The final graded deliverable is a PDF of your slide deck posted to Canvas (by only one team member). 

• A2 overview slides. A single PDF of the A2 slide deck should be posted to Canvas by the team leader by 11:59pm on Friday Jan 31. 

• The team's A2 Google folder should include all your interim process work. Please make sure the folder is updated by 11:59pm on Friday Jan 31.

• Fill out the team peer evaluation for A2 by 11:59pm on Friday Jan 31. 

Based on the team formation survey after Assignment 1, we will assign teams of 4-5 students for this and all subsequent stages of the project. 

Assignment 2 starts in Week 2 and finishes at the end of Week 4. The final graded deliverable is a PDF of your slide deck posted to Canvas (by only one team member) by 11:59pm on W4 Friday. All other dates below are interim deadlines to share work-in-progress drafts. Please share drafts as links in the Team Dashboard before class on the days we are scheduled to share and critique (drafts are not graded).  In brackets, we include interim deadlines and guidelines on the # of homework hours and teammates to allocate to each step.  This assignment adds up to ~5 hours of work per teammate outside of lecture (teams can use the Friday studio to make progress).  

• 1. Create a team folder and contract: Meet with your assigned team as soon as possible and begin to discuss ideas and team-related work issues.  Create a folder for your team in the Google Drive folder for this class. Name it based on your topic not the business name; branding will come later. Add your last names too (e.g. Topic_Lastname1_Lastname2_Lastname3). Put your work in a sub-folder called A2.  Then create a ~one-page document there that articulates a contract for your team.  Make sure to create opportunities to meet your team either for online activities or in-person social activities so that you start to bond and understand each other's strengths and work practices.  [in-lecture activity on W2 Thurs] 

  2. Create a team SET analysis. Each team will be given a suggestion for the problem or topic to pursue (based on A1 ideas and the team formation survey results). If you do not like your assigned problem, your team can consult with the instructor and TA to select a different problem angle (it must be different than the other teams' topics). Once you have a good topic/angle, think about what's driving that problem from a customer perspective.  For example, say you have a new idea for a food delivery model... take a step back and investigate current pain points and opportunities around food, rather than jumping into a particular solution right away.  Your team should merge or generate a new SET analysis that captures your collective thinking about the trends affecting your problem area. [in-studio activity on W2 Friday; ~1 hour for whole team]. 

  3. Conduct online data gathering and take notes: Create a shared Google document in your team folder for your team to pool together any information related to your topic. Search broadly and extensively within your chosen topic so that you become a relative expert in that area. Capture specific problems, personal anecdotes, statistics, competing solutions, etc. For each piece of information, be sure to include a link to the source. HINT:  as you conduct your online research, make note of online discussions or user communities where you can post your customer research survey (see next step!).  [share progress on W3 Tuesday; ~2 hours for 2-3 team members]. 

  4. Draft your recruitment plan and survey questions: After your team chooses a topic and conducts an initial round of online data gathering, work as a team to design an online survey in a Google document (with commenting turned on to support feedback and iteration). At the top of this document, list out characteristics for your current target audience and your assertions/hypotheses about the problems you hope to solve. Then, write down your recruitment plan, as in where and how to deploy your survey.  Find places online where potential customers communicate about your team's topic/problem area. You may observe any number of online communities, including subreddits, Facebook groups, consumer review forums, or anywhere that communities discuss your topic. Pay attention to community norms and rules about posting surveys; in some cases you can build up 'karma' or befriend an existing community leader or the moderator to help you post the survey. Always be respectful of the online space and avoid asking sensitive/triggering questions especially within emotional support groups. 

Then, draft your survey questions.  The survey should include both quantitative and qualitative questions.  Quantitative questions like age, gender, usage patterns, self-assessments, etc will allow your team to splice and analyze your data along different demographic and behavioral characteristics. Also ask open-ended qualitative questions to understand potential customers' current experiences with your topic.  As a team, pay attention to the clarity, type (open or closed), sequence (transitions, follow ups, overall flow, etc.), and the overall length (keep it short!  Approx. 4-6 quantitative and 3-4 open-ended questions). The goal here is get potential customers to express their needs, desires, goals, and barriers to achieving their goals.  HINT: Include one (optional) question to ask for the survey respondent's email if they are willing to be interviewed (you will need to find interview participants for A3!).  [share draft on W3 Tuesday; ~2 hours for 2-3 team members]. 

• 5. Deploy the survey and analyze the results:  After a round of feedback and iteration, your team can implement the survey as a Google Form (or any other survey tool) and then post the survey across multiple channels (online communities and social media).  Aim to collect at least 20 responses so that you get a range of perspectives. After the results come in, analyze the responses for each question. You can use various techniques (e.g. distribution and categorization) to analyze the results based on answers to the quantitative questions. Your objective here is to summarize the survey results and to build up a more complete picture of the needs/desires/problems faced by your potential customers.  [Deploy survey by W3 Thursday; share preliminary results in class on W4 Tuesday; ~2 hours 2-3 team members]. 

  6. Find and compare competitors: Perform a deep competitive analysis using Web search and/or use ChatGPT based on the key needs and desires identified in your online research and survey. What exists already that could solve these challenges?  If the competitor is another app, for instance, your team should download the app and try it. If the competitor has a storefront, visit the store and observe how the business treats customers.  If there is a competing physical product, buy it or rent it so that you can try it yourself.  List the key features, advantages, as well as the limitations, for each competitor. The goal here is to understand the challenges customers face right now when using existing solutions. Create a matrix that illustrates what's available and what's missing in the current competitive landscape. Do not add your own solutions to this analysis yet; this is just about understanding the current state of the world. [Share a draft during class on W4 Tuesday; ~2 hours 2-3 team members]. 

  7. Create a Value Flow Diagram of current situation:  Create a simple Value Flow Diagram that illustrates how value (money, services, material, etc.) currently flows between different stakeholders relevant to your topic.  How do customers and other stakeholders interact with the current solutions available? Your Value Flow Diagram should include all stakeholders potentially affected by your topic area. Based on your survey pain points and competitive analysis, indicate in your Value Flow Diagram where there might tensions or breakdowns in the current system.  [Share a draft during class on W4 Tuesday; ~1 hour for 2-3 team members]. 

  8. Write focused ideation prompts: To prepare for the next stage of innovation, teams should articulate a set of "How Might We" (HMW) questions based on specific needs/desires expressed in your survey or based on gaps in your competitive analysis. Write a list of at least three HMW questions that can guide brainstorming on your topic. Each HMW question should be driven by research insights, distinct from the other questions, and "generative" in nature (as in, there could be many many possible ways to answer it). For example, "How might we help drivers who have just been in a car accident?" "How might we document the scene after a car crash?" "How might we might support appropriate communication between drivers, insurance agents, law enforcement after a car crash?" These questions will fuel ideation for A3 and beyond.  [Share a draft during class on W4 Tuesday; ~30 minutes for whole team]. 

  9. Summarize your discovery process in a slide deck:  The work described above should help your team diverge and explore the current problem-solution landscape for your topic. Put together a slide deck that 1) summarizes your research and survey results, 2) provides an overview of the current value flow and competitive landscape, and 3) invites your peers to ideate on your open "how might we" questions.   As examples, check out these A2 slide decks (Travel Experiences & Elder Caregiving) but do not go as far in terms of defining a specific solution; we will do that in A3.   [Turn in the final version of the A2 overview slides by 11:59pm on W4 Friday on Canvas; ~2 hours for 2-3 members]. Include details about (slide #s are guidelines not restrictions):

     • • 2-3 slides to provide topic introduction and motivation (use some combination of stats, quotes, anecdotes, and the SET analysis to introduce your topic) 

       • 2-3 slides on your survey (goals, recruitment details, and results, along with your interpretations)

       • 1-2 slides for a tour of the competitive landscape (include details about the closest competitors and show a matrix that provides an overview)

       • One slide with a value flow diagram for the current situation (e.g., key competitor) and with points of tension

       • 1-3 slides for "How Might We" questions

       • As many extra slides as you need to document your research process and insights

  10. Organize your team's shared folder: The team's A2 Google folder should include all your interim process work. [Organize the folder by 11:59pm on W4 Friday]:  Includes the following documents in your team folder: 

      • • Google document for Team contract (~ 1page)

        • GDoc or Google slide for team SET analysis (~1 page)

        • GDoc(s) for shared note taking and online data gathering (with anecdotes, stats, etc. with URLs/citations ~3-5 pages)

        • Survey draft (in GDocs with commenting on), a Google Form (or a link to your preferred survey tool), the responses spreadsheet (GSheet), and an analysis document (~1-2 pages in a GDoc of bullet points articulating what you learned and copying in key direct quotes from the survey)

        • GSheet with competitive analysis with current competitors and opportunity gaps 

        • GDoc or GSlide for Value Flow diagram (~1 page or slide)

        • GDoc or GSlide for "How Might We" questions (~1 page or 1-3 slides) 

        • GSlides summary deck (step 9 above)

• • Example of Team Contract 

  • Required reading:  Patnaik and Becker, 1999, "Needfinding The Why and How of Uncovering People’s Needs"

  • Required reading:  Blank and Dorf, 2013, "The Startup Owner's Manual for Web/Mobile Startups", Ch. 2

  • Read up on:  Qualtric's survey insights, Pollfish on Qual vs. Quant, How to Create Effective Surveys

  • Check out:  Graves, 2019, "How to Do a Competitive Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide"

  • See the Readings page for more optional books, talks, and videos. 

Students will be graded as a team for A2. This includes materials in the team folder, as well as the overview slides submitted as a PDF to Canvas.  All students are required to fill out a team peer assessment  at the end of this assignment. 

• Team contract (5%)

  • • Did the team create a reasonable team contract together?

    • Is the team starting to gel? 

    • Did everyone fill out the team peer evaluation at the end of A2?

• Team SET analysis (5%)

  • • Does the team's SET analysis describe real trends that could affect new services and products?  

    • Are the factors relevant and comprehensive for explaining the potential product opportunity gap?  

• Online data gathering (10%)

  • • Does the team show evidence of doing online research before they create their needfinding survey?  

    • Does the team collect existing surveys, anecdotes, and statistics that inform their own survey?

    • Does the team do a comprehensive job of including citations for anything they collect?

• Survey design, recruitment, and analysis (25%) 

  • • Does the team have a clear goal and recruitment plan for the survey?

    • Is the team survey short/easy to complete, and does it include a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions? 

    • Does the team target appropriate online communities for recruitment? Do they recruit at least 20 potential customers?

    • Does the team gain and articulate valuable insights from the survey?  

• Competitive analysis (15%)

  • • Did the team conduct Web search and/or use ChatGPT to identify possible competitors?

    • Does the team show evidence they gained first-hand experience with competitors?

    • Does the team illustrate valuable insights from analyzing competitors? 

• Value flow diagram (10%)

  • • Does the team's value flow diagram illustrate key stakeholders and the value flow between them?  

    • Does it highlight potential tensions/problems with the value flow?

• Ideation prompts ("How might we" questions) (10%)

  • • Does the team offer well-written "How Might We" questions that explore several distinct needs/desires/problems?

    • Are the HMW questions thoughtful and generative (ie. lead to many possible solutions during brainstorming)?

• A2 summary slide deck for discovery process (20%)

  • • (arguments) Does the team do a good job of motivating their topic and presenting their design work above?

    • (presentation) Is the slide deck consistent, coherent, and professional looking?  

    • (process) From extra slides and the team folder, it is clear this team followed a rigorous process to investigate and motivate their topic?