Every year, IB Design Technology students lose marks not because they lack effort or intelligence, but because they repeat the same avoidable mistakes. These mistakes often appear small at first, but they quietly limit marks across multiple criteria.
Understanding the most common IA mistakes early is one of the easiest ways to raise your final score without doing more work.
1. Starting With a Product Instead of a Problem
This is the single most common IA mistake.
Students often begin with:
- “I want to design a …”
- A product idea they already like
This leads to:
- Forced problem statements
- Weak justification
- Artificial iteration
IB Design Technology is problem-led, not product-led. When the product comes first, everything else becomes harder to justify.
2. Writing Vague or Untestable Design Requirements
Design requirements that cannot be tested cannot be evaluated.
Common weak requirements include:
- “The product should be easy to use”
- “The solution should be durable”
Without measurable criteria, testing becomes opinion-based, and evaluation loses credibility.
Strong requirements are specific, justified, and testable.
3. Doing Too Much Research (or the Wrong Kind)
Many students believe more research equals higher marks.
In reality, students lose marks by:
- Including large background sections
- Copying theory that never gets used
