Home A - Z
Page Index

An Otter Wiki

Blame

7b1008 lisa 2026-05-25 11:26:37
SD: add 'C04 to C05 - Choose, then Detail' explainer; link from both homes Cross-criterion explainer (breadth->depth, divergent->convergent) with funnel-fan diagram and CYU. Linked from C04-home and C05-home Key concepts. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
1 
> **DRAFT** — under teacher review.
2
3
# C04 → C05 — Choose, then Detail
4
5
The Hamilton and Alexandra College · Year 12 · 2026
6
7
C04 and C05 sit back-to-back in the SAT and share the word *design*, so they're easy to blur. The distinction is simple once you see it: **C04 decides *which* idea; C05 specifies that idea precisely enough to build.**
8
9
---
10
11
## The one-sentence rule
12
13
| Criterion | In one sentence | The question it answers |
14
|---|---|---|
15
| **C04** — Generating Design Ideas & Evaluation Criteria | Explore *several* rough design ideas, then use evaluation criteria to choose one | "Which design should proceed — and why?" |
16
| **C05** — Producing Detailed Designs | Take the *chosen* idea and detail it until someone else could build it | "Exactly how is this built — every screen, field and step?" |
17
18
The shift is **breadth → depth**: C04 is *divergent* (many options, then a decision); C05 is *convergent* (one option, fully specified).
19
20
---
21
22
## One picture
23
24
C04 fans *out* into options and funnels *in* to a decision. C05 takes that single decision and fans it back *out* — but this time into detail, not alternatives.
25
26
```mermaid
27
flowchart LR
28
I1["Idea A"] --> M{{"Evaluation matrix<br/>C04 · choose which"}}
29
I2["Idea B"] --> M
30
I3["Idea C"] --> M
31
M ==>|"the chosen design"| D["Detailed design<br/>C05"]
32
D --> T1["Mock-ups"]
33
D --> T2["Data dictionary"]
34
D --> T3["IPO charts"]
35
D --> T4["Pseudocode"]
36
D --> T5["Object descriptions"]
37
```
38
39
---
40
41
## Side-by-side
42
43
| | **C04** | **C05** |
44
|---|---|---|
45
| What you produce | Several rough ideas + an evaluation matrix | One detailed design of the chosen idea |
46
| Mindset | Explore, then **decide** | Commit, then **detail** |
47
| Key tools | Mood board, brainstorm, mind map, annotated sketches | Mock-ups, data dictionary, IPO charts, pseudocode, object descriptions |
48
| Output's job | **Justify a choice** | **Be buildable** |
49
| Leans on | Your SRS (C03) and design brief | Your C04 decision |
50
51
---
52
53
## The trap
54
55
C05 is **not** "make the C04 sketch look nicer." A rough idea becomes a *detailed design* when another person could build from it **without asking you what you meant** — exact data types in the data dictionary, real logic in the pseudocode, every control annotated on the mock-up. That buildable precision is the whole point of C05.
56
57
> [!TIP]
58
> **Architect's analogy:** C04 is sketching three concepts and arguing for one. C05 is drawing the construction blueprints for the concept that won. You can't blueprint what you haven't chosen — so C05 depends on the C04 decision.
59
60
---
61
62
## Check Your Understanding
63
64
1. In one phrase, what does C04 decide that C05 then assumes?
65
>| *Which* design idea proceeds. C05 details that already-chosen idea — it doesn't re-open the choice.
66
67
2. Breadth or depth — which word fits C04, and which fits C05?
68
>| C04 = **breadth** (several ideas, then choose). C05 = **depth** (one idea, fully specified).
69
70
3. A student repolishes the colours and fonts of their C04 sketch and submits it as their detailed design. What's missing?
71
>| Buildable detail — data dictionary, IPO/pseudocode logic, annotated controls. "Looks nicer" is not "detailed enough for someone else to build."
72
73
---
74
75
## See also
76
77
- [Efficiency vs Effectiveness](/sd/C04/Efficiency%20vs%20Effectiveness) — the key distinction *inside* C04's evaluation criteria
78
- [Design Principles vs UX Characteristics](/sd/C05/Design%20Principles%20vs%20UX%20Characteristics) — a distinction *inside* C05
79
80
---
81
82
← [C04 Home](/sd/C04/C04-home) · [C05 Home](/sd/C05/C05-home) · [VCE Software Development Hub](/sd/VCE%20Software%20Development%20Hub)