This assignment requires you to evaluate a product from the view point of quality, both quality of design (as perceived by the user) and quality of conformance. To ensure that we are all dealing with the same thing, you are required to purchase a small flying toy. A kite, boomerang, ready-to-fly model or balsa-wood glider should be suitable. Make sure it is intended to fly, as this will be a major dimension to test. These should be readily available from model shops, toy shops or even newsagents. (Some students have had trouble obtaining a suitable toy. You should not invest in a built-up, tissue- covered flying model unless you are already familiar with model construction and wish to extend your skill. The successful completion of such a model requires a greater investment of time and money than is desirable for this assignment. I do not envisage you spending more than $10 to $15 (Australian), hopefully a lot less. Any flying toy in this price range will be acceptable. (If you are completely unable to find something contact me early!) These are intended as children's toys, so your evaluation may well include some testing with the intended users. Write a report on the quality of your chosen purchase, considering value to the user, and also quality of conformance. In this case this can be assessed by comparing what is actually delivered to what is promised or described by the packaging and/or instructions included.
Some of the points which should be addressed might be:
- In most shops, you should have a choice between different brands or sizes of toy. Why did you choose this one?
- Assess the instructions - complete, easy to understand?
- How well does it fly? If you know of other students, make comparison trials.
- How durable is it?
- What is your perception of 'value'?
- What advice or suggestions would you make to the manufacturers?
Relate the points you consider to the dimensions of quality, discussing both attributes and variables. Follow a report format. Keep it brief, so long as you cover the topic. Note that you are assessing the product, not merely describing it. You should consider using some paragraph headings suggested by your reading of the text to relate it to theory.
You should rely on at least eight (8) independent quality sources as supportive evidence, which may include websites, book chapters and journal papers. When quotations or ideas from a text, publication or Internet site are used, the source must be cited in the correct Harvard referencing style. Failure to cite sources as they are used will be regarded as plagiarism and could result in the failure of the assignment or the course.