Is the design cycle only for the IA in IB Design Technology?

No, and this is one of the biggest misunderstandings in IB Design Technology. The IA is where the design cycle is most visible, but exams reward the same thinking. When you justify a material, sequence a process, or critique a product’s success, you’re effectively using the cycle. Examiners don’t just want terms; they want designer logic. That’s why “evaluate” answers often score higher when they reference criteria and evidence. If you train the cycle as a habit, you’ll feel less surprised by unfamiliar scenarios.

Do I need to follow every stage perfectly to score well?

You don’t need to be robotic, but you do need to be convincing in IB Design Technology. Marks usually follow evidence: clear problem definition, relevant research, justified development, documented creation, and honest evaluation. The cycle is flexible, and iteration is often a strength rather than a mistake. If your initial idea changes, that can score well if you explain why and show what you learned. The real risk is skipping rationale, because it makes your work look unplanned. A good rule is: if you made a decision, write down the reason.

How do I get better at evaluation without sounding negative?

Strong evaluation in IB Design Technology is balanced, not harsh. Start by restating your success criteria, then compare results to those criteria with specific evidence. Name limitations as constraints or trade-offs, not as personal failures. Then propose improvements that are realistic and testable, not vague wishes. This turns evaluation into design maturity: you’re showing you understand how products evolve. Practicing timed evaluation paragraphs in mock conditions helps a lot, because it forces clarity. Tools like Questionbank feedback and AI Chat can also help you translate your thoughts into markscheme-style language.

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IB Design Technology: How the Design Cycle Shapes DT

IB Design Technology

• 19 Jul 2026•7

If you’ve ever opened an IB Design Technology question and felt like it was testing your mind more than your memory, you’re not imagining it. The subject is built around a quiet assumption: that good designers don’t jump to answers. They move through a process.

That process is the design cycle, and it shapes nearly everything in IB Design Technology: how you write, how you plan, how you justify, and how you earn marks when the pressure is on. With first exams for the new course landing in 2027, the smartest thing you can do early is stop seeing the design cycle as “IA paperwork” and start seeing it as the logic of the whole subject.

To keep everything in one place, start from RevisionDojo’s IB Design Technology hub and build outward from there.

Quick checklist: what to remember about the design cycle

The design cycle is the backbone of IB Design Technology thinking and marking
It applies to the IA and to exam responses (especially “apply” and “evaluate” command terms)
Strong work shows iteration: decisions, evidence, reflection, and improvement
Revision gets easier when you study topics through the lens of the design cycle
RevisionDojo tools (Questionbank, Study Notes, Flashcards, AI Chat, Grading tools, Predicted Papers, Mock Exams, Coursework Library, Tutors) make the cycle practical, not theoretical

What the design cycle really is in IB Design Technology

In IB Design Technology, the design cycle is a structured route from problem to solution, with proof at every step. You’ll often see versions of:

Identify: define the problem, user, constraints, and success criteria
Research: gather context, existing solutions, user needs, and data
Develop: generate and justify ideas, select a direction, plan testing
Create: model, prototype, test, refine, and document decisions
Evaluate: judge against criteria, reflect honestly, propose improvements

But here’s the part students miss: the design cycle isn’t a straight line. In IB Design Technology, it’s a loop that rewards you for changing your mind for good reasons.

If you want extra topic context (and great examples to steal structure from), browse the IB Design Technology topic pages and the IB Design Technology tag archive.

How the design cycle shapes IB Design Technology exams

Exams in IB Design Technology don’t just ask “what is X?” They ask “what would you do with X?” That’s design-cycle thinking.

Identify + Research becomes your exam setup

When a question introduces a scenario (a product, a user group, a context), your best answers start by clarifying what matters: constraints, stakeholders, and purpose. This is why topics like ergonomics and user needs show up so often: they feed the first two stages of the design cycle.

A good way to train this is to practice with focused items from the Questionbank, where you can repeat the same skill across different contexts. RevisionDojo’s Questionbank feature is built for that kind of repetition.

Develop + Create becomes how you earn method marks

In longer questions, marks come from justified choices: why this material, why this process, why this modeling method. If your response reads like a decision trail, it tends to score.

For example, manufacturing questions stop being random when you treat them like “create” stage decisions. A topic page like 4.4 Manufacturing processes is useful because it naturally connects theory to production decisions.

Evaluate is where top answers separate

Most students evaluate by saying “it worked well.” In IB Design Technology, evaluation means comparing outcomes to criteria, naming limitations, and proposing realistic improvements.

That’s why timed practice matters. A fast, honest evaluation paragraph under exam conditions is a trained skill, not a personality trait. RevisionDojo’s Online IB Mock Exams: Practice Anywhere, Anytime can help you rehearse that pressure.

Prototype collapses: “This IS the evaluation”

How the design cycle shapes the IA (and why that helps exam revision)

The IA is the design cycle made visible. Examiners want to see not only what you built, but how you thought.

A calm strategy in IB Design Technology is to let your IA train your exam brain:

Your Identify stage becomes practice writing precise problem statements
Your Research becomes practice selecting relevant evidence
Your Develop stage becomes practice justifying choices with criteria
Your Create stage becomes practice documenting tests and refinements
Your Evaluate stage becomes practice writing balanced judgment under constraints

If you want a supportive system around that workflow, the How to Use RevisionDojo for IB Design Technology Success guide pairs well with the main IB Design Technology hub.

A simple way to study IB Design Technology through the design cycle

Here’s a cycle-based revision loop you can run weekly:

Study Notes: read one subtopic to clarity, not to completion
Flashcards: turn definitions and key processes into daily recall
Questionbank: do 10-20 questions focused on one skill (materials choice, prototyping, evaluation)
AI Chat: ask one specific “why did I lose marks?” question
Mock Exams / Predicted Papers: one timed section per week to build performance

For DT-specific routines, use Best Study Strategies for IB Design Technology Students. If you’re rebuilding your system from scratch, How to Create Effective IB Design Technology Revision Notes is a strong companion.

Two study “solutions”: neat tabs vs panic tabs

Conclusion: let the design cycle carry your IB Design Technology score

The design cycle isn’t extra theory in IB Design Technology. It’s the subject’s operating system. When you study through it, your notes become sharper, your exam answers become more structured, and your IA becomes less overwhelming.

If you want one place where the whole cycle is supported, from Study Notes and Flashcards to Questionbank practice, AI Chat support, Grading tools, Predicted Papers, Mock Exams, Coursework Library resources, and Tutors, start with RevisionDojo’s IB Design Technology hub and build your routine around it.