Capstone Marketing
Capstone Design Step 1
*From San Marin STEM Website*
Identify/Define the problem (formal definition)
Customer/Market Research (Research existing products, possible customers, Prepare a survey)
Identify Possible solution/solutions
Prepare a typed list of Design specifications
Design Step 1: Defining the Problem ( Initial List of design specifications) Research to identify a need/needs to be met by your product/service, develop a problem definition, and produce a list of design specifications.
Customer/Market research, Human-Centered Design (Refine List of design specifications)
Introduction
The design process begins when somebody, whom we will refer to as the customer, expresses a need and so enlists the services of an engineer. The customer can be an individual, an organization, or the consuming public. Most customers are not engineers. It is up to the engineer to translate the customer’s need into engineering terms. The result is cast in the form of understanding a need, developing a problem definition, and producing a list of design specifications.
Identifying the Need
The basis of a good engineering project depends on identifying a viable “need” or “want” that can be satisfied. Failure to identify, understand, and validate the need, prior to designing, is one of the most frequent causes of failure of the entire design process.
The success of the project then depends on whether or not the customer(s) are satisfied with the result. Ideas for a new engineering project often come from listening to potential customers.
Defining the Problem
The customer’s statement of need does not typically take the form of a problem definition. But, using the research and using empathy, we could come up with our central problem that our product will address.
2. Research, "get to know", Empathize, with the chosen clients/market. (Interview, direct experience, online research)
Empathy is the foundation of a human-centered design process (to better understand the clients' needs that could be solved by your product/service)
To empathize, you:
Observe. View users (possible clients) and their behavior in the context of their lives.
Engage. Interact with and interview users through both scheduled and short casual encounters.
Immerse. Experience what your user experiences.
List of Design Specifications - demand (D) or a wish (W) List
After translating the need into a problem definition, the next step is to prepare a list of design specifications (or requirements) that enforce the voice of the customer. The list of design specifications includes both “demanded” design characteristics that must be present for the design to be considered acceptable by the customer and “wished for” design characteristics that are desirable but not crucial to the success of the final design. It is the usual practice to classify each specification as either a demand (D) or a wish (W). Don’t confuse the two. If you treat a wish as if it were a demand, your design may become more complicated than is necessary.
Customer/Market research & Human-Centered Design Thinking
Empathy :
Understanding problems through human needs is fundamental to what we do, we start with the users and what they care about and need.
Needs and insights are only things that you can find by talking to and observing people.
What do people care about?
What is important to them?
What do they need?
Customer Survey Questions
Final Presentation
We compiled all of our customer market research into a presentation to finalize our Capstone group's plan to market our hydroponics tank to our intended audience
We also got mentor feedback to get insight from outside people to consider when building and designing our prototype.
We also updated our Gantt chart accordingly to divide up the work and plan out our deadlines and budget
Reflection
During this project we were tasked to identify/define the problem we wanted to address in our capstone design and use that information to research our intended customers and market. We researched existing products, possible customers, prepared a survey. We created a list of demands and wishes for our deign based on the information we gathered and our brainstorming process.
NGSS Standards:
NGSS.HS-ETS1-2 Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
DCI - ETS1.B When evaluating solutions, it is important to take into account a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, and to consider social, cultural, and environmental impacts. (HS.ETS1-3)
Learning outcomes: Students will be able to:
Ask questions - that arise from careful observation of phenomena, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information. - that arise from examining models or a theory, to clarify and/or seek additional information and relationships. - to determine relationships, including quantitative relationships, between independent and dependent variables. - to clarify and refine a model, an explanation, or an engineering problem.
Evaluate a question to determine if it is testable and relevant.
Ask and/or evaluate questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument, the interpretation of a data set, or the suitability of a design.
Define a design problem that involves the development of a process or system with interacting components and criteria and constraints that may include social, technical, and/or environmental considerations.
We used our critical thinking skills to ponder what groups of people we wanted to market our product to. We also had to work on collaborating as a group and pitching in our various ideas and suggestions. Overall this project was successful in giving us more information about how to proceed with our capstone project. Also, we now have a broader audience to survey for our customer questions and finalize our product design