Answers | Latest Update 2026 | 2027
This is In the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum, specifically for courses like Introduction to
Engineering Design (IED), the design process is typically defined as a 6-step iterative cycle. Exams
often require students to identify these steps, their specific deliverables, and the key activities within
each stage.
1. Define the Problem:
Activities: Identify, validate, and justify the problem; determine design requirements.
Key Deliverable: Design Brief (includes client, problem statement, design statement, criteria, and
constraints).
2. Generate Concepts:
Activities: Research past solutions, brainstorm new ones, and apply STEM principles.
Key Deliverable: Decision Matrix (a tool used to rank alternatives against specific criteria).
3. Develop a Solution:
Activities: Create a detailed design solution and technical drawings.
Key Deliverable: Technical Drawings (provides information like material, size, and assembly).
4. Construct and Test a Prototype:
Activities: Build a testable working model; test for performance, usability, and durability.
Key Deliverable: Test Report (contains data and analysis of findings).
5. Evaluate the Solution:
Activities: Reflect on design effectiveness, recommend improvements, and revise design documents.
Key Deliverable: Project Recommendations.
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, 6. Present the Solution:
Activities: Communicate the project results to an audience.
Key Deliverables: Formal Presentation and Project Portfolio.
Iterative Process: Exams frequently emphasize that the design process is not linear; designers often
revert to earlier steps based on new data or failed tests.
Design Brief vs. Statement: Know the difference—the brief is the overall plan, while the Design
Statement specifically describes what the solution should do without saying how to solve it.
Brainstorming Rules: Common questions focus on rules like "no criticism," "piling-on," and "quantity
over quality".
Prototyping: Distinguished from a model as a full-scale, functional representation used for actual
testing
Quiz_________________?
A full-scale working model used to test a design concept -
ANSWER✅
Prototype
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A group technique for solving problems, generating ideas, stimulating creative thinking, etc.
by unrestrained spontaneous participation in discussion -
ANSWER✅
Brainstorm
Quiz_________________?
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