In scientific papers, this section is called: “Materials and Methods.” Using practical experiments, you develop your solution based on the theory presented, describe the methodology used, and explain and justify the practical implementation of the task. This includes describing and explaining the materials used (e.g. chemicals and their origin, CAD system, simulation system, equipment) and the approach, experimental setup, or software tools used.

You justify your decisions by answering the following questions:

• Why did you set up the experiment in this way and not differently?
• Why are you using these materials?

You can sometimes refer back to the introduction if you have already described the framework conditions there.

This section also describes the experimental conditions and the execution of the experiment. You can use research literature here to compare your own methodology and materials with other experiments, but above all to support the justification of the chosen methodology and materials through literature.

If the description of previous experiments has already been given in the theory section, you can omit it here.

Objective: Describe materials and methods in such detail that the work could be reproduced based solely on this description.

In engineering as well as in the software and hardware fields, this often leads to a classic requirements engineering process. The depth to which this is carried out depends on the task and objectives of the work. Sometimes the problem is trivial; sometimes a consistent and thorough requirements engineering process is a main part of the work.

Often, as part of the needs analysis, you will identify different approaches, development models, software used, and frameworks employed.

You justify your decisions by answering the following questions:

• Why did you use this environment (desktop, client/server, mobile, web service), this software, and these frameworks?
• What alternatives exist, and why was no other chosen?
• Which questions, personas, and user stories help to best reflect the intended purpose?

You can sometimes refer back to the introduction if you have already described the framework conditions there.

Objective: Describe the environment and methods in such detail that the work could be reproduced based solely on this description.

In software-related theses – whether in classical engineering or in information technology – this section develops the (theoretical) design through analyses of possible problem areas. This can also include analyzing the relationship between the interface and the user, any design/usability considerations, or the general structure of the complete system to be developed.

If it turns out during development that certain basic circuits, libraries, frameworks, interfaces etc. are needed, these can be introduced at the beginning of the chapter. If, however, they are important for the problem analysis, they should be included in the “Needs Analysis” section.

The exact structure depends heavily on the specific work. Not all development steps should be listed; instead, explain and justify the more complex relationships of the work – often best illustrated by short examples.

Complex errors can also be presented, although briefly. Please always formulate objectively, because even with a sober style, readers can imagine that you must have been quite frustrated at that point.

Objective: The complexity of the development, the effort, and the completeness of the implementation should be assessable. The rough structure of the overall system should now also be clear.

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This article was published in August 2025 and last updated in November 2024.