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IA Playbook

Design Technology IA Criteria Guide

Move from problem framing to prototype testing with a design process that clearly matches the rubric.

Use this guide to sharpen your brief, justify concept choices, build a manufacturable proposal, and evaluate the final prototype with evidence.

Design Technology IA

Assessment criteria

See what each criterion measures, how many marks it carries, and what stronger evidence usually looks like.

This is Marksy's independently written criteria explanation, not an official IB publication.

Criterion A: Analysis of a design opportunity (9 marks)

How thoroughly the design problem, users, context, research, and specification are established.

Stronger evidence

The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Early-stage evidence

Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address analysis of a design opportunity, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.

Criterion B: Conceptual design (9 marks)

How creatively and systematically ideas are generated, developed, compared, and selected.

Stronger evidence

The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Early-stage evidence

Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address conceptual design, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.

Criterion C: Development of a detailed design (9 marks)

How effectively the selected concept becomes a feasible, justified design ready for manufacture or implementation.

Stronger evidence

The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Early-stage evidence

Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address development of a detailed design, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.

Criterion D: Testing and evaluation (9 marks)

How rigorously the outcome is tested with users and evaluated against the specification.

Stronger evidence

The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Early-stage evidence

Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address testing and evaluation, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.

Markband guide

Criterion A: Analysis of a design opportunity (9 marks)

MarksWhat the draft currently shows
0The submitted material does not provide assessable evidence for analysis of a design opportunity.
1-3Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address analysis of a design opportunity, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.
4-5Some relevant evidence is developed, although the response is inconsistent or leaves important connections unexplained.
6-7The response addresses the criterion securely in most places, using relevant evidence and generally clear reasoning, with limited gaps.
8-9The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Criterion B: Conceptual design (9 marks)

MarksWhat the draft currently shows
0The submitted material does not provide assessable evidence for conceptual design.
1-3Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address conceptual design, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.
4-5Some relevant evidence is developed, although the response is inconsistent or leaves important connections unexplained.
6-7The response addresses the criterion securely in most places, using relevant evidence and generally clear reasoning, with limited gaps.
8-9The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Criterion C: Development of a detailed design (9 marks)

MarksWhat the draft currently shows
0The submitted material does not provide assessable evidence for development of a detailed design.
1-3Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address development of a detailed design, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.
4-5Some relevant evidence is developed, although the response is inconsistent or leaves important connections unexplained.
6-7The response addresses the criterion securely in most places, using relevant evidence and generally clear reasoning, with limited gaps.
8-9The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Criterion D: Testing and evaluation (9 marks)

MarksWhat the draft currently shows
0The submitted material does not provide assessable evidence for testing and evaluation.
1-3Only fragments of relevant evidence are visible. The response begins to address testing and evaluation, but important parts remain missing, unclear, or unsupported.
4-5Some relevant evidence is developed, although the response is inconsistent or leaves important connections unexplained.
6-7The response addresses the criterion securely in most places, using relevant evidence and generally clear reasoning, with limited gaps.
8-9The response addresses the criterion consistently and precisely. Evidence is well selected, reasoning is sustained, and important choices or limitations are handled convincingly.

Build Sequence

Did You Know? Most weak drafts fail from sequence chaos, not lack of ideas.

Step 1

Frame the design opportunity

Identify a real problem, then turn it into a focused brief and specification that are clearly justified by research.

Step 2

Develop and compare concepts

Generate more than one feasible solution and use concept modelling to show why the chosen direction is strongest.

Step 3

Build a detailed proposal

Document materials, components, dimensions, and manufacturing steps so another person could reproduce the prototype.

Step 4

Test and refine

Evaluate the prototype against the specification, then explain improvements with clear cause-and-effect reasoning.

Submission Checklist

  • The brief and specification are justified by the research, not copied from it.
  • Concept selection is explained, not just presented.
  • The final design proposal is detailed enough for third-party manufacture.
  • Testing evidence is tied directly back to the original specification.

Quick Wins

  • Use the specification as a checklist for every development decision.
  • Include comparison language when explaining why one concept won over another.
  • Tie each proposed improvement to a specific limitation observed during testing.

Did You Know?

Stress-Test Your DT IA Before Submission

Marksy highlights weak links between brief, concept, development, and testing so you can fix them fast. The result includes an estimated mark for every criterion, evidence from your draft, and the changes to make first. Your final mark may differ after teacher assessment or external moderation.

1. Upload your IA draft PDF to Marksy.
2. Get an estimated mark and feedback for every IA criterion.
3. Revise and resubmit with focused improvements.
Marksy grading results view

Instant Grading Results

See where your score is now, not just where it could be.

Marksy criterion feedback highlights

Criterion-By-Criterion Feedback

See the estimated mark, evidence, and next step for every assessment criterion.

Marksy list of fixes for an IB draft

Action List To Improve

Get concrete next edits instead of vague "improve analysis" advice.

Marksy AI detection and highlight review

Confidence And Integrity Signals

Review flagged sections and strengthen authenticity before submission.

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