Develop a Major Design Project consisting of a product, system or environment and a supporting portfolio that documents the design and production process

What this dot point is asking

NESA wants you to develop a Major Design Project (MDP) made of two parts: a realised product, system or environment, and a supporting portfolio that documents the whole design and production process. This is the centrepiece of the course, worth 60 percent of the HSC mark, so you must understand exactly what each part requires.

The answer

What the Major Design Project is

The MDP requires you to select and apply design, production and evaluation skills to create a quality solution to an identified need or opportunity. The solution can be a product (a tangible object), a system (an organised set of parts or a process) or an environment (a designed space). You choose the area, so the project should match your interests, skills and available resources.

The two assessable parts

NESA assesses the MDP in two parts that are marked together as a whole:

• The project, the realised product, system or environment, judged on quality of manufacture, fitness for purpose against the criteria, creativity and appropriate use of materials and techniques.
• The portfolio, the documentation that proves you designed and managed the project properly.

Structure of the portfolio

The portfolio is a structured record, typically organised around the design process:

• Statement of intent and design brief, defining the need, user and scope.
• Criteria to evaluate success, the measurable benchmarks for the project.
• Research, into users, markets, materials, ergonomics and existing solutions, properly referenced.
• Idea generation and development, sketches, mind maps, modelling, prototypes and the reasoning behind design decisions.
• Project management, including timelines such as a Gantt chart, finance plans, resource lists and work health and safety and risk assessments.
• Production, a record of the making process, techniques, quality control and problems solved.
• Evaluation, ongoing throughout and a final evaluation of the finished solution against the criteria, plus reflection on the process.

Documenting an iterative process

The single most important thing markers look for is evidence of a genuine, iterative design process. A strong portfolio shows decisions being made, tested and revised. It records the dead ends and how they were resolved, not just a tidy straight line to a finished product. Photographs, dated entries, annotated sketches and test results all build this evidence.

Managing the project

Because the MDP runs across the HSC year, project management is itself assessed and is essential to finishing. You should maintain a realistic schedule, order materials in time, build in contingency for setbacks, and keep continuous records rather than reconstructing them at the end. Good time management is the difference between a complete, polished project and an unfinished one.

Work health and safety

The portfolio must show that you identified hazards and managed risks during production, using appropriate personal protective equipment, safe operating procedures and risk assessments. Safety is both a professional responsibility and an assessable component.

Weighting and submission

The MDP is worth 60 percent of the HSC mark, with the remaining 40 percent from the written examination. The project and portfolio are marked against NESA criteria during a marking process, so following the official requirements for format and content is critical. Always check the current NESA project advice for the year of submission.