Assignments

Mid-Term Assignment:

Teams of students will identify a product strategy project for the full term with the approval of the instructor . The midterm will be based on an initial memo on the project, submitted by each student, which will lay out the issues and the scope of what you will work on. These product strategy questions will be the basis for a project paper due at the end of the semester. Written memos will be due week 6, Oct 23rd. Oral presentations will be expected Week  7, Oct 30th.

Your assignment will need to answer these three things at a minimum. 1-3 pages.

  • Elevator pitch. Please express the essence and value of the business and information mission of your site in a few lines.
  • Needs statement. Why does the world need this? What unmet need is this fulfilling?
  • Product plan. What is it and how does the user use it and gain from it.


Final Assignment:

Answer these questions in your paper. Due Dec 4th, even better if you can turn it in by Dec 1st.

1)

  • Elevator pitch. Please express the essence and value of the business and information mission of your site in a few lines.
  • Needs statement. Why does the world need this? What unmet need is this fulfilling?

2)

  • Product plan. What is it and how does the user use it and gain from it.
  • Competitive analysis. There are always competitors. Who are they and what are they doing in the market that you will either do better?
  • Market analysis. Who is the market; age, locale, disposable income? Why will advertisers, if the site is ad supported, find this audience attractive? How big is the market (people, dollars, geography…)? Show us that the market can scale into a sufficient business.

3)

  • Revenue plan. Explain the sites metrics: users x page views, advertiser’s cost per thousand page views yields what $$$?  How can you pay your bills and make a profit?
  • Marketing plan. Assume you have little money for marketing. Is there some free or low cost marketing you can try? How is this site viral? How and why will customers spread the word about its usefulness and existence and what will motivate them to do so?
  • Operations plan. How much is it going to cost to launch? Where will the first dollar go? Journalistically, what is the plan to provide fresh content, multimedia and interactivity?

4)

  • Launch plan. Online, it’s possible to start a product in beta before it’s fully birthed. Or you might consider starting in one phase of a product and then grow; maybe it’s just a blog at first and then it grows to be a complete resource.
  • Then ask. What are they asking an investor for and why? What is the payback prospect for the investor?