Your analysis of the ‘problem’ you are solving lays the foundation for all your future work. Your analysis has the potential for its own narrative structure: an initial exploration of an idea, guided by the need for your solution to be solvable by computational methods, followed by existing product and stakeholder research, which informs your essential features, limitations, requirements, and success criteria.
There is no set order to how you should present your work in this section, though you should consider what evidence you will use to justify your decisions across the criteria and when this evidence is introduced. The needs of your stakeholders and your findings from product research can make compelling evidence.
The one thing missing from this section (and not necessarily worth any marks) is an introduction. An introductory paragraph or two can be a helpful way into writing and therefore thinking about your project. An introduction orients your reader and starts to signal the things in your project that are important.
Achieving full marks in this section is attainable for most students regardless of coding ability.
Components
- Research
- Impact
Mark scheme (10 marks maximum)
| Description | Band 1 1–2 marks | Band 2 3–5 marks | Band 3 6–8 marks | Band 4 9–10 marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computational methods | Identified some features that make the problem solvable by computational methods | Described the features that make the problem solvable by computational methods. | Described the features that make the problem solvable by computational methods and why it is amenable to a computational approach. | Described and justified the features that make the problem solvable by computational methods, explaining why it is amenable to a computational approach |
| Stakeholders and how they relate to the solution | Identified suitable stakeholders for the project and described some of their requirements | Identified suitable stakeholders for the project and described how they will make use of the proposed solution | Identified suitable stakeholders for the project and described them and how they will make use of the proposed solution and why it is appropriate to their needs | Identified suitable stakeholders for the project and described them explaining how they will make use of the proposed solution and why it is appropriate to their needs |
| Existing solution research | Identified some appropriate features to incorporate into their solution | Researched the problem looking at existing solutions to similar problems identifying some appropriate features to incorporate into their solution | Researched the problem in depth looking at existing solutions to similar problems identifying and describing suitable approaches based on this research | Researched the problem in depth looking at existing solutions to similar problems, identifying and justifying suitable approaches based on this research |
| Essential features | Identified some appropriate features of the proposed computational solution | Identified the essential features of the proposed computational solution | Identified and described the essential features of the proposed computational solution | Identified the essential features of the proposed computational solution explaining these choices |
| Limitations | Identified some limitations of the proposed solution | Identified and described some limitations of the proposed solution | Identified and explained any limitations of the proposed solution | Identified and explained with justification any limitations of the proposed solution |
| Requirements for development and operation | Identified some requirements for the solution | Identified most requirements for the solution | Specified the requirements for the solution including (as appropriate) any hardware and software requirements | Specified and justified the requirements for the solution including (as appropriate) any hardware and software requirements |
| Success criteria | Identified some success criteria for the proposed solution | Identified some measurable success criteria for the proposed solution | Identified measureable success criteria for the proposed solution | Identified and justified measurable success criteria for the proposed solution |
[1]
Specification links
References
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[1]Cambridge OCR 2024. A Level Specification Computer Science H446. Cambridge OCR.