Design and Technologies Glossary

Design and Technologies Glossary
Biomimicry
Inspiration of functions found in nature for use and adaptation in the design of a product, service, environment, or to solve human problems. For example, Velcro fastening was inspired by small hooks on the end of burr needles. Termite mounts that maintain a constant temperature through air vents inspired architects when designing cooling for buildings.
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organisation, event, product or person, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
Components
Parts or elements that make up a whole and that perform a function, for example of digital systems or of an electrical or mechanical system such as a bicycle or car including: the chassis (holds everything on it); the engine (to convert energy to make the car move); the transmission (including controlling the speed and output from the engine and to rotate the wheels); the steering system (to control the direction of movement); brake system (to slow down or stop); fuel delivery system (to supply fuel to the cylinders); exhaust system (to get rid of gases) and the electrical system (for operating wipers, air conditioning etc.).
Computational thinking
A problem-solving method that involves various techniques and strategies in order to solve problems that can be implemented by digital technologies, such as organising data logically, breaking down problems into components, and the design and use of algorithms, patterns and models.
Computer-aided drawing
Computer-aided drawing (also known as computer-assisted design or CAD) is software used by designers, architects and engineers to help them create lines, shapes and planes which can be combined, moved, rotated, adjusted and rendered. Measurements and calculations can be included. Computer-aided drawing can be used to create two and three dimensional models and drawings such as floor plans, interior and garden designs, and to represent objects and structures.  
Computer-aided manufacturing
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) uses geometric design data (coordinates) to control and monitor specially designed automated machines with onboard computers to produce objects. Numerical control (NC) computer software applications create the detailed instructions known as G-code that drive the computer numeric control (CNC) machine tools for manufacturing components and objects.
Constructed environments
Environments developed, built and/or made by people for human and animal activity, including buildings, streets, gardens, bridges and parks. It includes the natural environment after it has been changed by people for a purpose.
Criteria for success
A descriptive list of essential features against which success can be measured.
Critiquing
A careful judgement in which opinions are given about the positive and negative aspects of something. Critiquing considers good as well as bad performances, the individual parts, relationships of the individual parts and the overall performance, whereas evaluations measure performance against established standards.
Danger zone temperatures
The temperature range between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius. In this zone, bacteria that cause food poisoning can multiply quickly to unsafe levels. High-risk food should be stored properly to avoid the danger zone temperatures.
Deconstructing
A process of dismantling or pulling a product or system apart to systematically identify and analyse components and their relationships. (See also Components)
Design brief
A concise statement clarifying the project task and defining the need or opportunity to be resolved after some analysis, investigation and research. It usually identifies the users, criteria for success, constraints, available resources, timeframe for the project and may include possible consequences and impacts.
Design processes
Processes that typically involve investigating; generating; producing; evaluating and planning and managing to create a designed solution that considers social, cultural and environmental factors.
Design thinking
Use of strategies for understanding design problems and opportunities, visualising and generating creative and innovative ideas, and analysing and evaluating those ideas that best meet the criteria for success and planning.
Designed solutions
In Design and Technologies, the products, services or environments that have been created for a specific purpose or intention as a result of design thinking, design processes and production processes.
Digital technologies
Any technologies controlled using digital instructions, including computer hardware and software, digital media and media devices, digital toys and accessories, and contemporary and emerging communication technologies.
Drawing standards
Australian standards for engineering and technical drawing, identified as Australian Standard AS1100 includes a number of parts that describe the conventions for Australian engineers, designers and architects and associated tradespeople such as builders and plumbers to follow. AS 1100 includes general principles for technical drawing, including dimensioning, types of lines and layouts to use, scales, symbols, abbreviations and their meanings. It also includes mechanical engineering drawing including information for surface texture, welding, centre holes, gears etc.
Economic sustainability
Practices that sustain economies while recognising the finite nature of resources and use resources optimally over the longer term without resulting in economic loss.
Engineering          
The practical application of scientific and mathematical understanding and principles as part of the process of developing and maintaining solutions for an identified need or opportunity.
Engineering principles and systems
A technologies context in Design and Technologies. It focuses on how forces and energy can be used to create, light, sound, heat, movement, control or support in systems. It involves manipulating and arranging systems and their components, often using modelling or simulation, so they work together (or interact) to meet required needs and functions or purposes. Systems have inputs, processes and outputs, for example a torch as shown below. Scientific laws or theories can often be used to work out the necessary inputs, processes or outputs to support the development or operation of a system. These are known as engineering principles. An example of an engineering principle is Ohm’s Law (the relationship between voltage, current and resistance in an electrical circuit).
Enterprising
Showing initiative and willingness to take action and commitment to follow through on initiatives.
Environment
One of the outputs of design processes and/or a place or space in which design processes operate. Environments may be natural, managed, constructed or digital.
Environmental sustainability
Practices that have minimal impact on ecosystem health, allow renewal of natural systems and value environment qualities that support life.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the understanding of the activity of humans with systems, products or in environments, to maximise the wellbeing of the humans and productive use of the systems or environments.
Evaluating
Evaluating measures performance against established criteria. It estimates the nature, quality, ability, extent or significance to make a judgement determining the value.
Exploded views
A technical drawing of an object, with parts shown separately, that shows the relationship or order of assembly of various parts.
A drawing or photograph of an object with individual parts shown separately but arranged to show the relationship and position of the parts for assembly, for example, instructions that come with furniture sold in a flat pack that has parts and fittings, or a diagram of parts of a bicycle, to be assembled in a particular way and/or order by the purchaser. 
Food and fibre production
A technologies context in Design and Technologies. It focuses on the process of producing food or fibre as natural materials for the design and development of a range of products. Fibre includes materials from forestry.
Food specialisations
A technologies context in Design and Technologies.  It focuses on the application of nutrition principles and knowledge about the characteristics and properties of food to food selection and preparation; and contemporary technology-related food issues.
Functionality
Design of products, services or environments to ensure they are fit for purpose and meet the intended need or market opportunity and identified criteria for success. Criteria for success in relation to functionality are likely to include such things as operation, performance, safety, reliability and quality. That is, does the product, service or environment do what it was meant to do, or provide what it was meant to provide? (For example, does the torch provide light, is it easy to hold, and is it safe to use?).
Graphic organisers
Digital frameworks that help structure thinking. They make thinking processes visible by showing connections between data. Examples include concept maps, flowcharts and cause-and-effect patterns.
Graphical representation techniques
Techniques used to communicate ideas and plans, for example sketching, drawing, modelling, making patterns, technical drawing, computer-aided drawing. The graphical representation techniques for each band are included in the band description.
Graphical technologies
Visual images, pictorial representations or designs produced on a surface such as paper, canvas, or a screen. Images generated by a computer are known as computer graphics. The purpose of these images, representations or designs is to inform, illustrate or entertain. 
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a legal concept which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognised. Common types of intellectual property rights include copyright, trademarks, patents and industrial design rights.
Joining processes
Methods of bringing together and permanently holding materials or components for example using joints such as a dowel joint to join legs and rails for a table frame; fasteners such as nails, rivets, bolts and screws; glues or adhesives; welding; sewing and binding; rubbing in or mixing food ingredients. (See also Components)
Life cycle thinking strategy
A strategy to identify possible improvements to products, services and environments to reduce environmental impact and resource consumption while considering social and economic impacts. The cycle goes from the acquisition of materials through to disposal or recycling. Life cycle thinking in food and fibre production would consider nutrition, health and well-being, cultural identity and lifestyle as well as environmental impacts. When products and services are marketed or integrated together, customers may be more satisfied because the service supports the product’s use through its life, and could lead to less consumption. Examples of how life cycle thinking can be demonstrated include product road maps, to more complex life cycle analysis and assessment used by industry.
Low-input sustainable agriculture (LISA)
An approach to farming that focuses on reducing purchased inputs and uses on-farm resources effectively. Concepts include rotations and soil and water conservation.
Managed environments
In Design and Technologies, those environments coordinated by humans, for example, farms, forests, marine parks, water, wetlands.
Materials
Natural (such as animals, food, fibre, timber) and fabricated materials (such as metals alloys plastics, textiles). Materials are used to create products or environments and their structure can be manipulated by applying knowledge of the origins, structure, characteristics, properties and uses.
Materials and technologies specialisations
A technologies context in Design and Technologies.  It focuses on a broad range of traditional, contemporary and emerging materials and specialist areas that typically involve extensive use of technologies.
Model
A representation that describes, simplifies, clarifies or provides an explanation of the workings, structure or relationships within an object, system or idea.
This can be either a physical model, such as in a scale model of a car or house to show the form of a final production design and is made with tools, jigs and fixtures; or virtual, such as a simulator program that demonstrates the capabilities of a vending machine through interaction with a computer user.
Natural environments
In Design and Technologies, those environments where humans do not make significant interventions, for example ocean environments, natural woodlands, national parks.
Orthogonal drawings
Drawings in which each edge is represented by a connected line, each segment of which is parallel to a coordinate axis. A scaled multi-view drawing of a three dimensional object to show each view separately, in a series of two dimensional drawings, for example top or bottom, front, back and sides. Orthogonal drawings usually include the measurements on each view and are used to develop lists of material requirements. They are a way for the designer of an object to communicate important details to the producer, who refers to these technical drawings when making an object. In Australia, orthogonal drawings use third angle projection for layout of the views. 
Perspective drawing
A drawing that represents the way objects appear to be smaller and closer together, the further away they are. Perspective drawings may be one point, or two or three-point perspective and have the corresponding number of vanishing points. A one-point perspective drawing has a single vanishing point.  Perspective drawings are often used in building, interior and architectural design.
Pictorial maps
Maps that show an illustrated or artistic (rather than technical style) cartography. The area shown may be the representation of a view of a landscape from above on an oblique angle. Pictorial maps are not drawn to scale.
Product
One of the outputs of design and production processes. Products are the tangible end results of natural, human, mechanical, manufacturing, electronic or digital processes to meet a need or want.
Production drawing
A working drawing that details the manufacture and assembly of products and environments.
Production processes
In Design and Technologies the technologies context-specific processes used to transform technologies into products, services or environments, for example the steps used for producing a product.
Project
The set of activities undertaken by students to address specified content, involving understanding the nature of a problem, situation or need; creating, designing and producing a solution to the project task and documenting the process. Project work has a benefit, purpose and use; a user or audience who can provide feedback on the success of the solution; limitations to work within; and a real-world technologies context influenced by social, ethical and environmental issues. Project management criteria are used to judge a project’s success.
Project management
The responsibility for planning, organising, controlling resources, monitoring timelines and activities and completing a project to achieve a goal that meets identified criteria for judging success.
Properties
The distinctive qualities of a material that can be tested and used to help people select the most suitable one for a particular use.

• Mechanical properties are determined when a force is applied to a material, for example to test its strength, hardness, wear resistance, machinability/workability, stretch and elasticity.
• Thermal properties are determined when varying temperatures (for example, cold or heat) are applied to test whether it expands, melts, conducts or absorbs heat (warms up), find its boiling point, and whether its colour changes.
• Chemical properties relate the chemicals a material is made up of (its composition) and how it may change because of its surrounding environment, for example how it ages or taints, develops an odour, deteriorates, resists stains, corrosion or cracks due to heat or is flammable.
• Electrical properties relate to the way a material responds if a current is passed through it or if it is placed in an electrical field, for example, whether the material conducts or resists electricity or acts as an insulator.
• Optical properties relate to how light reacts with a material, for example, opaqueness, transparency and reflectiveness.

Prototype
A trial or model built to test an idea or process to inform further design development. A prototype can be developed in the field of service, design, electronics and software programming. The purpose of a prototype is to see if and how well the design works and is tested by users and systems analysts. It can be used to provide specifications for a real, working product or system rather than a virtual or theoretical one. Prototype is derived from Greek terms that when translated mean ‘primitive form’, ‘first’ and ‘impression’. (See also Working model)
Rendered
A drawing that shows the relative weight of elements or the form of objects using light, shade and tone (lightness or darkness of a colour). Rendered drawings are used for example, in architecture to show what a building will look like or to show the form and shape of the body of a proposed car design. Rendering can be done by hand, or using computer software such as computer-aided design.
Resistance materials
Materials such as metals, plastics and timber that are usually firm and not easily bent or curved unless heat, pressure or force is applied.
Risk management practices
The practice of identifying potential risks in advance, analysing them and taking precautionary steps to reduce/curb the risk. Risk management involves risk identification, analysis, response planning, monitoring controlling and reporting.
Service
One of the outputs of design and production processes. Services are the less tangible outcome (compared to products) of design processes to meet a need or want. They may involve development or maintenance of a system and include, for example catering, cloud computing (software as a service), communication, transportation and water management. Services can be communicated by charts, diagrams, models, posters and procedures.
Service design
The design of the service and the service concept. The service concept aims to meet the needs of the end user, client or customer. The service design includes the physical, organisational, aesthetic and psychological benefits of the service and required systems thinking.
Smart materials
Materials that have additional functions designed into them, so they have additional properties that can be controlled by external stimuli or react to the environment all by itself. These stimuli can include such things as stress, temperature, moisture, pH or electric or magnetic fields. Examples of smart materials include those that self-heal if scratched or that can detect if the food they contain are past their best use date. These materials have been developed following extensive research and development (R&D) and manufactured to include the additional ‘smart behaviour’ functions. 
Social sustainability
Practices that maintain quality of life for people, societies and cultures in a changing world for a long period of time, ensuring health and wellbeing without disproportionate costs or side-effects.
Sustainability factors
Economic, environmental and social sustainability issues that impact on design decisions.
Systems
The structure, properties, behaviour and interactivity of people and components (inputs, processes and outputs) within and between natural, managed, constructed and digital environments.
Systems thinking
A holistic approach to the identification and solving of problems where parts and components of a system, their interactions and interrelationships are analysed individually to see how they influence the functioning of the whole system. This approach enables students to understand systems and work with complexity, uncertainty and risk.
Technologies
The materials, data, systems, components, tools and equipment used to create solutions for identified needs and opportunities, and the knowledge, understanding and skills used by people involved in the selection and use of these.
Technologies contexts
The focus and opportunities for students in Design and Technologies to use processes and production skills to create designed solutions. The prescribed technologies contexts for Foundation to Year 8 are: engineering principles and systems; food and fibre production; food specialisation; and materials and technologies specialisations.
Thumbnail drawings
Small drawings usually done quickly by designers, architects and engineering designers to indicate roughly what an object, system or environment could look like. Thumbnail sketches are a method of visualising thinking and show main features rather than minor details. They may include annotations. 
Tools and equipment
Physical items, implements and machines to carry out specific processes when working with materials, For example, a saw is used to cut timber; scissors are used to cut fabric, paper and cardboard; tape measure is used to measure lengths and widths of wood and fabric, a blender is used to mix and blend food ingredients; secateurs are used to prune plants.
Visualisation software tools
Software to help in the recording of ideas as visual representations. Examples in Design and Technologies are computer-aided drawing (or computer-assisted design) (CAD) and computer simulation. Graphic organiser software are visualisation tools as are software that display graphs of data.
Working model
Engineering simulation software product which when run can be used to test how virtual components interact. The program can simulate various interactions of the parts (components) and graph the movement and force on any element in a system. These working models are also known as prototypes and can be used to evaluate performance and to make alterations and improvements if necessary.