Lesson T1.1.1

T1.1.1 Researching user needs Quiz: KS3 Design & Technology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T1.1.1, Researching user needs: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Design & Technology (National Curriculum), Unit 1: Design, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is a questionnaire mainly used for when researching user needs?

    • Measuring the strength of a finished product's materials in a testing lab
    • Collecting the same set of written answers from many potential users
    • Drawing a detailed plan of how each part of a product is assembled together
    • Timing how long a machine takes to cut a shape from a sheet of material

  2. Which is a primary source of research for a design problem?

    • Looking up facts in an old encyclopaedia entry about the product's history
    • Reading a textbook chapter on materials science and their properties
    • Copying data from a previous exam paper about similar design questions
    • Interviewing the people who will actually use the product

  3. What does user-centred design mean?

    • Designing a product that looks the same as the existing market leaders on the high street
    • Designing first and only then asking users what they think of the finished product itself
    • Designing mainly to reduce the cost of making the product in a large factory setting
    • Designing with the needs and views of the people who will use the product at the centre

  4. Why should a designer study different cultures during research?

    • To avoid having to test the product with the real people who will be using it
    • To find cheap labour for making the product in another country with lower wages
    • To understand how different people's needs, customs and preferences may vary
    • To copy the most popular designs from other countries directly into our own work

  5. A student wants to design a lunchbox for Year 7 pupils. Which research step would best find out what they need?

    • Measuring the size of the school canteen tables and the seats around them only
    • Asking the student's parents to design the lunchbox for them at home instead
    • Observing and asking Year 7 pupils how they carry and use their lunch now
    • Buying the cheapest lunchbox in a local shop and copying its design exactly

  6. A designer finds that a product fails for left-handed users. What research step would have prevented this?

    • Making the product bigger so it fits everyone equally
    • Including left-handed users in the research and testing
    • Relying only on the cost of the materials for decisions
    • Only testing the product with the designer's own hands

  7. Which is an example of observational research?

    • Reading a magazine article that reviews kitchen tools from several brands
    • Watching how people use a kitchen tool in their own homes
    • Drawing a plan for a brand new kitchen tool to show family at home
    • Printing 500 copies of a survey to hand out at the local shop

  8. What is the main purpose of a user needs analysis?

    • To identify what the product must do for the people who will use it
    • To choose which factory will make the parts of the product at the lowest price
    • To decide the colour of the final product before any testing has taken place
    • To calculate the profit that a company will make from the sales of the product

  9. Which information is qualitative rather than quantitative?

    • Users say the grip feels comfortable and secure in the hand
    • Users can lift a 5 kg load with one hand and hold it steady for a minute
    • The handle of the tool is 120 mm long and 25 mm wide at its widest point
    • The product weighs 450 g when fully packed and ready to be sold in shops

  10. Which is an example of quantitative research data?

    • Eighty per cent of 60 surveyed pupils prefer a lighter school bag
    • Pupils say they like the bright colour and the design of the bag a lot
    • The bag looks smart and modern to most people who saw it at the open day
    • Pupils feel the bag is a bit too heavy to carry comfortably for a whole day

  11. A survey asks Don't you think our new design is brilliant? Why is this a poor question?

    • It leads the respondent towards giving a particular answer
    • It is too short to collect enough useful data from the people who answer
    • It uses a multiple-choice format rather than letting people give open answers
    • It asks about the cost of the materials that were used to make the design

  12. Why is a sample of 5 users less reliable than a sample of 50?

    • A smaller group always costs more money to recruit for each separate round
    • A larger group is more likely to represent the wider range of users
    • A smaller group always takes much longer to analyse than a larger group does
    • A larger group always gives identical answers to every single question asked

  13. A designer's research shows most users are older adults, but the designer only surveys students. What is the main risk?

    • The survey will break the school's rules on data
    • The findings may not represent the actual intended users
    • The product will automatically be cheaper to manufacture
    • Older adults will refuse to use the product at all

  14. What is the best way to find out how long a user takes to open a jar?

    • Read the jar's label carefully and assume the time it suggests is correct
    • Measure the thickness of the jar's lid with a ruler and a set of callipers
    • Ask a friend to guess how long it takes to open the jar in the kitchen
    • Observe users opening the jar and time them with a clock

  15. What is a stakeholder in a design project?

    • The machine used to cut the materials in the workshop each morning
    • Only the company's shareholders, who own the product and its brand name
    • Any person or group affected by or interested in the product
    • The final designer who signs off the drawings before they go to the workshop

  16. Which is a common research method for finding out about existing products?

    • Drawing a 3-D model of a brand new idea for the first time in class
    • Asking an engineer to make a prototype straight away for the team to test
    • Product analysis by examining and using similar products
    • Writing a specification for an imagined product that does not yet exist

  17. A cafe wants a cup that is easy to hold for older customers. What should the designer research?

    • How older people grip, lift and drink from cups
    • The colour of the cafe's walls and furniture in the seating area
    • How many cups the cafe sells in a typical day across the whole week
    • The price of cups sold in a different country on a different continent

  18. Why is it useful to research the views of people who will NOT buy the product?

    • It removes the need to test the product with the people who use it
    • Their objections can reveal problems the design must solve
    • It guarantees the product will sell to everyone in the local area
    • It reduces the number of materials needed in the final design overall

  19. Which research would find out whether a tool is safe for children to use?

    • Testing a prototype with children under supervision and recording any problems
    • Calculating the tool's weight on paper and never testing it with any users
    • Asking adults how they think children would behave with the tool in practice
    • Copying the safety rules from a different product that was designed for adults

  20. A designer collects 40 answers and 28 say yes. What percentage said yes?

    • 70 per cent
    • 28 per cent
    • 68 per cent
    • 40 per cent

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