📚Unit Plans→🗣️Design Thinking Unit→📖Lesson 2: Define
Years 7–8 Technology

Define: Framing the Real Problem

Ākonga learn to synthesise their empathy research to define a clear, user-centred problem statement and establish design specifications.

🕘 Lesson at a Glance | Te Hōtaka

Do NowHook — Defining fit-for-purpose⏱ 5 min1 · InsightsAnalysing empathy map data⏱ 20 min2 · Point of ViewWriting the POV statement⏱ 20 min3 · How Might WeFraming the design prompt⏱ 20 min4 · SpecificationsSetting measurable criteria⏱ 10 minExitSubmitting the HMW & specs⏱ 5 min

Lesson Overview | Tirohanga Whānui

A design challenge fails if it solves the wrong problem. In this lesson, ākonga move from the raw research of the Empathise phase to a focused problem definition. They examine their empathy maps, uncover core needs and surprising insights, and write a Point-of-View (POV) statement. From this statement, they formulate a "How Might We" (HMW) question to serve as their creative brief. Finally, they learn that technological outcomes must be fit-for-purpose, and they establish the initial measurable specifications that will serve as the criteria for judging their eventual prototypes.

Learning Intentions | Ngā Whāinga Ako

  • Synthesise empathy map observations into a Point-of-View (POV) statement that combines a specific user, need, and insight.
  • Formulate a 'How Might We' (HMW) question that opens up opportunities for creative, diverse solutions.
  • Draft initial measurable specifications that provide valid criteria for judging whether a design is fit-for-purpose.

⚡ Do Now

⏱ 5 min

On the board, two items: A heavy, waterproof rain jacket and A thin, stylish windbreaker.

  1. The scenario (2 min): If your user is an outdoor education teacher leading a trip in a mountain storm, which jacket is fit-for-purpose? Write one sentence explaining why.
  2. Defining criteria (3 min): List two measurable things you would test on the jacket (e.g., water resistance time, weight, number of pockets) to prove it fits that purpose.

Teacher: Use this to define fit-for-purpose. Explain that to design something successful, we must write down its measurable specifications (the criteria for judgment) before we start building.

Activity 1 · Finding Insights in the Empathy Map

⏱ 20 min

What it is: Raw notes are just noise until they are processed. Ākonga search for the deeper truth behind what their user said and did.

Run it

  1. Review and highlight (5 min): Review the Empathy Map you created in Lesson 1. Use two different coloured highlighters: colour A for user needs (verb-based) and colour B for tensions, surprises, or contradictions (e.g. user says they don't care about recycling but feel guilty when throwing plastic in the bin).
  2. Define the insight (10 min): Write down 1-2 insights about your user. An insight is a new understanding of the user's situation. Example: "Rangatahi feel embarrassed to carry reusable containers because they look cheap, even though they care deeply about waste reduction."
  3. Share (5 min): Share your insights with a peer. Check if they are non-obvious. (If the insight is "user wants to reduce waste," it's too obvious. Push for the why).

Teacher: Walk the room to help ākonga transition from describing what the user did to understanding the underlying motivations or barriers (insights).

Activity 2 · Writing the Point-of-View (POV) Statement

⏱ 20 min

What it is: The POV statement is the core anchor of the design project. It translates empathy into a clear problem brief.

Run it

  1. The Formula (3 min): Introduce the POV structure: [User Type] needs a way to [Human Need (verb)] because [Insight (non-obvious observation)].
  2. Drafting (10 min): Write three different drafts of a POV statement for your user. Example: "A new Year 9 student needs a way to find their classrooms independently without having to ask seniors for help because they want to feel confident and avoid looking lost on their first day."
  3. Peer Review (7 min): Swap drafts with your partner. Check three things: Is the user specific? Is the need a verb (not a solution)? Is the because-insight surprising and true to the interview? Select the strongest one.

Teacher: Common trap: writing a solution in the need slot (e.g., "needs a map"). If you see this, prompt the student: "What does the map do for them?" (e.g., "find classrooms independently"). That is the real need.

Activity 3 · Crafting 'How Might We' Questions

⏱ 20 min

What it is: A HMW question opens up the problem statement into a generative challenge. It must not suggest a specific solution, but must point in a clear direction.

Run it

  1. HMW logic (5 min): Look at your POV. We want to ask "How might we..." to solve it. Example: "How might we make classroom locations obvious to Year 9 students before they leave the main hall?" or "How might we turn finding classrooms into a fun game for new students?"
  2. Generate three HMWs (10 min): For your chosen POV, write three different HMW questions. Try one that is broad, one that is narrow, and one that focuses on the emotional need.
  3. Select the spine (5 min): Choose the single best HMW question to carry into Lesson 3. Write it in large letters at the top of a new page in your book.

Teacher: A good HMW question is the bridge to brainstorming. If it's too broad ("How might we help students?"), they won't know where to start. If it's too narrow ("How might we put signs on the doors?"), it blocks other ideas like maps or apps.

Activity 4 · Establishing Measurable Specifications

⏱ 10 min

What it is: Translating design goals into measurable parameters. This is the criteria students will use to test their designs later in the unit.

Run it

  1. Brainstorm criteria (5 min): For your HMW question, what makes a solution successful? List 3 specifications. They must be measurable.
  2. Refine (5 min): Rewrite your specifications so they can be tested. (Non-example: "It must be cheap." Example: "It must cost less than $5 to make." Non-example: "It must be easy to read." Example: "It must be readable from 5 metres away.")

Teacher: Walk the room to check that specifications have numbers, dimensions, or clear testable binary conditions. This reinforces the curriculum standard of measurable specifications as criteria for fit-for-purpose outcomes.

Exit · The Design Brief

⏱ 5 min

Complete these three sentences in your book before you leave:

  1. Our design challenge is (HMW question)...
  2. Our outcome will be fit-for-purpose if it meets these two specifications: (1) ___ and (2) ___
  3. To verify specification 1, we will test it by...

Teacher: Review these exits. They form the 'Design Brief' that will guide all brainstorming in Lesson 3. A student without clear specifications will struggle to evaluate their prototypes later.

🎯 Curriculum Links | Te Hononga ki te Marautanga

This lesson's focus: Ākonga learn that before building, a designer must define the criteria for success. Writing measurable specifications is what allows us to judge if an outcome is fit-for-purpose in its local context.

Technology — Core Connection (Phase 3 | Years 7–8)

"Measurable specifications provide valid criteria for judging how outcomes are fit-for-purpose."

📑 See the full verified curriculum companion → — Technology · Design, Make, and Innovate · Phase 3 · Years 7–8 (statement pulled verbatim from the live Te Mātaiaho curriculum).

📦 Materials & Resources

This lesson relies on students' work from Lesson 1 and basic classroom materials.

  • Completed Empathy Maps from Lesson 1.
  • Highlighters (two colours per student/pair).
  • Student notebooks for drafting the POV, HMW, and exit briefs.

No external handouts or video materials are needed. The focus is entirely on synthesising the peer-interview data gathered in the previous lesson.

📊 Assessment Framework

Assessment is formative, tracking whether ākonga can formulate a logical, user-centred problem definition with clear constraints and parameters.

What to look for, mapped to the learning intentions

  • POV logical flow (LI 1): Does the POV statement link a specific user, a verb-based need, and a non-obvious insight without proposing a solution?
  • Actionable HMW question (LI 2): Is the HMW question open-ended but guided enough to suggest brainstorming pathways?
  • Measurable specifications (LI 3): Are the specifications in Activity 4 and the Exit ticket actually testable with numbers or binary outcomes (e.g. weight, cost, user rating)?
🚀 Extension Activities
  • Compare stakeholder specs: Ask students to write down how the caretaker's or principal's specifications for a school challenge might conflict with a student's specifications (e.g. caretaker needs it to be easy to clean, student needs it to look cool). Explain how design involves managing these trade-offs.
  • Analyse commercial specs: Choose a common school tool (like a school Chromebook case or bag) and list what measurable specifications the manufacturer had to meet to make it fit-for-purpose for teens.
🔗 Unit Progression & Next Steps

This lesson establishes the design brief. The unit progression continues as follows:

  1. Lesson 1 — Empathise: Gather insights and identify user needs.
  2. Lesson 2 — Define (this lesson): Create a POV, HMW, and measurable specifications.
  3. Lesson 3 — Ideate: Brainstorm solutions to the HMW prompt.
  4. Lesson 4 — Prototype: Build low-fidelity models to test assumptions against specifications.
  5. Lesson 5 — Test and Iterate: Evaluate the prototype against the specifications.

Hold onto the exit tickets or ensure the HMW and specifications are recorded permanently, as they are the direct criteria used for brainstorming in Lesson 3 and testing in Lesson 4 and 5.

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

  • ✅ I can identify a user need and a non-obvious insight from my empathy map. (LI 1)
  • ✅ I can write a POV and convert it into a HMW design question. (LI 2)
  • ✅ I can write 2-3 measurable specifications that define a fit-for-purpose outcome. (LI 3)

Differentiation for this lesson

  • POV structures: Provide a fill-in-the-blank card for the POV statement to guide students who struggle with sentence construction.
  • ELL / Language Support: Use visual symbols to represent specifications (e.g. a dollar sign for cost, a scale for weight). Encourage students to draft their insight statements in their home language first.
  • Managing constraints: Some students will get stuck trying to find a perfect insight. Guide them to focus on a simple tension they saw in the interview (e.g., "wanted to help but was too busy").