Unit+1+-+Design+Cycle+Walk-through

Our Project: Preparation of dish that is your personal response and answer to the question, "Can `ONO be designed."
== We will learn about cooking/baking, kitchen organization, and meal preparation in this unit. More importantly, we will learn how to utilize the stages of the Design Cycle to successfully complete the preparation of our dish. So by learning how to make this dish, we will also learn to work our way through the Design Cycle, so we can transfer that learning to our future Design Tech projects. Text in teal is an example of this project based on making a dish called Yaki Soba. ==

Stage 1: Investigate
Can `ONO be designed?
 * • Guiding Question:** This is the umbrella question that is explored through this project. Broad in scope, it requires a broad response to begin to answer it.

Using a well articulated plan, assembled ingredients, proper equipment and appropriate techniques, I will make Yaki Soba by designing a recipe that incorporates traditional, local, and organic ingredients. I will apply things I learned while researching wok cooking as well as cooking characteristics of the main ingredients.
 * • Design Brief:** The design brief is the broad response to the Guiding Question. It is your statement of how you intend to solve the problem being presented.

Explore aspects of cooking techniques, origins of specific meals, or characteristic variations of different regions. Here are examples below... additionally, one would be expected to cite sources, which I have not explicitly done here.
 * • Pertinent Research:** Gathering background/supporting information to help you better focus your design, plan & create stage work. List the most important things you discovered here.

examples:

'Wok cooking is hot and fast. It is easy to overcook delicate vegetables, and burn the surfaces of meat, poultry or seafood. It is important to use wooden utensils and keep things moving.'

Also, a written recipe for this dish exists in "The Wagamama Cookbook", including a DVD video explanation of making it. Securing this information would hugely increase one's chances of success with this dish.

My final product is a delicious dish filled with vibrant colors, textures and flavors which complement each other effectively. It will contain crispy, succulent, savory, and crunchy ingredients, each intended to be prepared to a specific standard. Nothing will be over or undercooked. Presentation will be visually appealing with colorful highlights. The portion size will be sufficient to satisfy the diner, but should be easy to finish by most hungry people. It should be appropriately seasoned, but optional seasoning (such as additional soy sauce and chili oil) will be made available for the diner to add to his own taste. It must be possible to eat the entire meal with chopsticks.
 * • Design Specifications:** These are the "desirable characteristics" of the product. These describe what you expect a successful product to be like. They can be listed, bullet-pointed, or described in prose form.

I will write a customer satisfaction survey to be completed by the diner, which will objectively address many of the elements described above.
 * • Evaluation Instrument:** This is the tool that helps you collect objective information/responses from others regarding the success of your project.

Stage 2: Design
I made 3 design variations that I shall choose from. These variations should be described in several sentences each, and reflect decisions about key ingredients. My first includes chicken and shrimp as meats. The second is for people who dislike seafood yet can eat pork, so I would use chicken and pork. Finally, my third choice would be a vegetarian option, substituting shitake mushrooms and tofu for the meats, and altering the seasoning appropriately. All three designs will include ramen noodles, soba sauce, spring onions, chopped bell peppers, pickled ginger, and crispy garnishes.
 * • Make multiple designs/design variants**

Each of the design variations meet specifications, provided cooking time is adjusted for the main ingredients.
 * • Evaluate designs against specifications**

I selected the chicken and shrimp variation, as I felt this would appeal to most diners. If I knew I was cooking for those from the Middle East or for vegetarians, I would have made a different selection.
 * • Choose best design & justify choice**

Stage 3: Plan

 * • Produce a detailed schedule for creating product**
 * 1) List my preparation tasks and projected duration of each
 * 2) Find and prepare all ingredients so they can be added immediately
 * 3) Prepare the spaces & equipment for use
 * 4)  List each ingredient
 * 5) In the order in which they will be added
 * 6) The condition of the previous ingredient that indicates when to move on
 * 7)  It may be best to work backwards from the finished product leaving the wok and landing on the plate

I'll examine my plan in several ways. First, I want to see if it is accurate, precise, correctly sequenced, and that nothing has been left out. Next, I want to see that adequate time has been set aside for each step, so that optimism doesn't get in the way of good sense. Thirdly, I look for which tasks are dependent and require a particular sequence to be properly completed. Finally, I examine the presentation to see if another method would be more clear for this particular project.
 * • Evaluate & reflect on plan**

Stage 4: Create
To the best of my ability, I will use tools, materials, and ingredients exactly as planned, making sure they are the most appropriate for the job. I will make certain that I have practiced any unfamiliar techniques prior to the Create Stage so it works as planned. Research from the Investigate Stage should support these decisions.
 * • Competently use appropriate tools and techniques**

I write down exactly what I did during each step (not what I planned to do, but what I actually did), not during the work (so as to avoid interfering with the 'doing') but shortly thereafter while it is fresh in the memory.
 * • Describe exactly what was done to create the product**

If there were modifications to the plan resulting from substituting ingredients or using unfamiliar facilities, these should be listed and explained here.
 * • Explain reasons for any modifications to the plan**

Stage 5: Evaluate
I had others eat what I had prepared. Shortly thereafter they filled out a brief survey requesting feedback about the quality of their dining experience.
 * • Evaluate success of product objectively**

I wrote brief intermediate assessments of my performance during each stage of the Design Cycle. I made sure to articulate specific details when they were important.
 * • Self-evaluation at each stage of Design Cycle**

Following the two steps above, and using the results to inform, I projected the impact of this meal onto an intended audience.
 * • Evaluate impact of product on intended audience**