Iterative design
Design & Technology · GCSE · The School
Explore, create, evaluate
GCSE D&T is assessed on an ITERATIVE process: explore the context and users, create something, evaluate it, and go round again — repeatedly. It is deliberately not design-then-make-then-write-up; the specification rewards the loop, and a portfolio that shows one straight line through the work loses marks even if the outcome is good.
Prototypes answer questions
A prototype is not a small finished product; it is a question made physical. 'Is this handle comfortable?' needs only a handle in card and tape. Build the cheapest thing that answers the question, get it in front of a user, and record what you learned. Cardboard on day two is worth more than perfect CAD on day thirty.
Evidencing iteration
Photograph every version including the bad ones. Date them. Write what you asked, what happened and what changed as a result. Examiners are looking for decisions driven by evidence — 'the user could not grip it, so the handle grew from 20mm to 32mm' is exactly the sentence that scores.