📚Unit Plans→🗣️Design Thinking Unit→📖Lesson 5: Test and Iterate
Years 7–8 Technology

Test and Iterate: Learning From Users

Ākonga test their prototypes with real users, implement one evidence-based refinement, and retest to judge whether it helped.

🕘 Lesson at a Glance | Te Hōtaka

Do NowHook — Silence is the data⏱ 5 min1 · TestingConducting user test sessions⏱ 25 min2 · SortingThe Feedback Capture Grid⏱ 15 min3 · RefinePlan and implement one change⏱ 20 min4 · RetestCheck whether the change helped⏱ 15 minExitBefore-and-after evidence⏱ 10 min

Lesson Overview | Tirohanga Whānui

A design is never finished — it is iterated. In this final lesson, ākonga test low-fidelity prototypes with real users and watch silently as users interact with their models. They sort qualitative feedback into a Feedback Capture Grid, select one practical evidence-based refinement, implement it, and run a brief retest. The before-and-after evidence shows whether the change improved the outcome.

Learning Intentions | Ngā Whāinga Ako

  • Conduct user testing sessions using active observation and non-leading prompts to gather unbiased feedback.
  • Sort qualitative user feedback into a structured grid containing strengths, weaknesses, questions, and ideas.
  • Implement one refinement justified by user evidence, then retest and record whether it improved the prototype.

⚡ Do Now

⏱ 5 min

On the board, two scenarios:

  1. Scenario A: A student designer stands next to a user trying their card model. The user is confused, and the designer says: "No, you have to push that flap, see? Like this!"
  2. Scenario B: A designer stands back, watching silently as the user turns the model upside down. The designer writes a note: "User tried to open it from the bottom."

The prompt: Write down which scenario gives the designer better data to improve the design. Explain why.

Teacher: Explain that in user testing, silence is the data. If we have to explain the design, the design has failed. We watch what they do, because that tells us where the design is confusing.

Activity 1 · User Testing Sessions

⏱ 25 min

What it is: Empirical testing in action. Ākonga run structured tests using their prototypes and the scripts developed in Lesson 4.

Run it

  1. Pair up (3 min): Pair A joins Pair B. Pair A will test their prototype first; Student B1 and B2 will act as users.
  2. Run Test 1 (10 min): Student A1 reads the introduction script. Student B1 tries to complete the design task (e.g. find a room, sort waste) using Pair A's prototype. Student B1 must "think out loud." Student A2 observes silently and writes down notes: what they say, what they do, and where they get stuck. Do not help them!
  3. Run Test 2 (10 min): Swap roles. Pair B tests their prototype with Pair A's users. Student B2 observes and records.
  4. Debrief (2 min): Say thank you to your users and return to your pair desks.

Teacher: Keep time strictly. Walk the room to enforce the "silence rule" — check that designers are not showing users what to do.

Activity 2 · Sorting the Feedback

⏱ 15 min

What it is: A visual synthesis framework that categorises user feedback to help designers see what to do next.

Run it

  1. Set up the grid (3 min): Draw a 2x2 grid in your book. Label the quadrants: ➕ What worked (strengths, positive feedback), 📐 What to change (weaknesses, difficulties), ❓ Questions (things the user asked or was confused by), and 💡 Ideas (suggestions or new thoughts that came up).
  2. Populate (7 min): Write your notes from Activity 1 onto the grid. Work individually or in your pair.
  3. Review (5 min): Highlight the 2 most critical issues in the What to change quadrant. These are the priorities for your next iteration.

You'll need: Drawing space in student books and coloured pens.

Activity 3 · Plan and Implement One Refinement

⏱ 20 min

What it is: Evidence-justified iteration. Ākonga turn user data into one practical change they can complete now.

Run it

  1. Choose and justify (7 min): Select one priority issue and write a practical refinement that cites specific evidence. Example: "Both users missed the label, so we will change it from brown to bright green to increase contrast."
  2. Implement (10 min): Change the prototype now using card, tape, labels, pens, or another available material. This is required, not an extension.
  3. Capture the before state (3 min): Sketch or photograph the changed area and label what was different in Version 1 and Version 2.

Teacher: Walk the room. Every pair must make a visible, testable change. A plan without implementation does not complete this activity.

Activity 4 · Brief Retest

⏱ 15 min

What it is: A short second test that checks whether the implemented refinement addressed the observed problem.

Run it

  1. Return to a user (3 min): Rejoin the pair that tested Version 1, or use a new user if available. Point out the task, not the change.
  2. Run the same task (7 min): Observe silently while the user tries the relevant action again. Record the same behaviour that exposed the original issue.
  3. Judge the change (5 min): Write helped, partly helped, or did not help, then cite one observed action or quote as evidence.

Teacher: Check that pairs test the revised feature rather than merely asking whether the user likes it. A retest result may show that another iteration is needed.

Exit · Before-and-After Evidence

⏱ 10 min

Complete this formal design justification in your book before you leave:

Design Refinement Justification Statement:

  1. In Version 1, the user...
  2. We changed... because the evidence showed...
  3. In the retest, the user...
  4. The refinement [helped / partly helped / did not help] because...
  5. Our next evidence-based change would be...

Teacher: Review the prototype and justification together. This is the summative checkpoint: ākonga must show an implemented change, a retest observation, and an evidence-based judgement.

🎯 Curriculum Links | Te Hononga ki te Marautanga

This lesson's focus: Ākonga practise technological critique. They learn that design is an iterative process, and any refinements we make to our designs must be justified using evidence and user feedback.

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

"Critique uses evidence to justify spatial and product design refinements across iterations."

📑 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 the built prototypes and notebooks.

  • Constructed prototypes from Lesson 4.
  • Testing scripts and questions from Lesson 4.
  • Student notebooks for feedback grids and justification paragraphs.
  • Basic modelling materials such as card, tape, labels, and pens for the required refinement.

No external worksheets, videos, or printed handouts are needed. The models themselves are the primary resources.

📊 Assessment Framework

This is the final lesson of the unit, so assessment here is summative, focused on whether students can connect testing evidence to design refinements.

What to look for, mapped to the learning intentions

  • Testing execution (LI 1): During Activity 1, did the student observe silently and note user actions, or did they lead the user and explain how to use the model?
  • Sorting feedback (LI 2): Is the Feedback Capture Grid filled with real qualitative data (quotes, observed friction) divided into the correct quadrants?
  • Implemented iteration (LI 3): Does the prototype show a visible change, and does the Exit statement cite retest evidence to judge whether that change helped?
🚀 Extension Activities
  • Second refinement: Use the retest evidence to implement another change and test it with a new user.
  • Stakeholder pitch: Have students prepare a 3-slide pitch presenting their entire design journey (Empathise -> Define -> Ideate -> Prototype -> Test -> Iteration) to present to the class or to school leaders.
🔗 Unit Progression & Next Steps

This is the final lesson of the design thinking loop. The next steps are:

  • Apply design thinking: Challenge students to use this same 5-phase process for their next technology or cross-curricular project.
  • Exemplar portfolio: Document the prototypes and justification cards as portfolio evidence of Technological Practice.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

  • ✅ I can run a user test, observing silently and recording user behaviour. (LI 1)
  • ✅ I can sort observations into a Feedback Capture Grid. (LI 2)
  • ✅ I can implement one refinement and use retest evidence to judge whether it helped. (LI 3)

Differentiation for this lesson

  • Observation support: Provide a printed Feedback Capture Grid with tick-boxes for common user reactions (e.g. "confused by start," "smiled," "paused at handle") to assist students who struggle with note-taking.
  • ELL / Language Support: Let students use drawings or flowcharts to show the "before and after" of their prototype refinements. Encourage oral feedback rather than written if needed.
  • Constructive critique: Monitor peer critique sessions to ensure they remain supportive and focus on the design, not the student's drawing or crafting capability.