New
New
Lesson 16 of 18
  • Year 10

Commercial viability: communal areas

I can identify and understand the factors in making products commercially viable.

Lesson 16 of 18
New
New
  • Year 10

Commercial viability: communal areas

I can identify and understand the factors in making products commercially viable.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Commercial viability is whether a product can be made, sold, and make a profit in the real world.
  2. Commercial viability helps businesses make decisions about materials, manufacturing, pricing, and marketing.
  3. It ensures the product is realistic, meets customer needs, and can compete with similar products in the market.

Keywords

  • Commercial viability - the likelihood of a product being successful in its target market and making a profit

  • Profit - the money a business earns after paying all its costs

  • Target market - the specific group of people a product is designed and sold for

Common misconception

Commercial viability only relates to how well a product works.

A product can work well or be aesthetically pleasing, but if it’s too expensive to make, doesn’t meet market demand, or won’t sell at a profit, it isn’t commercially viable.


To help you plan your year 10 design and technology lesson on: Commercial viability: communal areas, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use real-life product case studies (e.g., successful and unsuccessful products) to show students how good design doesn’t always mean commercial success. Discuss factors like cost of production, target market, pricing, and demand.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Examples of successful and unsuccessful products.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What are coatings or treatments applied to a material or product called?

protective films
surface textures
Correct answer: surface finishes

Q2.
Which polymer processes are self-finishing?

wasting
fabricating
deforming
Correct answer: reforming

Q3.
are designs which are printed onto vinyl and then applied to a smooth surface.

Correct Answer: Decals

Q4.
When a polymer product is manufactured using a deforming process, the quality of the surface finish is determined by the quality of the ...

Correct answer: mould.
polymer.
design.
materials.

Q5.
Which of these polymer products would be enhanced using flame retardant additives?

toy building brick
baby feeding spoon
Correct answer: plug socket
outdoor seating

Q6.
Which of these polymer products would include biodegradable additives?

window frame
Correct answer: carrier bag
reusable drinks container
3D printing filament

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
The likelihood of a product being successful in its target market and making a profit is called .

Correct Answer: commercial viability

Q2.
What is the money a business earns after paying all of its costs?

Correct answer: profit
revenue
capitol
expenses

Q3.
The specific group of people a product is designed and sold for is called?

Correct Answer: target market

Q4.
When should designers research and consider commercial viability of the product?

before they start the design process
Correct answer: during the design process
after the design process
once the product has been manufactured