Session 18: Planning, documentation and evidence
Learning outcomes
- Turn a brief into measurable success criteria
- Produce an IPO diagram, a truth table and a pin and power plan
- Record a test table that includes a failure injection
- Keep a fault log with resolved and unresolved entries
Kit and components
- Uno, push button, LED and 330 Ω resistor, breadboard, multimeter
- Logbooks
Pre-reading about 25 min
Students read these on their phones before class. They are listed on the student Before class page.
Session plan
- 0:0010 minRecap
Quiz: state machines
- 0:1025 minDemo
Anatomy of a good plan
Walk through the lamp controller documents in the lesson. Show a weak and a strong success criterion and ask which one could fail a test.
- 0:3545 minBuild
Document, then build the lamp controller
In pairs, students write criteria, IPO diagram, pin table and BOM before wiring, then build the worked sketch and run test rows 1-5, recording real observations.
- 1:2025 minPlan
Fault log practice
While students look away, change one component or one line on each bench. Students find the fault by method and write a complete fault log entry.
- 1:4515 minWrap-up
The code-correction brief
Show the code-correction brief and criteria grid. Explain Competent / Not Yet Competent and that the fault inventory comes before any fix.
Checkpoint: ready to move on?
Each student's logbook holds the lamp controller documents, including a test table of at least five rows and one fault log entry.
Extension for fast finishers
Draft Task A's success criteria and state table from its brief.
Catch-up path
Complete the criteria, pin table and test table for the lamp controller at home, using the lesson as a model.
Homework and practice
Pre-reading for S19; revise the fault classes.
Facilitator notes
- Assessors mark the documents as well as the build. Model the documents on the projector - students copy the format they see.