The technical process
You make something in steps: you look at the problem, design a solution, make it, test it and improve it. Then you sometimes start again.
You can start right here: nothing needed first.
Why
Why does making something yourself almost never work the first time?
You want a stand for your phone, so you can read the recipe while you cook. You start cutting and taping straight away. Half an hour later there is something on the table, but the phone slides off as soon as you tap the screen.
People whose job is designing things, from a bike shed to a new tram, work in fixed steps for that reason. First they write down what the thing has to do, then they try it out and improve it. Together these steps are called the technical process.
See it
Pick an example: a phone stand, a bird feeder or a paper bridge. Click Previous step or Next step, or a step in the loop, and read what you do in that step.
1. Problem. Your phone falls over when you watch a video on the table. You want a stand that holds it at a slant.
Description of the picture
A loop of five steps: Problem, Design, Make, Test and Improve. An arrow runs from Improve back to Design. For the chosen example each step says what you do there. For the paper bridge: the toy car cannot cross the gap, write down requirements and sketch, fold and tape the sheet, put coins on it, and strengthen the weak spot.
Get it
It all starts with a problem or a need. Describe it in one or two sentences: who has the problem, what goes wrong now, and what does a solution have to do? The clearer you write it down, the easier the next steps become.
When you design, you first make a list of requirements. A requirement must be met, for example: the phone does not fall over when you tap the screen. A wish is a nice extra but not needed, for example: the stand is in your favourite colour. Then you sketch a few different ideas, choose the one that best meets the requirements and make a working drawing with measurements, materials and an order of work.
When you make it, you carry out your plan. You mark out, cut, fold and join the parts in the order you planned. You work neatly and safely, with the right tools.
When you test, you check every requirement. You try something out or measure, and you write down the result: met or not met. A test is always linked to a requirement. Whether the thing looks nice is a wish at most.
When you improve, you find out why a requirement was not met. You change your design and go back to designing, making and testing. Sometimes you go round a few times until all the requirements are met. That is not failure, it is exactly how the technical process works.
Problem, design, make, test, improve. A requirement must be met, a wish may be. You test every requirement, and whatever does not work, you improve by designing again.
Worked example
The requirement for your paper bridge is: it holds ten coins. You put coins on it and at seven it sags. Which step are you in, and what do you do now?
You put coins on the bridge to check whether it meets the requirement. That is the test step.
Seven is less than ten, so the requirement is not met.
You move on to improving: you look for the weak spot, for example the flat sheet that bends, and you design something stiffer, such as a sheet folded into a U.
Then you make the new bridge and test it again with coins.
- Answer
You were in the test step. The requirement is not met, so you improve the design and test again.
Do it
Pick a level. You get a new exercise every time, checked straight away.
Make it
A cardboard phone stand, step by step40 minutes
What you need
- stiff cardboard, for example from a box
- a pair of scissors
- a ruler and a pencil
- sticky tape or a glue stick
- a sheet of paper for your requirements and sketches
- a book the size of a phone to test with
How to do it
- Write the problem down in one sentence, for example: I want my phone to stand at an angle when I follow a recipe.
- Write down at least three requirements, such as: the phone stands at an angle, it does not fall over when you tap the screen, the charging cable fits. Add one or two wishes.
- Sketch three different ideas and choose the one that best meets your requirements.
- Draw the parts on the cardboard with ruler and pencil and cut them out.
- Fold and tape the stand together.
- Test each requirement and write yes or no next to it.
- Improve whatever got a no, then test again.
Safely: Cut away from your body and keep your fingers clear of the scissors. Cardboard that is too thick for scissors should be cut by an adult. Only put a real phone in the stand once it stands firmly with the book.
Test it
Put the book in the stand and tap the front firmly ten times. The stand must not fall over or collapse flat, and the cable must fit. Every requirement with a yes is met; with a no, you know what to improve.
Pitfalls
Wrong: I start cutting and taping straight away, so I finish sooner.
Without requirements and sketches you do not know what you have to achieve. You waste material and often have to start all over again.
Right: First write down your requirements and make a few sketches. Then choose the best idea, and only then start making.
Wrong: Testing means checking whether it looks nice.
A test is linked to a requirement. You try something out or measure, and you write down what happens.
Right: Test each requirement on its own, for example: how many coins does the bridge hold, and does the phone fall over when you tap the screen?
Wrong: A wish is just as important as a requirement.
A design that meets every wish but misses one requirement does not work well. A design that meets every requirement but misses a wish does work.
Right: First make sure every requirement is met. Only then look at which wishes you can add.
Wrong: If my test fails, my work has failed.
A test that shows what could be better is doing exactly its job. That is why you test.
Right: Write down what went wrong, improve the design and test again.
In real life
- When people have a house built, they first make a list of requirements and wishes with the architect, such as the number of bedrooms or a south-facing garden. Only then are the plans drawn.
- A bike mechanic who adjusts your brakes then tests on the street whether the bike brakes well. If it does not brake well enough, they adjust it again.
- A baker who wants to sell a new loaf first bakes test loaves, tastes them and adjusts the recipe until it is right.
History
The Wright brothers, two bicycle makers from the United States, wanted to build an aeroplane. They built a small wind tunnel themselves and tested many different wing shapes in it. With what they learned, they improved their design again and again. In 1903 they flew their own powered aeroplane for the first time.
More in Lus
A computer program is made in rounds too: think it up, write it, test it and fix the mistakes. You practise that in Lus.
To LusAt the table
Which thing in your home would you design again, and which three requirements would you write down?
A question to talk about together, for parents and children. There is no wrong answer.