Week 3 Design Challenge

This week, I have moved to the next stage in the design cycle

Last week, as can be seen in previous blog posts, I worked on the investigation stages, this week I have worked on the planning stage. This required me to map out four different designs; Chicken burger with sweet potato fries, Chicken wraps, Spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread, and Steak, mashed potato and vegetables. After mapping out each design and including the ingredients, utensils and any other materials/components, I then wrote up a decision matrix, using a supplied template on excel. After completing the matrix it was evident that the Chicken wraps were the best option. I had been hoping that the Burger would be the best option, as it is the most nutritional and healthy and would be the most appealing to the target audience (in my opinion), however, for safety, cost efficiency and the amount of recyclable materials that would be able to be used, reasons, it was not feasible, unfortunately.
Again, I am liking the use of concept mapping, it made the decision process very easy and easy to read and go back to, also allowing ideas to flow. However, I do not like the program I use or how it is set up, with the way the threads leave the original idea, but looking at other sites, this is the easiest option, as other sites charge for their use.
I also like the use of the decision matrix, making the final decision very simple, and any necessary changes that need to be made can easily be changed on the template. However, I was a little confused with different examples given of design matrix's and how they got their final results but enlisted some help and managed to complete my own. It's also been quite some time since I've used excel and I was a little rusty and had to enlist some help to remember how to change little things around, but after some fiddling, I got there. It would be a brilliant resource that all students should learn about. All students should be learning in school, at a young age, basic technology such as ALL the word programs e.g. excel! They are resources, people come across all the time in their life and are utilised in so many ways, therefore it is a must in teaching programs.