Planning and Design

Please note: this module follows the 2026 project brief, whose theme was forests. The State Examinations Commission publishes a new brief each year, with its own theme and its own dates. These lessons will be updated once this year's brief is published. Check the current brief on the SEC website before you begin. In this lesson, you will develop a complete Plan and Design section for your project report, approximately 600 words and worth 18 marks. You will evaluate at least two alternative ideas with justifications, identify stakeholders and end-user needs, list specific technologies, and create a high-level system architecture flowchart. By the end, your planning document will be ready for your final report website.

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1 Objectives
2 What the Official Brief Requires for This Section
3 Considering Different Project Options
4 Stakeholders and End-User Needs
5 Technologies You Will Use
6 System Architecture / High-Level Flowchart
7 Writing the Full Plan and Design Section
8 Checklist Before Next Lesson
Quiz

1 - Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will have:

A complete Plan and design section (approximately 600 words, worth 18 marks)
Considered at least two alternative project ideas and justified why you chose your final idea
Identified clear stakeholders and end-user needs
Listed the exact technologies you will use
Drawn a high-level system architecture / flowchart showing all components
A finished “Planning Document” ready to copy into your final report website

2 - What the Official Brief Requires for This Section

The brief states that the Plan and design section must contain a clear description of the design objectives of your project and show consideration of the following:

Different project options and justification of design choices
Stakeholders and end user needs
The technologies that will be used
System architecture / high-level flowchart showing components

These points, with a clear description of your design objectives, are what the 18 marks are awarded for.

3 - Considering Different Project Options

You must show you considered alternatives. Complete this table in your planning document:

Option	Description	Pros	Cons	Why rejected / chosen
1 (Final choice)				Chosen because…
2
3 (optional)

For possible extra credit, quantify pros/cons (e.g., 'Cost: €50 vs. €200').

4 - Stakeholders and End-User Needs

Examples that fit the forest theme (choose or adapt):

Forest managers / Coillte staff
Environmental scientists
Local farmers planting new woodland
Wildfire response teams
Ecology students / researchers

Need early warning of fire risk
Need accurate soil moisture data
Need simple alerts (not complex graphs)
Need data logged for long-term analysis
Need low-cost, weatherproof hardware

Write 4–6 bullet points of real needs linked to your chosen theme.

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