Research your device user
Use your existing work to explain the need, fill research gaps and write a focused brief.
For this lesson
Use your existing work to explain the need, fill research gaps and write a focused brief.
Finish the current lesson first. During the holiday, spend about 30 minutes gathering the missing user evidence and examples. Bring a draft to the first lesson after the holiday; use the teacher check to finish it.
Work through the sheet
Write in the editable handout or on the printed sheet. Add labelled sketches, screenshots or extra pages when you need them.
- 01
Explain the need
Use your connected-product research, working blink sketch and One LED three messages work. Name your audience: a specific school user who needs a clear status message or useful information. A working light is a useful start, but a connected product also needs a real purpose, understandable messages and a plan for information flow. Explain one specific difficulty and why it matters. Interview a potential school user about a small recurring problem. Ask when it occurs, what they do now and what information would help. Use your LED recognition records to identify communication limits; label simulated states honestly.
Keep: A specific user need and one dated observation or actual user comment.
- 02
Plan your research
Write three research questions and rank them. Say how you will answer each and why the first matters most. Useful starting questions: Does this problem actually need a network? What data would move between the device and another system? What should the user see when the network fails?
Keep: Three numbered questions with priority, method and source.
- 03
Explain design choices
Use three existing connected products that address a related need or communicate status; reuse relevant examples you already collected. Record the creator or organisation, link and access date for each. Trace each product’s input, processing, output and network role. Compare usefulness, understandable feedback, offline behaviour and data privacy. Use manufacturer documentation where possible; distinguish advertised features from verified ones.
Keep: A short comparison with specific evidence from each example.
- 04
Write your design brief
Use your user evidence and example analysis. Write a concise brief with the audience, need, proposed outcome and main constraints. Start with: The user ___ needs ___ because evidence shows ___. The proposed system will ___. Connectivity is useful because ___. My current prototype demonstrates ___; ___ remains a proposal.
Keep: One evidence-based paragraph; identify the sources it uses.
Grading rubric · 8 points
Four evidence rows, each worth 0, 1 or 2 points. Total 8. This is a classroom practice score for the named A or B strands, not a complete MYP criterion achievement level. A row earns zero when no relevant evidence is shown.
| Evidence | 1 point | 2 points |
|---|---|---|
| Explain the need | Names a user or a difficulty but the connection is unclear. | Connects a specific user, a clear difficulty and a reason the solution is needed. |
| Plan your research | Lists questions or methods but does not connect them or explain priority. | Connects three relevant questions to methods/sources and explains the highest priority. |
| Explain design choices | Mostly describes appearance or features without explaining their effect. | Explains how specific choices help or hinder the intended user; supports the comparisons. |
| Write your design brief | Names a product and audience but gives little research support or direction. | Combines the user need and relevant findings into a clear, realistic project direction. |
What to submit
Submit the completed worksheet and your design folder, final available LED sketch, labelled diagrams and a short demonstration or teacher check to the specific Toddle assignment for this task. For research-only work, include the current project version and the research evidence; a new visual version is needed when you change the design.
Record the tool, what you asked, what you kept or changed, and how you checked it. If you did not use AI, write “No AI used”. Never invent sources, interviews or results.
Open Toddle →Related assignments
- Research your device user
Finish the current lesson first. During the holiday, spend about 30 minutes gathering the missing user evidence and examples. Bring a draft to the first lesson after the holiday; use the teacher check to finish it.
Assignment on the calendar →
Submit in Toddle. The assignment instructions above specify what to hand in.