1. Object analysis
1.1. We can find the solution to a problem in everyday objects; by analysing and modifying these objects, we can create new ones to suit our needs better, for it we analyse objects from every possible point of view, which are:
1.1.1. Morphological analysis
1.1.1.1. We analyse:
1.1.1.1.1. Shape
1.1.1.1.2. Size
1.1.1.1.3. Colour
1.1.1.1.4. Physical characteristics
1.1.2. Functional analysis
1.1.2.1. We analyse:
1.1.2.1.1. How it works
1.1.2.1.2. Utility
1.1.2.1.3. How it's used
1.1.2.1.4. Potencial risks of it's use
1.1.3. Technical analysis
1.1.3.1. We analyse:
1.1.3.1.1. How it was made
1.1.3.1.2. Study of it's materials
1.1.3.1.3. Technology used to make it
1.1.3.1.4. How its parts are joined together
1.1.3.1.5. Enviromental risks of thematerials used
1.1.4. Economic analysis
1.1.4.1. We analyse:
1.1.4.1.1. The financial cost of manufacturing
1.1.4.1.2. Its selling price
1.1.4.1.3. The materials and manufacturing procedures used are cheap or they make the product more expensive
1.1.4.1.4. If the selling price of the object is correct.
1.1.5. Social analysis
1.1.5.1. We analyse:
1.1.5.1.1. The object from the point of view of its social impact
1.1.5.1.2. The human needs that it meets
1.1.5.1.3. Its environmental impact and recyclability
1.1.6. Aesthetic analysis
1.1.6.1. We analyse:
1.1.6.1.1. How our senses react to the object
1.1.6.1.2. Its appearance
1.1.6.1.3. If its looks nice or not
1.1.6.1.4. If we find it attractive or not
1.1.7. Historical analysis
1.1.7.1. We analyse:
1.1.7.1.1. The possible reasons why the object emerged
1.1.7.1.2. Its historical development
1.1.7.1.3. Its future development
2. Distribution and commercial promotion
2.1. When we build a product it must be promoted so that we can distribute it and ensure that it reaches the whole society.
2.1.1. Price
2.1.1.1. Price is a crucial element in the sale of a product, because of it, when we set a price, we consider:
2.1.1.1.1. The profit margin that we want to obtain over production costs.
2.1.1.1.2. The prices of similar products offered by the competition
2.1.1.1.3. The sensitivity of the consumer to increases or decreases in product demand.
2.1.2. Distribution
2.1.2.1. When a company distributes a product, it decides which channels it will use to reach the end user. The most common distribution channels are:
2.1.2.1.1. Wholesale
2.1.2.1.2. Retail sale
2.1.2.1.3. Online sale
2.1.3. Promotion
2.1.3.1. The most common types of promotion are:
2.1.3.1.1. Advertising campaigns on television.
2.1.3.1.2. Advertising campaigns in the newspapers.
2.1.3.1.3. Advertising campaigns on digital media.
2.1.3.2. Sometimes, promotional activities can create a non-existent need in the end user, This is the case with mobile phones. By contrast, staple products such as milk or bread do not need any promotion.
2.1.3.2.1. Staple products: their users need them and will buy them regardless of any promotional activity. The price of these products is generally stable.
3. Technological products. Obsolescence. Influence on society
3.1. Very often, technology s answer to the problems of today’s society does not require us to create a brand new product, we can just simply adapt an existing product to the new conditions, these are known as modifications or innovations.
3.1.1. Innovations have helped to improve many everyday products, however, this has also caused their rapid obsolescence.
3.1.1.1. Obsolescence means that some products have fallen into disuse because they do not have the functionality of the new technologies appearing on the market.
3.1.1.2. Most of the time, the reasons for product obsolescence are financial, to increase their profits, retailers expressly engineer their products so that they have to be renewed after a certain time, this is known as planned obsolescence.
3.1.1.2.1. Planned obsolescence means that the products stop working after a time, not because they are damaged but because they have been designed to stop working properly after that period.
3.1.2. The constant renewal of products to include innovations or because of obsolescence has a huge impact on society
3.1.2.1. Positive influence of technological development in society:
3.1.2.1.1. Now we can be independent of weather conditions
3.1.2.1.2. We are able to settle in one place
3.1.2.1.3. All members of society can communicate with each other
3.1.2.1.4. Our life expectancy has increased considerably
3.1.2.2. Negative influence of technological development in society:
3.1.2.2.1. Technological development has increased the use of fossil fuels, which has caused:
3.1.2.2.2. Product obsolescence generates a build-up of waste, this waste is not generally biodegradable and it is highly polluting, which also causes environmental problems.
4. Technology problem solving
4.1. Project approach: is an orderly working method to address issues and find a solution to our problems. This very simple methodis based on a series of basic operations, these are:
4.1.1. Analyse
4.1.1.1. Detect the problem or need
4.1.1.2. Information and research
4.1.1.3. Search for possible solutions
4.1.1.4. Choose the solution
4.1.2. Build
4.1.2.1. Design
4.1.2.2. Prepare and plan the work
4.1.2.3. Build the product
4.1.3. Evaluate
4.1.3.1. Check the results
4.1.3.2. Presentation and assessment
5. Designing, building and evaluating
5.1. Design
5.1.1. Design stage is specially important, is when we define all the features of the solution, to complete these process we need a series of technical documents which are:
5.1.1.1. Drawings
5.1.1.2. List of materials and tools
5.1.1.3. Budget
5.2. Building
5.2.1. Included in the initial planning for developing the prototype are:
5.2.1.1. Drawings
5.2.1.2. List of materials and tools
5.2.1.3. Budget
5.2.2. During building activities we should monitor the construction process every day to stick to our deadlines and to detect any faults in the planning. For this we use a:
5.2.2.1. Process sheet; is the document that reflects the daily progress of the building process, in here we should describe:
5.2.2.1.1. The completed tasks and the names of the people in charge of them
5.2.2.1.2. The difficulties we encountered
5.2.2.1.3. Changes or modifications that we make
5.3. Evaluation
5.3.1. Once we have built the prototype, we must:
5.3.1.1. Test it to check that it satisfies the initial conditioning factors and that it works how we expected.
5.3.1.2. Evaluate the production process.
5.3.1.2.1. We put all of this evaluations in the project report, the project report must include:
5.3.1.3. Evaluate the planning by:
5.3.1.3.1. Reflecting on how we could improve the design.
5.3.1.3.2. Gathering impressions from the potential users of the product.
6. In the workshop
6.1. Organising work in the workshop
6.1.1. In the workshop, we share out tasks among the members of our group by allocating roles and duties.
6.1.2. In the workshop, depending on how many people are in the group, an individual may have one or more roles. These can be:
6.1.2.1. Coordinator
6.1.2.2. Secretary
6.1.2.3. Tools manager
6.1.2.4. Materials manager
6.1.2.5. Cleaning manager
6.2. Rules of safety in the workshop
6.2.1. The workshop is a place where we use dangerous tools and materials, because of it we must always follow the basic safety rules, these are:
6.2.1.1. Always keep the workshop tidy.
6.2.1.2. Always use a brush to dean shavings off your table.
6.2.1.3. Keep your workstation tidy.
6.2.1.4. Use tools properly.
6.2.1.5. Do not eat or drink in the workshop.
6.2.1.6. Tie long hair back and keep scarves out of the way because they could get caught and cause accidents.
6.2.1.7. Do not interrupt classmates or walk in front of them while they are cutting something.
6.2.1.8. Always try to economise on material.