New Zealand Scholarship Technology key terms

The tangible result a technologist intends to produce for a user or community, such as a product, system or environment. It is the anchor for all design decisions and is judged against an explicit brief.

A written statement that sets out the need, the intended users, the constraints and the criteria for success. It guides decision-making and provides the standard against which the final outcome is evaluated.

A precise, measurable statement of what a product or system must do or be, covering performance, dimensions, materials, tolerances and standards. It converts broad needs into testable requirements that can be verified.

The agreed measures used to judge whether an outcome meets its brief, expressed so they can be observed or tested. They should be specific, relevant and set before development begins to avoid after-the-fact justification.

The degree to which a product performs the function it was designed for, under the conditions in which it will actually be used. It balances performance against cost, durability and user needs.

Any person or group affected by, or with an interest in, a technological outcome, including users, clients, manufacturers, regulators and the wider community. Identifying them early reveals competing needs and ethical obligations.

A development approach in which ideas are prototyped, tested and refined through repeated cycles rather than in one linear pass. Each cycle uses evidence from the last to improve the outcome.

A preliminary version of a product or system built to test specific aspects of a design before full production. Prototypes may be physical, digital or conceptual and are discarded or refined as knowledge grows.

A simplified physical or digital model used to explore scale, layout or ergonomics rather than function. It communicates design intent quickly and cheaply before detailed engineering begins.

Assessment carried out during development to inform improvement, using feedback, testing or observation. Its purpose is to shape the design rather than to judge a finished outcome.

Assessment of a completed outcome against its brief and success criteria, producing a judgement of overall merit. It typically occurs at the end of a project and may inform future iterations or product generations.

The use of software to create, model and document designs in two or three dimensions. It supports visualisation, simulation and precise drawing production, and feeds directly into computer-aided manufacturing.

The use of software to control machine tools and production equipment from a digital model. It converts CAD geometry into toolpaths and instructions, improving repeatability and enabling complex shapes.

Additive manufacturing techniques that build a physical part layer by layer directly from a digital model. It shortens development cycles and allows complex internal geometries that subtractive methods struggle to produce.

The permissible variation in a dimension or property during manufacture, stated as a range. Tighter tolerances improve interchangeability but raise cost, so tolerance must be matched to function.

The planned processes and checks used to ensure a product consistently meets its specification before it reaches users. It focuses on preventing defects through systems rather than catching them at final inspection.

The inspection and testing activities that detect whether produced items conform to specified requirements. It is a detection activity, typically applied to samples or batches during and after production.

The systematic choice of materials based on required properties, manufacturing process, cost and environmental impact. It uses property data and trade-off analysis rather than habit or availability alone.

Measurable characteristics such as strength, stiffness, density, thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance that determine how a material behaves in service and how it can be processed.

Progressive failure of a material caused by repeated or fluctuating stress, often at loads well below its single-load strength. It is a common cause of unexpected failure in moving or cyclically loaded components.

The ratio between a component's calculated strength or capacity and the maximum load it is expected to experience. It accounts for uncertainty in loads, materials and analysis, protecting against failure.

The study of how people interact physically and cognitively with products, systems and environments. It aims to reduce strain, error and injury while improving comfort, efficiency and usability.

The measurement of human body dimensions and their variation across populations. Designers use this data, including percentiles, to size products and spaces so they accommodate the intended range of users.

Designing products and environments so they can be used by the widest possible range of people without adaptation. It considers ability, age, size and context from the outset rather than as add-ons.

The extent to which a product can be used effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily by its intended users in its intended context. It is assessed through observation, testing and user feedback.

A structured method for quantifying the environmental impacts of a product across its whole life, from raw material extraction through manufacture, use and disposal. It supports comparison and improvement of designs.

The total energy consumed in extracting, processing, manufacturing and delivering a material or product. It is one indicator used when comparing options, though it does not capture all environmental effects.

A design philosophy in which materials are treated as nutrients that circulate continuously through technical or biological cycles, so waste becomes input for another product. It contrasts with cradle-to-grave thinking.

Design that meets present needs without compromising environmental, social and economic resources for the future. It considers material choice, energy use, longevity, repairability and end-of-life recovery.

The total cost of owning or operating a product over its entire life, including purchase, installation, energy, maintenance, repair and disposal. It often reveals that a higher purchase price can be cheaper overall.

The legal rights protecting creations of the mind, such as patents, registered designs, trademarks and copyright. Technologists must check existing rights and consider how to protect their own work.

A granted legal right that gives an inventor exclusive rights to an invention for a limited period, in exchange for disclosing it publicly. It requires novelty, an inventive step and industrial applicability.

Confirmation that a product or process does not infringe existing intellectual property rights held by others. It is established through searching and legal analysis before commercial launch.

The systematic identification of hazards, evaluation of the likelihood and severity of harm, and decision on controls. It underpins safe design and must be reviewed as designs and contexts change.

A ranked approach to reducing risk, from eliminating the hazard and substituting or engineering it out, through administrative controls, down to personal protective equipment as the last resort.

A source of potential harm to people, property or the environment, distinct from risk, which combines the likelihood and consequence of that harm occurring. Hazards must be identified before they can be controlled.

Published documents, often developed by national or international bodies, that set agreed requirements or guidance for safety, performance or interoperability. Compliance may be voluntary or required by regulation.

A rule with legal force, imposed by government or an authorised body, that governs how products, processes or activities must be carried out. Non-compliance can result in penalties or prohibition.