At a glance
Solo · launched in Unit 1 and handed in on its fifth period, three of which are working periods · one real person, one budget, one recommendation written for them rather than for me
What you are making
A one-page recommendation for somebody you actually know who needs a device — a phone, a laptop, a tablet, a console, or the machine a family shares. Real person, real budget, real uses. You interview them, turn what they do into requirements, and recommend one thing you can defend.
What must be in it
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Who they are and what they do with it, in three or four sentences taken from an actual conversation. “It’s slow” is not a requirement — ask when it is slow, and at what.
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The budget, and where it came from.
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Anybody else who uses it. Most machines are shared. Name the second person, say what they need that your main client does not, and which of your choices is there for them. If it genuinely is one person’s machine, say how you know.
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A note on your notes. You are holding somebody’s budget and their habits. Say what you asked permission to write down, what you decided to leave out, and where these notes live between the interview and the hand-in. “In a file called
interview.txton the school drive, which only I can open” is an answer; “on my phone somewhere” is the problem this line exists to catch. -
A requirements table: each thing they do, the hardware or software it leans on, and what that means concretely.
What they do What it leans on What that means Twelve tabs and a video call Memory 16 GB, not 8 Photos from a real camera Storage, then screen 1 TB; a screen worth looking at -
The device you recommend, with its specifications written out properly — processor, memory, storage, screen, battery, ports — using the vocabulary from Hardware Inside the Box correctly.
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The software they will need, and what kind each piece is: an operating system, an application, a service that runs somewhere else. Software and Operating Systems has the distinction that matters.
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One connected device that belongs with it — headphones, a printer, a watch, a controller, a smart speaker — chosen on what it does rather than on brand. Connected Devices is where we work out what each one is actually for.
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What you gave up, and who would notice. Every budget forces a trade; naming it is what makes this advice rather than an advertisement.
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A setup checklist for their first day: the security settings you would turn on for them, where their files will live and how they are backed up, and the one habit you would ask them to keep. From Staying Secure Online and Files and the Cloud — and you have to be able to explain each item to them in one sentence.
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Research sources and verification: cite the credible sources used to verify component specifications, software compatibility, and benchmark performance (manufacturer spec sheets, independent test reviews, accessibility compatibility guides) as practised in Finding Answers Online.
The working periods
| Working period | What it is for |
|---|---|
| 1 | Interview written up in their words, your note on the notes written, and the requirements table started |
| 2 | The software half: what they will need, what kind each piece is, and their first-day setup checklist |
| 3 | The row you ruled weakest, fixed first; then a classmate plays your client and you fix it while they are still sitting there |
The ruling itself is done two classes earlier, in the clinic period — see Judging Your Own Work.
Success criteria
| Quality | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Grounded in a person | Real uses, in their words, not a product review |
| More than one head counted | The second user’s needs are named, and one choice is traceable to them |
| Careful with their information | The brief says what was recorded with permission, what was left out, and where the notes lived |
| Correct vocabulary | Memory, storage, processor, application, operating system used precisely |
| Requirements drive the choice | Every number traces back to something they do |
| Research practices verified | Hardware specs, benchmarks, and compatibility are confirmed against credible sources |
| Connected device justified | Chosen for what it adds, not for the box it comes in |
| Honest about trade-offs | Says what was given up and who notices |
| Safe from day one | The checklist names the security settings, where their files will live, and how they are backed up |
| Written for the client | They could follow it without you in the room |
Reflect
A Dev Journal entry: which of their answers changed your recommendation most? And what would you have got wrong if you had skipped the interview and gone straight to shopping?
Curriculum connection
A2.2
analyze personal and societal safety and cybersecurity issues related to digital technology, and identify measures and technologies that can help mitigate related concerns for individuals and communities
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B1.1
describe the functions and features of various core components of hardware associated with digital technologies they encounter in their everyday life
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B1.2
describe the functions and features of various connected devices associated with digital technologies they encounter in their everyday life
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B1.3
describe the functions of various types of software they encounter in their everyday life
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B2.2
identify and use effective research practices and supports when learning to use new hardware or software
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B2.3
assess the hardware and software requirements for various users, contexts, and purposes in order to make recommendations for devices and programs
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B3.1
apply safe and effective data practices when using digital technology in various contexts
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