end. When we faced any problems, we immediately fixed them and got on with the cooking to save time and also finish on time. | Appearance and texture of the pasta dish The appearance and texture of the pasta was not that great as we would have liked it to be. The design clearly wanted our pasta to be surrounding the sauce, but a minor mistake made us change the appearance so I am disappointed. The texture, consequently, was also ruined due to our poor quality sauce which was too thick. We were hoping to fix that mistake from the first time, but unfortunately, it did not work out the second time either. Cooking errors We did not identify some things correctly such as when the water was actually boiling because we accidentally put the pasta in non-boiling water so we need to be more focussed to fix that. | If I had a chance to redo this dish, I would definitely have done this twice and used the first time as a learning experience to fix all my mistakes and not repeat them again such as the thickness of the pasta cream sauce. I will also try and practice basic skills such as boiling at home beforehand so I can perform it correctly in school. I think I just need to cook more to get more experience with these sort of things which will lead to a perfect dish. Since pasta is eaten quite often, maybe next I would try and create my own dish that will excite my target audience a bit and give them something different to what they usually have. |
Figure 72 - Suggested improvements example: Clock(iv) Explain the impact of the solution on the client/target audience
By the end of year 5 students should be able to:To identify or predict the impact that a solution will have on a client or target audience, you must refer to the original problem, the design brief, the specification and the evaluation. You should use these aspects to draw conclusions about how well the design brief has been met. These conclusions may be presented in written form, as a list or as a table.The following questions may help you to explain the impact of the solution on the client or target audience.
- To what extent has the client’s or target audience’s problem been solved?
- How does this solution improve the client’s or target audience’s situation?
- To what extent has the design brief been met?
- Are there any negative effects this solution could have?
