This thesis aims to test whether students learn more technology, and become more interested in technology, by designing in iterative processes versus linear ones. The thesis has been conducted as a five-week field study, in which technology teachers have been provided with a teacher’s manual, lesson plans and teaching material especially adapted to a school project with iterative design as working method. Students and teachers have evaluated the project afterwards through an online survey. In total, seven teachers and approximately 300 students have participated in the field study. The thesis’ results can be summarized in the following conclusions; Students learn more, and become more interested in technology, if the education is conducted as team assignments in which the students use iterative design There is a difference between how much boys and girls perceive having learned from the iterative way of designing. Boys, to a higher degree than girls, think that they learn more from iterative design than from linear. There are also interesting results worth discussing further; The study suggests that it is important for students’ learning that the teacher is having fun teaching. There are no differences between boys and girls or different ages regarding how much fun the students had designing iteratively.

Designingenjörsstudenterna Kajsa Phalén och Emelie Lövgren Berg på Högskolan i Skövde har under våren 2016 arbetat med ett produktutvecklingsprojekt i samverkan med leksaksföretaget Strawbees. Företaget vill börja sälja sina kreativa leksaker i butik och vill därför utveckla ett säljande displayställ som ska bära produkterna. En grundläggande förstudie har gjorts för att definiera en målgrupp som består av kunder och andra intressenter. Förstudien täcker också marknadsförings-strategier i butik och undersökningar som gjorts för att öka förståelsen för målgruppens behov. Marknadsanalyser över konkurrenter gav inspiration från redan befintliga lösningar på problemet och kollage över färgkoder och formspråk gav resultatet den känsla som företaget vill förmedla. Antalet produkter displaystället skulle bära hade stort fokus för starten av konceptgenereringen och kombinationer av hur produkterna kan placeras lade grunden för displayställets utformning. Genom analyser kring hur konkurrenter löst visuell design för displayställ skapades visuella teman. De framtagna utformningarna ihop med visuella teman och den känsla som företaget vill förmedla skapade sedan olika koncept. De vidareutvecklade koncepten analyserades efter hur de passade in i dess rätta miljö, en leksaksbutik. Utefter upptäckta brister kunde antalet koncept begränsas till enbart två stycken som senare blev prototyper. Dessa prototyper testades i verklig storlek ihop med de produkter som displaystället skulle rymma. Ett koncept kunde därefter bestämmas och vidareutvecklas i detaljform för att på bästa sätt nå upp till krav och önskemål. / During spring 2016, the engineering students Kajsa Phalén and Emelie Lövgren Berg, at the University of Skövde, developed a product in cooperation with the toy company Strawbees. The company wants to sell their creative toys in stores and therefore wants to develop a sales display stand that will carry the products. A basic feasibility study has been done to define a target group of customers and other stakeholders. The feasibility study also covers marketing strategies in shops and studies were carried out to increase understanding of the target group needs. Market analysis of competitors gave inspiration from existing solutions of the problem and a collage over color codes and idioms gave the result the feeling that the company wants to convey. The number of products that the display stand would wear was a major focus in the beginning of the concept generation. Combinations of how the products can be placed laid the foundation for the design of the display stand. Through analysis of how competitors solved the visual design for the display stand some visual themes were created. The developed designs together with visual themes and the feeling that the company wants to convey created various concepts. The new concepts were analyzed for how they would fit into its natural environment, a toy store. Because of some shortcomings the number of concept could be limited to only two, who later became prototypes. These prototypes were tested in real size together with the products that the display stand would accommodate. A concept could then be determined and developed in detail as to the best way to reach up to the demands and wishes of the company.