Product Development Project This project requires that you investigate the current reality of a product that you use through research, surveys, interviews, test your assumptions and validate your possible solutions. • You MUST choose a tangible household product that your team uses and believes you could help improve one of the following aspects – design, features, functions, or user experience. In Design Brief – your first team assignment, you are asked to explain your project, how you are going to tackle it, who you will engage and what outcome you expect to see at the end of this course. With the clear time constraints and limited resources, pick something that’s realistic and achievable.
Project Description (15%) – What’s your story? An overview of your project (identify the problem with a specific product; attach a photo or two to your submission)
Scope (10%) – Parameters of the problem. Outline a couple of key objectives of your project.
Constraints (10%) – Challenges faced by your team
Target Users (15%) – As specific as possible. “College students” or “young people” are not good examples when describing your target users. Instead, “College students who live in off-campus housing with a shared bathroom” is more helpful. Try to provide more details.
Exploration Questions (20%) – List at least 3 key questions that will help you understand your users, their behaviors, struggle with the product and their needs and wants.
Expected Outcomes (15%) – What can you achieve at the end of the semester? What value can you provide if your project succeeds?
Success Metrics (15%) – List both short-term (1-3 month) and long-term (1-3 years) metrics. Use quantifiable, trackable and realistic indicators. Avoid general statements like “when the sales go up, we know we have succeeded” or “when more people are aware of the product, we know we’ve made a difference”. How do you measure awareness? Consider the information you have to compare against during what time frame and what kind of growth is achievable. Think about how you can gather the results.