Practice IB Design Technology (First Exam 2027) Topic B2.1 The Design Process with authentic exam-style questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank focuses on the exact syllabus content for B2.1 The Design Process and mirrors Paper 1, 2 style where relevant.
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What is the role of secondary research in the design process?
Verdant Systems is developing a soil moisture monitor for household pot plants, which reads a probe in the soil and displays a watering prompt on a small screen. At this stage of the design process the team has built the low-fidelity prototype shown in Figure 3: an Arduino microcontroller board wired with jumper leads across a solderless breadboard to a 16 by 2 character LCD module. Nothing is soldered, no casing has been made, and any component can be repositioned by hand in seconds. The team intends to run the model, test and refine cycle on this prototype before committing to the final housing and circuit board.
Figure 3: The team's low-fidelity prototype, an Arduino board wired on a solderless breadboard to an LCD module
State one low-fidelity material suitable for making a structural mock-up of the casing for the monitor.
Outline the stages of the model, test and refine cycle the team will use.
Evaluate the use of a low-fidelity breadboard prototype, rather than a high-fidelity prototype, at this stage of the design process.
What is the role of a persona in design?
A design team has been tasked with developing a compact countertop composting appliance that encourages sustainable food waste disposal in small urban kitchens. They use a structured design process to create a solution that is functional, hygienic, and intuitive to use.
The team begins the project by identifying key user needs through stakeholder interviews with eco-conscious urban dwellers.
Identify one user need that might influence the design of a composting appliance.
Explain two reasons why engaging stakeholders early in the design process is important.
The designers move into the ideation phase and develop several early concept sketches based on the stakeholder findings.
Describe three benefits of using sketches during the concept development phase.
Outline four features the team should evaluate when selecting the most appropriate concept.
After selecting a preferred concept, the team builds a prototype and tests it with a group of users in a simulated environment.
Discuss how user testing with prototypes can influence the final design of the appliance.
Evaluate the effectiveness of following a structured design process (such as the double diamond) in the development of this composting appliance.
Which of the following activities is LEAST associated with the modelling stage?