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The PLTW Engineering Design Process Cycle

Scaffold

This MicroSim has been scaffolded from its specification. The interactive implementation has not been built yet.

Learning Objective

Recall and sequence the seven steps of the PLTW engineering design process and explain how they connect in an iterative loop (Bloom L1–L2: recall, sequence, explain).

  • Bloom Level: TBD
  • Bloom Verb: TBD
  • Library: p5.js

Preview

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Specification

The full specification below is extracted from Chapter 3: The Engineering Design Process.

Type: interactive-infographic
**sim-id:** pltw-design-process-cycle<br/>
**Library:** p5.js<br/>
**Status:** Specified

**Learning objective:** Recall and sequence the seven steps of the PLTW engineering design process and explain how they connect in an iterative loop (Bloom L1–L2: recall, sequence, explain).

**Description:** A circular p5.js diagram showing the PLTW design process as a ring of seven labeled nodes connected by curved directional arrows forming a clockwise loop. A center label reads "PLTW Engineering Design Process."

**Node labels and colors (clockwise from top):**
1. Define the Problem — blue (#1565C0)
2. Research — teal (#00695C)
3. Ideate — green (#388E3C)
4. Specify — yellow (#F57F17)
5. Prototype — orange (#E64A19)
6. Test & Validate — red (#C62828)
7. Communicate — purple (#6A1B9A)

**Canvas:** 650 × 500 px, responsive.

**Interactions:**
- Clicking any node highlights it with a pulsing glow and opens a detail panel below the diagram showing:
  - Step name and one-sentence description
  - Key questions asked at this step (bulleted list, 3–4 items)
  - Typical deliverables (e.g., "problem statement," "sketch sheet," "CAD model")
  - AM-specific note: how this step plays out in a 3D printing project
  - A "Next Step →" button that advances to the next node in the cycle
- Arrows between non-adjacent nodes (e.g., Test back to Ideate) are shown as lighter dashed arcs to indicate that iteration can jump back to earlier steps; hovering these arcs shows a tooltip: "Iteration: test results revealed a flaw — return here to redesign."
- A "Full Cycle" button animates a glowing bead traveling around the ring in sequence with a 0.8 s pause at each node.

**Layout:** Nodes evenly spaced on a circle of radius 200 px. Node circles are 60 px diameter with white text. Arrows are curved SVG paths with arrowheads.