Computing · Stage 6

Plan a Substantial Project

Coding & Systems · creation — scope, plan and design before you build: decide what you're making and who for, break it into ordered tasks, sketch it on paper, THEN build — so a big project actually gets finished

✦ Computing📘 Stage 6 · S6⏱ ~12 min🧒 Ages 10–12★ Free to start

I can scope, plan and design before building.

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Kavi Plans the Whole Fun-Day App

The class wanted something big for Fun Day — a whole quiz-game app. Kavi's wings itched to start typing code that very second. Then Kavi stopped. "A big project is too big to hold in my head. If I just start building, I'll make parts that don't fit and have to pull them apart again." So Kavi did three cheap paper stages first. Scope: what is it, who plays, what will 'done' look like, and what's in and out? Plan: break the big job into small tasks, put them in order, mark a few milestones. Design: sketch each screen as a quick wireframe. Only then did Kavi build — following the sketches, testing as it went. "Measure twice, cut once," Kavi hooted. "Scope, plan and design before you build — and a huge project actually gets finished."

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What your child will learn

1How a big project is tamedA substantial (big) project is too large to hold in your head. Four stages tame it — and the first three (Scope, Plan, Design) all happen BEFORE you build. Tap each part to hear its job.

2Start building, or scope-plan-design first?You could start building a big project right away. But if you scope, plan and design FIRST, every part has a reason — and problems are caught on cheap paper, not in a half-built project.

3Scope → Plan → Design → BuildMaking a big project is itself a little program — stages in order. Press ▶ Run and watch Kavi scope, plan and design BEFORE building the Fun-Day app.

4Which stage does each job belong to?Every job in a big project fits one of the four stages. Tap the box where each one belongs.

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A peek inside

Put these stages of a big project in order: design it · build it · scope it · plan it.

first decide what & who (scope), then break it into ordered tasks (plan), then sketch it (design), then make it (build)

Try this at home: Deciding what you'll make, who it's for, and what 'done' looks like is the ____ stage.

Ready to play and learn?

Start the free interactive lesson, or print the handout for screen-free play.

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Part of Computing · Stage 6 · S6 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.