OCR A-Level Product Design ergonomics and product analysis overview quiz quiz

Measurements of the human body used to size products

Data about the materials and finishes used to make a product

Data about the market prices charged by competitors

Data on the loads and forces acting on a structure

The exactly average median person within the whole population

The value below which the smallest 5 percent of people fall

The very largest 5 percent of people within the population

Everyone included across the entire measured population

5th percentile, so only the smallest users fit

50th percentile, the average height of users

95th percentile, so even tall users fit

It does not matter which percentile is used

The 50th percentile is purely theoretical and does not really exist

It is always far too expensive to manufacture for the average user

It only ever suits the very tallest users and so excludes everyone shorter

The average fits almost no one perfectly and excludes the small and large

Posture, reach, grip, force and comfort

How easily the user understands the controls

The product's market price

The product's colour scheme

A non-slip contoured handle carefully shaped to fit the hand securely

A clearly labelled, logically grouped control panel with feedback

A lightweight moulded body that is easy to lift and carry

A soft padded grip that cushions the hand during use

The product clearly confirms that an action has just happened

The product is cheap enough for most people to afford

The design makes the correct action obvious

The product is fully recyclable at end of life

Only its surface colour and decorative finish, completely ignoring all the other relevant factors

Only its retail selling price compared against rival competitor products

Only the reputation and personal name of the designer who created it

Function, materials, manufacture, ergonomics, aesthetics, sustainability, cost and market

The materials, components, assembly methods and tolerances

The retail selling price the product is offered at

The advertising and marketing budget spent on the product

The designer's underlying design philosophy and core values

It is always completely illegal under all circumstances without exception

Copying a competitor's design raises intellectual-property and ethical issues

It reveals nothing at all that is useful about how the product was actually made

It cannot be carried out on any product made from moulded plastics

Designing only for disabled users and providing separate special-needs versions of every product

Designing only for the average 50th-percentile user and ignoring all smaller and larger people entirely

Designing for the widest range of users regardless of age, ability or size, without special adaptation

Designing the cheapest possible product by stripping out features that some users may rely upon

A small twist knob, because it looks neat and visually uncluttered

A heavier solid metal body, because it feels reassuringly solid to hold

A control hidden out of sight, because it keeps the design tidy and clean

A lever handle, because users with weak grip or wet hands can operate it

Researching and testing with real, diverse users and refining iteratively

Designing entirely from the designer's own personal assumptions and tastes

Asking users for their views only right at the very end of the process

Avoiding making any prototypes and relying on drawings alone

Designing rigidly for the fixed 50th percentile only

Adjustability, so each user sets the product to themselves

Making the whole product as very small and compact as possible

Removing all of the controls to simplify the product