PROD351-26S1 (C) Semester One 2026

Data Driven Design Evaluations

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 16 February 2026
End Date: Sunday, 21 June 2026
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 1 March 2026
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 10 May 2026

Description

The goal of this course is to enable students to evaluate designs using data driven methods and tools. This is of particular importance for critical design decisions. The students will learn the underlying methodological and mathematical principles, such as design epistemology, experimental design, statistics, and data communication. The course will use real world design problems as the basis for learning how to perform quantitative evaluations. The students will learn how to setup an experiment, collect data, choose statistical methods and how to communicate the results to the stake holders. The students will learn how to use software tools for data collection, statistical analysis and data visualisation to support their evaluation process.

Learning Outcomes

1. Understanding key statistical concepts and techniques
2. Knowledge of data collection methods and their relationship to statistical inference
3. The ability and confidence to perform descriptive statistics
4. The ability to make statistical inferences
5. Expertise on what statistical method to use in which context
6. Interpreting and communicating the results of statistical analysis

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

Employable, innovative and enterprising

Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.

Prerequisites

Timetable 2026

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 11:00 - 13:00 James Logie 104
16 Feb - 29 Mar
20 Apr - 31 May
Tutorial A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 14:00 - 15:00 Jack Erskine 134 Lab 3
16 Feb - 29 Mar
20 Apr - 31 May

Course Coordinator

Christoph Bartneck

Course Administrator

Alison Lowery

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Attendance at Lectures 10% Weekly
Projects 40% Weekly
Final Exam 30% As scheduled
Midterm Exam 20% As scheduled.

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Field, A; Discovering Statistics using JASP ; Sage, 2025 (https://libcat.canterbury.ac.nz/Record/in1425295).

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

All work completed as part of PROD351 must be:
• Substantially your own work
• The work of others – including generative AI – is cited correctly to acknowledge use of external materials.
• You are not allowed to use generative AI unless specifically instructed.

Grade moderation

In order to pass the course you must meet two requirements:
1. You must achieve an average grade of at least 50% over all assessment items.
2. You must achieve an average mark of at least 45% on invigilated assessment items.

If you satisfy both these criteria, your grade will be determined by the following University-wide scale for converting marks to grades: an average mark of 50% is sufficient for a C- grade, an average mark of 55% earns a C grade, 60% earns a C+ grade and so forth. However if you do not satisfy both the passing criteria you will be given either a D or E grade depending on marks. Marks are sometimes scaled to achieve consistency between courses from year to year.
Students may apply for special consideration if their performance in an assessment is affected by extenuating circumstances beyond their control.

Applications for special consideration should be submitted via the Special Considerations website within five days of the assessment.

Where an extension may be granted for an assessment, this will be decided by direct application to the Department and an application to the Examinations Office may not be required.

Special consideration is not available for items worth less than 10% of the course.

Students prevented by extenuating circumstances from completing the course after the final date for withdrawing, may apply for special consideration for late discontinuation of the course. Applications must be submitted to the Examinations Office within five days of the end of the main examination period for the semester.

Late submission of work

All submissions for assignments will be done through Learn and must be completed before the deadlines set up in Learn. Extensions will only be granted on the grounds of exceptional circumstances, such as sickness.

Other specific requirements

Pocket calculators
During the exam, you will not be allowed to use your mobile devices or your laptop computer. You will not have access to the internet. You may use a UC-approved pocket calculator. Please review the exam instructions for information on UC-approved pocket calculators. Calculators are available in the University Book Shop.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,190.00

International fee $6,488.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Product Design on the departments and faculties page .

All PROD351 Occurrences

  • PROD351-26S1 (C) Semester One 2026