Lesson video

Hi there, everyone.

My name is Mr. Booth, and welcome to your design and technology lesson for today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Today, we are going to be testing and evaluating your wearable tech product.

This is the culmination of bringing everything together and making sure that your product actually works and does what we all decided it would do when we started.

This, of course, is part of your "Functional Prototypes: Wearable Technology" unit.

Today's outcome, I want you to be able to test and evaluate your product.

We have four keywords for today, and they are all related.

First of all, we have feedback, comments on a design to help improve or refine it.

Once we've got our feedback, we can then analyze it.

So that's analyzing, examining something in detail.

We then have modifications, making changes or adjustments to improve or alter the design.

And finally, evaluate, to judge how a product meets a chosen criteria.

And in this case, we could take that criteria from a design brief or a design or manufacturing specification.

We have two learning cycles today.

The first one is how we are gonna test our product, and the second one is all about evaluating that product.

So let's take a look at the first one.

There are different ways to test products.

I'm sure you know that.

These include measuring aspects of the product, physically using the product yourself, or even better, observing a user testing your product.

Now we are gonna observe a user testing the product, and that's really important to get their feedback because, of course, that's who we designed our product for.

But before we ask someone to test the product, it's really important that we plan what we want to observe in order to get the best possible feedback that we can get.

Quick check for understanding: Which are ways of testing products?

We have A, use it personally; B, measure aspects of it; C, observe a user testing of the product; or D, plan the manufacture of the product.

Pause the video now, select all the answers that you think are correct, and come back to me when you've done that.

It is, of course, use it personally, measure aspects of the product, and observe users testing the product.

Well done.

So it's helpful to consider the original criteria of the product before testing it.

Now, that might be from a design brief, it could be from a specification, it could be an amalgamation of the two.

What we're gonna use in this case is we are gonna use that original design brief.

So let's remind ourselves of what that design brief actually was.

"I'm gonna design a wearable device for young children that lights up automatically.

It could be attached to the child's coat or book bag.

It'll be used when walking to and from school in the dark in those autumn and winter months.

The light will make sure that other people can see the child, which is really important when crossing the busy road near our house.

" So that is the design brief that was originally set out by Sam before even considering the design of this product.

What Sam needs to do now is identify the criteria from her design brief.

So we know it needs to be a wearable device.

It needs to light up automatically, and that wearable device needs to attach to a child's coat or some kind of bag.

In this case, it was a book bag.

Sam plans to observe a user attaching the device to a bag, 'cause let's remember, that's one of the criteria.

Then walking into a dark area and then back into a light area.

That sounds like a really suitable test.

She wants to see how easy it is for the user to attach and detach the device.

That's important, but she also wants to see if it lights up automatically.

And the changing light levels of moving from dark to light is really important to test.

Quick check for understanding: Where can the design criteria be found?

A, in a primary research; B, in a design brief; C, in a specification; or D, in the secondary research?

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've answered.

It is, of course, design brief or specification, or you could amalgamate the two.

Onto your first task.

I want you to plan the tests that you will carry out for your wearable device.

Remember to consider the original design criteria from your design brief or specification.

I then want you to conduct the tests and record the results.

Really important that you record those results.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've completed it.

So, how did you get on?

Well, let's look at how Sam did.

So, first of all, it was all about planning those tests to carry out, remembering to consider the design brief or the specification.

So Sam said, "I will observe a user attaching the device to a bag and then walking into a dark area and then back into a light area.

I want to see how easy it is for the user to attach and detach the device using the hook-and-loop fastening, and whether it is suitable for the intended age group.

I also want to see if it automatically lights up with changing light levels, as I planned.

" Secondly, I wanted you to conduct the tests and record the results.

"The hook-and-loop fastening was easy to attach to the bag.

My user said this would be easier for younger children, too, as it didn't require much effort to open and close.

" So it's very accessible to a wide range of users.

That's really important.

"The micro:bit worked as I planned: it lit up in the dark and stayed off in the light.

" Fantastic feedback from the results and the tests there.

Now, onto your next learning cycle.

We've now tested the product.

We're now gonna evaluate it.

To evaluate means to judge how a product meets a chosen criteria.

The criteria for Sam's product, as we know, are: a wearable device, to attach to a coat or a bag or a multitude of bags, and to light up automatically when it gets dark.

Sam has conducted some tests and now needs to analyze the results.

To analyze means to examine in detail.

So we're gonna really think about those results to see if we can identify anything that we possibly need to consider to change.

Sam observed the user attaching the device to the bag using the hook-and-loop fastening easily.

She also observed the user walking into a dark corridor where the micro:bit lit up.

Quick check for understanding: To judge how a product meets chosen criteria is: A, a specification; B, an explanation; or C, an evaluation?

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've answered.

It is, of course, an evaluation.

Well done.

Sam now needs to analyze the feedback from the user testing that we did against the design criteria and write an evaluation.

Remember our criteria: a wearable device, attached to a child's coat or bag, automatically light up in the dark.

"The user testing showed that the product successfully meets the criteria of being attachable to the bag.

" That's a good start.

"It worked well on both a backpack and a lunch bag, making it suitable for school use.

However, it did not fit securely on a coat, which means it only partially meets the wearable requirement.

" Continuing that evaluation: "Although the automatic lighting function worked correctly when the user walked into a dark corridor, I'm not sure how it would work outside.

I will need to conduct further testing in different areas and at different times of the day to confirm that this function works correctly.

" So, that's brilliant.

So, Sam needs to carry out further tests to make sure the product works.

Quick check for understanding: To analyze means: A, to examine quickly; B, to examine in detail; or C, to examine close-up?

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, B, to examine in detail.

Well done.

When you've analyzed the feedback and written an evaluation, you can then consider any further improvements or modifications which could be made to your design.

Remember, you are on an iterative journey, and you could continue iterating your product using feedback from your users again and again to refine your product to make it more suitable for your users.

Now Sam noticed that while the leather strap was long enough to wrap around a coat sleeve and fasten using the hook-and-loop system, it was not very secure.

And this was because there was limited contact area between the hook-and-loop materials.

If there aren't enough hooks and loops holding onto each other, it could come apart and fall off.

To improve the design, well, Sam decided the hook-and-loop could be extended to allow for a longer strap, which would fit around a coat sleeve more securely.

So we're now onto your final task, task B.

I want you to list the design criteria from your design brief.

I then want you to analyze the feedback from your tests and write an evaluation.

I want you to sketch or model and annotate to explain an improved design.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've completed it.

So, how did you get on?

Well, let's have a look at some sample answers from Sam.

First of all, we had to list the design criteria from our brief, or it could have been your specification or a mixture of the two.

And if you remember, for Sam's device, of course, is a wearable device attached to a child's coat or bag, automatically light up in the dark.

I then wanted you to analyze the feedback from your tests and write an evaluation.

Let's see how Sam got on.

"The user testing shows that the product meets some of the criteria.

It fits easily onto a bag but does not fit onto a coat.

Also, because the user tested the automatic function inside a dark corridor, I'm not sure how it would work outside.

" And finally, I wanted you to sketch or model and annotate to explain and improve design.

So let's have a look at what Sam did.

The hook-and-loop could be extended to allow for a longer strap, which would fit around a coat sleeve.

This would also reduce the risk of the strap catching or loosening as the user move their arm back and forwards.

So that's a fantastic way to improve it.

And, of course, Sam could now go and model that and make another prototype to see if this actually worked, and then repeat the iterative process again and test the product with the user.

So that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Let's have a quick summary.

There are different ways to test products, including measuring aspects, physically using it yourself, or even better, observing others using it, including your user.

When evaluating, we consider the design criteria and judge how successfully the product has met that criteria.

And finally, all designs can be iterated to show further modifications, and using all those wonderful things that we've learned in this lesson.

That brings us to the end of this lesson.

You've been absolutely brilliant today.

Well done, and I look forward to seeing you all next time.

Goodbye.