1.40445 · Section 1: Common content: Product Design

Selection, planning and organisation

Key learnings

Select against the spec and four factors
Selecting which idea to make is a reasoned judgement, not personal taste. Judge each against the specification — does it meet every requirement (size, function, user, cost limit)? — and the four practical factors: time, cost, skill and resources. An idea needing skills, materials or equipment the workshop lacks is a poor choice. Name WHY the chosen idea beats the others.
Development is reasoned decision-making
Development turns the selected idea into something makeable through reasoned decisions: form (shape, size, refined by modelling in card, foam or CAD); materials (which material, and why); fixings and construction (how parts join); and finish (protecting surfaces). Marks are for the decisions, each tested against the specification, not the models. Development is NOT neat drawing — that is communication.
A production plan looks forward
A production plan is written BEFORE making starts. Its heart is the order of work — a numbered sequence (mark out, cut, shape, assemble, finish, test). It also needs working drawings with dimensions and named materials — enough for a third party to make it — a cutting list, tools and time estimate per stage, quality-control checks and health-and-safety notes. A plan looks FORWARD; a record of what was done is not a plan.

Common mistakes

Drawn from real examiner reports.

Describe vs evaluate when selecting

The selection part's most-reported weakness is candidates describing ideas ("it has a lid, holds three pens") instead of evaluating them. To evaluate, weigh the positive AND negative features of each against the specification, link them to time, cost, skill or resources, then reach a justified decision on which to make.

s23 P11-13 Qd

A photo diary is not a plan

Candidates often hand in a photographic diary — pictures taken WHILE making — and call it the production plan. It is not: a plan is written BEFORE making and sets out a numbered sequence of stages to follow. A diary only records what already happened. Present a forward, numbered order of work prepared before cutting begins.

w23 P02 AC5

Development is not neat presentation

The definition trap: development is not neat presentation. Candidates model the idea in 2D, 3D or CAD but never show the REASONED DECISIONS — why this form, material, fixing and finish. Development is a trail of decisions tested against the spec (e.g. a butt joint changed to a knock-down fitting so it flat-packs), not a tidy drawing.

s23 P02 AC4; w23 P02 AC4

The best idea isn't the cheapest

A testable wrong belief: that selecting means picking the cheapest, or best-looking, option. Cost is only ONE of four factors. A solution is chosen by balancing time, cost, skill and resources, and above all by how well it meets the specification. The cheapest idea may be impossible in the time, need skills the workshop lacks, or fail the user's job.

Unjustified "it is the best" verdicts

Bare assertions with no reason score nothing on a selection part: "it would work well", "this is the best idea", "I like it". Every judgement needs a reason — a spec point, or time, cost, skill or resources. "Idea B is best because it meets every spec point and can be made in the lesson with our tools" scores; "idea B is best" does not.

s23 P12 Q2d; P13 Q3d

An order of work is not a whole plan

Listing only the order of operations is not a complete plan. It also needs dimensioned working drawings, a cutting list with quantities, tools and a time estimate per stage, quality-control checks and health-and-safety notes. Dimensions fix size, the cutting list controls waste and QC checks catch faults early.

Working drawings without dimensions

A recurring planning fault: working drawings with no dimensions, and sometimes no named materials, so a third party could not make the product from them. A working drawing exists so that a skilled maker who never saw the product could build it correctly. Add actual sizes to every part and name each material.

s23 P02 AC5; w23 P02 AC5

Exam tips

Weigh pros and cons, then decide
On a select/justify item the top band needs a judgement, not a description. Give each option a specific strength and weakness linked to the spec and to time, cost, skill or resources. End with a clear decision — which idea you make and why it beats the others.
Make the plan a third party could follow
Write the plan so a skilled maker could build the product unaided: a numbered order of work, dimensioned working drawings with named materials, a cutting list, tools and a time estimate per stage, plus quality-control checks.
Show development as justified decisions
For development marks, present a trail of decisions, each reasoned and tested against the spec: why this material, joint and finish. "Changed to a knock-down fitting so it flat-packs" is development; a neater drawing of the same idea is not.

Revision notes