← Years 7–8 Creating Digital Solutions

Evaluating a solution against constraints

Check if a solution stayed within its time, budget, device and skill limits, say if each was met or not met, and explain what trade-offs were made and how they affected its features.

Part of: 7-8 Digital Technologies: Evaluating digital solutions — Module 2

Understanding Evaluating a solution against constraints in Years 7–8 Creating Digital Solutions

What it does: Removing a feature to save time is a trade-off made because of the time constraint. The device limit changed what the solution can do, so this shows the effect of a constraint on features. The constraint said school laptops. If the game does not work on them, the device constraint was not met. The skill constraint is about working within the skills you have. Using block coding fits that limit. Honest evaluation includes constraints that were not met. Explain what happened and what it affected.

Common mistakes: The solution spent 150, so a limit of 100 would mean the budget was not met. The result says met, so the limit should be 200. The time constraint is met when the time used is less than or equal to the limit. The test should use <=, not >=.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 50–125) and word search (Modules 3–125).

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Learning
Duo
A student's team had 2 weeks to build a quiz app and handed it in on day 14. Was the time constraint met?
Met - it was finished within the 2 weeksNot met - it was finished within the 2 weeks
Matches
Budget was $100. We spent $140. Budget constraint: met.
↓
The result says met, but spending $140 is over the $100 limit, so it should say not met.
Applying
Meanings
Term
evaluate against constraints
Meaning
Check if a solution stayed within its time, budget, device and skill limits, say if each was met or not met, and explain what trade-offs were made and how they affected its features.
Practice
Constraint: Time - 4 weeks - Met
Testing
Gaps
IF daysUsed daysAllowed THEN
Check Answer
Spots
1constraint ← budget
2limit ← 100

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Quick Questions

1. A student's team had 2 weeks to build a quiz app and handed it in on day 14. Was the time constraint met?
A. Met - it was finished within the 2 weeks ✓
B. Not met - it was finished within the 2 weeks
A time constraint is met when the solution is finished inside the time limit. Day 14 is still within 2 weeks.
2. Which sentence best evaluates a solution against constraints?
A. The app looks cool and I like the colours.
B. The budget was met, but we dropped the music feature to stay under $20. ✓
Evaluating against constraints means saying whether each limit was met and what it affected. Opinions about looks do not do this.
3. Your game had to run on school laptops, but it only works on a gaming computer. What should you say about the device constraint?
A. Not met - it does not run on the required device ✓
B. Met - gaming computers are better anyway
The constraint said school laptops. If the game does not work on them, the device constraint was not met.
4. What is a trade-off?
A. Giving up one thing, like a feature, to stay within a limit, like time ✓
B. Swapping your finished app with another team
A trade-off is a choice where you give up something to keep within a constraint, such as cutting a feature to finish on time.
5. A team had only 3 days left, so they removed the high-score table from their game. This is an example of:
A. A constraint that had no effect
B. A trade-off that affected the features ✓
Dropping the high-score table because of time is a trade-off. It changed which features the final game had.

Match the Pairs

Constraint: finish in 4 weeks. Result: finished in 6 weeks. → The time constraint was not met because the project took longer than the limit.
Constraint: budget $50. Result: spent $45. → The budget constraint was met because the cost stayed within the limit.
A trade-off is giving up one thing to keep within a constraint. → Trade-off: dropped the music feature to finish on time.
Explain the effect on features when a constraint limits a solution. → Effect: the app only runs on phones, so no laptop version.
Budget was $100. We spent $140. Budget constraint: met. → The result says met, but spending $140 is over the $100 limit, so it should say not met.
Skill limit: only block coding. Result: used advanced text code. Skill constraint: met. → The solution used skills beyond the limit, so the skill constraint was not met. It should also explain the effect.

Key Term

evaluate against constraints
Check if a solution stayed within its time, budget, device and skill limits, say if each was met or not met, and explain what trade-offs were made and how they affected its features.

Fill in the Blanks

1. IF daysUsed > daysAllowed THEN SET result TO "not met" ELSE SET result TO "met"
Hint: Type the comparison operator that checks whether the time used went over the time limit.
2. IF cost > budget THEN SET budgetResult TO "not met" ELSE SET budgetResult TO "met"
Hint: Type the keyword that starts a decision to check the budget.
3. SET tradeoff TO "dropped video to save time" SET effect TO "fewer features in the app"
Hint: Type the variable name that records the choice made to fit within a limit.
4. IF time = "met" AND cost = "met" THEN DISPLAY "All constraints met" ELSE DISPLAY "Some not met"
Hint: Type the logic keyword that needs both the time and cost checks to be true.
5. IF skillLevel < skillNeeded THEN SET features TO features - 1 DISPLAY "Skill limit not met"
Hint: Type the operator that checks if the skill level is lower than the skill needed.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A constraint ← budget
B limit ← 100
C spent ← 150
D result ← met
Line B — The solution spent 150, so a limit of 100 would mean the budget was not met. The result says met, so the limit should be 200.
Question 2
A used ← 5, limit ← 6
B IF used >= limit THEN
C result ← met
D ELSE result ← not met
Line B — The time constraint is met when the time used is less than or equal to the limit. The test should use <=, not >=.
Question 3
A constraint ← runs on tablets
B feature ← mouse hover menu
C result ← met
Line B — Tablets have no mouse, so a hover menu breaks the device constraint and the result could not be met. Tap buttons work on a tablet.
Question 4
A constraint ← time (3 weeks)
B removed ← multiplayer mode
C kept ← score and levels
D trade-off ← more features
Line D — The team removed multiplayer mode to finish on time, so the trade-off was fewer features, not more.
Question 5
A constraint ← skill
B skill ← basic Scratch only
C approach ← use advanced Python
D result ← met
Line C — The creator only has basic Scratch skills, so using advanced Python goes beyond the skill constraint. The approach should use simple blocks.

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