Key Stage 3 design and technology · Design

KS3 design and technology: identifying design problems

Before a designer can solve a problem, they have to decide what the problem is. In Key Stage 3 design and technology, pupils learn to identify and solve their own design problems and to reformulate the problems they are given, turning a broad or vague brief into a focused one. It is a thinking skill as much as a making skill, and it shapes everything that follows.

Identifying design problems, explained

A brief such as “design a lamp” or “design a chair” leaves nearly every question open. The programme of study for Years 7 to 9 expects pupils to do two things with problems. First, they identify their own: noticing a real difficulty in the world around them, such as a phone cable that always tangles, a school bag that hurts a shoulder or a garden path that floods. Second, they reformulate problems they are given: asking questions, narrowing the brief, and rewriting it in a way that can actually be solved.

Teachers encourage pupils to describe the problem and not the solution. “I need a bigger bin” already assumes a bigger bin is the answer. “Rubbish overflows in our kitchen because the bin fills too fast” leaves room for a better bin, a recycling system or a different design altogether. A common tool is a short problem statement with a user, a situation and a need, sometimes starting with the words “How might we…?” which turns a complaint into an invitation to design.

Reformulating is a skill that pupils find hard because it feels like changing the task. It is not. A designer asks who the product is for, where and when it will be used, what is already available and why it does not work well enough, and what matters most. The answers turn a wide brief into a particular one. Research and exploration, including looking at different cultures and at contexts such as the home, health, leisure, food, energy or fashion, feed into this, as the pupils learn what problems real people face.

The problem is also expected to change. Design and making at this stage is iterative: pupils make a model or prototype, test it with users, and often discover a better problem than the first one they chose. Perhaps the lamp is not too dim at all, but the switch is hard to find in the dark. Teachers value pupils who are willing to revise their problem statement, and don’t treat it as a failure.

Because pupils choose their own problems, they are encouraged to pick ones within reach: small enough to solve with the time, materials and equipment available, and real enough that someone would benefit. Schools decide the projects and the contexts, so your child’s work might be about packaging, a garden tool or a piece of clothing.

Words your child will hear

Design brief: A short statement of what is to be designed, for whom and why.
Problem statement: A sentence that describes the difficulty a design should solve, without naming the solution.
Reformulate: To restate a problem in a different, clearer or narrower way.
Constraint: A limit on the design, such as cost, time, size, materials or equipment.
Context: The setting a product is used in, such as the home, school, a hospital or a factory.
Prototype: An early model of a design, made to test ideas before the final product.
Iterate: To repeat a cycle of designing, making and testing, improving each time.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 3 says:

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to identify and solve their own design problems and understand how to reformulate problems given to them
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to use research and exploration, such as the study of different cultures, to identify and understand user needs

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: narrowing a broad brief

A teacher sets the brief “Design a chair.” Show how a pupil could identify a real problem and reformulate the brief into a clear problem statement.

Ask who, where and why. Who will sit in the chair? Where will it be used? What is wrong with existing chairs? Suppose a pupil thinks of a grandparent who struggles to stand up from low sofas.
Observe and research. Watch how people get up from seats, and talk to the grandparent about what is hard. Note the details: low seats, soft cushions, no arms to push on, and not enough room to place the feet.
Write the problem, not the solution. A weak statement is “Design a chair with a motor.” A stronger one is “People with weak legs find it hard to stand up from low seats in the living room without help.” This leaves many possible answers.
Add the constraints. The product must be safe, fit in a small living room, be made in the school workshop from available materials in the time given, and cost little to make.
Write a reformulated brief. “How might we make it easier and safer for an older person to get out of a seat at home, using a design that can be made in school?” This is focused, user-centred and open to many kinds of solution, such as a firmer seat, higher arms or a rising cushion.

The brief has moved from “Design a chair” to “How might we make it easier and safer for an older person to get out of a seat at home?” It names a user, a place and a need, and it doesn’t decide the answer in advance.

Common mistakes and how to help

Starting with a solution and calling it a problem

Pupils often arrive with an idea they like, such as a gadget, and describe the problem in a way that fits it.

What helps: Ask, “If your idea didn’t exist, what difficulty would still be there?” Rewrite the problem so that someone else could suggest a different solution.

Thinking a given brief cannot be changed

School tasks usually come with fixed instructions, so pupils assume the brief is also fixed.

What helps: Explain that real designers question their briefs all the time. Reformulating is an expectation of the programme of study, and a sensible narrowing shows good thinking.

Choosing a problem that is too big

Ambitious problems like “end food waste” feel important, but they cannot be solved in a few weeks with school equipment.

What helps: Help them find a small, specific part of the big problem, such as keeping bread fresh in one family kitchen. Small and real is better than large and vague.

Picking a problem they have not checked with anyone

A problem that seems real to one pupil may not matter to others, so the finished product addresses no real need.

What helps: Suggest asking two or three people whether this is a problem for them. Even a short conversation can confirm the problem or point to a better one.

How to help at home

Keep a “things that annoy me” list. Encourage your child to jot down everyday frustrations for a week: a drawer that sticks, a bag strap that slips. Design problems often start as small irritations.
Rewrite complaints as questions. When your child says “this is rubbish”, ask them to turn it into a question beginning “How might we…?” It trains them to see a problem as a chance to improve something.
Ask “why?” a few times. If a product fails, keep asking why until you reach the root cause. “The pen leaks” becomes “the lid doesn’t seal” and then “the lid was designed for a thinner pen”. Don’t rush to an answer.
Offer a real, small problem. Ask for help with a household issue, such as keeping shoes tidy by the door. Let your child define the problem first and ask who is affected before any ideas come.
Accept changes of direction. If your child changes their idea part-way through a project, check whether they learned something. A better problem found through testing is a good outcome, not a failed first attempt.

Builds on

Key Stage 2: Research and design criteria
Key Stage 2: Sketches and exploded diagrams
Key Stage 2: Prototypes, patterns and CAD