Lecture 3 - TECHNOLOGY AS A PROCESS

Technology can be viewed as a process that starts by identifying a

need or a problem and
works towards a solution:

Need - cleaner ways to generate our electricity Possible

solutions - solar panels, wind turbines, wave farms.

Problem traffic congestion at the Kappara roundabout

Possible solution redesign the junction to facilitate traffic flow.

Needs can be real or largely created through marketing.

At the core of technology is the design process this involves evaluation
of the problem, research, generation and evaluation of ideas and potential
solutions, selecting the best solution and actualising and testing the
solution.

The design process has to take into account the knowledge, skills,
materials and finance available.

Many designs start off as ideas and rough sketches on paper. Before the
advent of computer aided design (CAD), cars and houses were completely
designed by hand on paper change was tedious and expensive.
Today many items are largely designed by computers. For example, the
design of a cars body has to take into account air flow, driver and
passenger comfort and safety as well as the drivers field of vision. CAD
allows objects to be completely designed in three dimensions, and tested
before actually being built.
Analysis and evaluation of potential solutions involves breaking
down an object, system or problem, into parts to understand their
relationships to each other and to other external elements. Individual
components will require testing and evaluation.
Different stages of the design process often involve scientific analysis
depending on the nature of the technology: E.g. Drag coefficients need to
be calculated when designing a car or an aircraft. This involves
mathematical equations.
Nowadays a lot of analysis is done by computer - designs are easily
modified and tested and computer data can be fed into a mechanical
production line, and the object is built to the specifications.
Designs then need to be realised this may involve three dimensional
models, computer models and prototypes.
Prototypes are trial versions of the final product these will be tested,
modified and improved many prototypes may be needed before a
particular product or process is good enough to be commercialised for
example prototype cars may need to be tested for safety, durability under
different conditions etc. Each test needs to be documented.
Unfortunately some technological solutions are having long term
undesired consequences:

CFCs ozone depletion

Synthetic insecticides ecosystem disruption

Chemical fertilizers eutrophication

In fact the development and use of technology is very much linked with
our values the above effects were unforeseeable when the technology
was introduced but this is no longer the case.
Value decisions have to be made throughout the design process e.g.
aesthetic & economic judgements; suitability for purpose and ease of
manufacture.
However value judgements also need to be made about how ethical or
not a particular solution is:

Is it right to design software that facilitates downloading of

copyrighted material?

Is it right to offer technological solutions that deprive people of work

in less developed countries?

Very important in todays highly competitive, liberalised markets are the

aesthetics of a product. The final design is often a compromise
between functionality, performance, efficiency, costs and aesthetics.
Which is given most importance is often a commercial decision depending
on the market sector targeted.
Technological developments are not always a direct consequence of
scientific progress they are very much determined by society (consumer
choice and marketing).
Only a few of the potential technologies available at any time are fully
developed and widely implemented.

Further reading
Systems of Knowledge A multidisciplinary approach
Module 3 essay 5
What is Technology? (pages 141 -143)