Iterative design
The iterative process in design
Designing a product for a In business, a client is a person or organisation that wants a product manufactured, eg a retailer. can be done in several ways. A person or company that makes something from raw materials or from an assembly of component parts. cannot risk investing large amounts of money into the production of a product that has not had adequate design, modelling, testing, The first working model of a design used for testing, development and evaluation. and To judge the quality and performance of a product..
A cyclic design process of modelling and testing to achieve gradual improvements to the design. is a circular design process that models, evaluates and improves designs based on the results of testing.
Analysis
Starting with a A set of instructions given to a designer by a client. a designer may come up with a good idea that solves a problem. Using an iterative design process, a model can be made from a design sketch and then tested. The test results may suggest failures and A change made to improve something. to the design. These changes are evaluated, and then the cycle begins again - until the best solution to the problem is found.
Sketching design ideas
This involves creating a series of Drawing without guides such as rulers. of design ideas that may help solve the problem in the design brief. These could be different from each other or developments of an original idea.
Modelling
Creating a model of a product. ideas in card, paper, clay or other materials can create a cheap and quick way to do initial trials with a product. Using an easy to modify material provides a good way of seeing how a product looks and works, eg checking handles are in the right place or parts fit together well. Taking photographs or video throughout this can show development.
Testing
Once a model has been made it can be tested in a variety of ways:
- destructive testing - tests the product to its extreme to see what conditions it can tolerate before being destroyed to help decide on the best materials and construction methods to use
- non-destructive testing - tests the model to identify areas of weakness without destroying it, to test the function of the product and highlight any unexpected design flaws
- market testing - tests the product with its The group of people a product is made for., to give feedback on performance and design
Evaluating
The data that is gathered from the testing of a model can be in the form of questions answered or tables of measurements or results. These can then be To examine in detail. and used to improve aspects such as:
- How something looks.
- A section of code that, when programming, can be called by another part of the program with the purpose of returning one single value.
- safety
- strength
Evaluation is crucial in the design process as it can highlight any modifications that need to be made at the next stage. It is also a valuable point at which to consider the product against the original Document containing details of a product's required characteristics, and all the processes, materials and other information needed to design the product. and ensure the client or target market鈥檚 needs are met.
Modification
From the evaluation, a designer can revisit the models and design ideas to make improvements to:
- performance
- style
- function
- cost
Becoming To become stuck on a single point or idea. on a particular idea can become an issue when trying to develop a new solution to a design problem. This can be avoided by:
- When two or more people work together to achieve a goal.
- feedback from A group of people who are the target market of a product and test a product before manufacturing.
- testing a product