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= Market Research for IT Startups =
= Optimal nutrition: the craft of balancing diet and lifestyle in the post-digital world =
 
* '''Course name''': Optimal nutrition: the craft of balancing diet and lifestyle in the post-digital world
+
* '''Course name''': Market Research for IT Startups
* '''Code discipline''': XXX
+
* '''Code discipline''':
* '''Subject area''':
+
* '''Subject area''': Technological Entrepreneurship
   
 
== Short Description ==
 
== Short Description ==
  +
This course is for students who see themselves as entrepreneurs. The course is designed for the early development of business ideas and provides methods and guidelines for business research. The course teaches how to assess the potential of business ideas, hypothesis thinking, methods for generating ideas and testing their quality
This course covers the following concepts: • Optimal nutrition; • Energy balance: dietary intake and physical activity; • Nutriom – a set of essential nutrients; • Optimal nutrition under budget constraint; • Food-processing technology, genetic engineering, and new sources of food; • Digital solutions in dietary management; What is the purpose of this course?; The goal of this course is to introduce basic elements of the optimal nutrition – multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional concept, and help students find the balance between their physiological individual requirements and food consumed daily.; Students will be provided with knowledge required to design their own personal diets, associated with their needs, depending on the level of their physical activity and health status. They will also be given an overview of food safety issues and modern food-processing technologies understanding of which will enable making conscious dietary choices.; Finally, digital tools available to assist personal food management and trends in internet-of-things (IoT) development will be discussed, offering students perspective on potential app projects in personalized nutrition.; Course Objectives Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy; What should a student remember at the end of the course? (5-7 points for bachelors and 3-5 for masters); By the end of the course, the students should be able to remember and recognize; Optimal nutrition as a science-based approach helping them in managing their personal diets; Nutriom – the set of essential nutrients required for normal functioning of body’s systems, organs, and tissues; Principles of dietary management under budget constrain; Basics of industrial food processing, use of food additives and technological aids; Genetic engineering techniques as applied to foods; New food technologies, use of nanomaterials; Trends in development of digital tools used in the personalized nutrition; What should a student be able to understand at the end of the course? (5-7 points for bachelors and 4-5 for masters); Understand how to measure and keep energy balance in their diet; Understand how to read food labels and where to find nutrition information; Understand how to construct personal diet under limited financial resources; Understand current food technology and processing methods; Understand trends in digital solutions used in personalized nutrition.; What should a student be able to apply at the end of the course? ( 3-5 points for bachelors and 4-6 for masters); By the end of the course, the students should be able to:; Apply nutrition principles in evaluating their personal energy intakes and expenditures; Demonstrate and use basic knowledge of nutriom and its essential components in their dietary choices; Conduct self-assessment of risks and opportunities of personal dietary behaviour; Design personal diet and propose an optimal dietary tracking tool; Course evaluation (Do you have any special weight on the course evaluations of components that affect the assessment of the development of the discipline? By default, it will be as below. If you think it should be different please indicate this in the `Proposed points' column); Table 1: Course grade breakdown; Late Submission Policy:; Reducing one grade for submissions after the deadline.; Cooperation Policy and Quotations:; Grades range (Does this class have any particularities of matching the grades with a five-point scale? By default, it will be as below. If you think that should be different, please indicate this in the `Proposed range' column):; Table 2: Course grading range; Resources and reference material; (Specify open access resources); Introduction to Human Nutrition, 3rd Edition, 2019, Wiley-Blackwell; Food and Nutrition Economics. Fundamentals for Health Sciences. George C. Davis and Elena L.Serrano, 2016, Oxford.
 
   
 
== Prerequisites ==
 
== Prerequisites ==
   
 
=== Prerequisite subjects ===
 
=== Prerequisite subjects ===
  +
* N/A
 
   
 
=== Prerequisite topics ===
 
=== Prerequisite topics ===
  +
* N/A
 
   
 
== Course Topics ==
 
== Course Topics ==
Line 22: Line 22:
 
! Section !! Topics within the section
 
! Section !! Topics within the section
 
|-
 
|-
| Foundations of healthy diet ||
+
| Ideation tools ||
  +
# Art VS Creativity
# - Double malnutrition and non-communicable diseases
 
  +
# Ability to discover
# - First nutrition law, energy balance
 
  +
# How to generate ideas
# - Macronutrients and energy metabolism
 
  +
# Creativity sources
# - Measuring personal calorie intake and expenditure
 
  +
# Ideation in groups
# - Obesity and appetite regulation. Dietary management
 
  +
# Rules for ideation for startups
  +
|-
  +
| Market research content ||
  +
# Types of research: primary vs secondary
  +
# How to plan a research
  +
# Market research chapters content
  +
# Frameworks used in a market research (SWOT, Persona, etc)
  +
# Tools and sources to conduct a competitors analysis
  +
|-
  +
| Customer development ||
  +
# Interviews are the main tool for “Get Out The Building” technique
  +
# The "Mum's Test"
  +
# Jobs-To-Be-Done
  +
# Good and bad interview questions
 
|-
 
|-
| Nutriom ||
+
| Market sizing ||
  +
# Market analysis VS market sizing
# - Food composition, macro- and micronutrients
 
  +
# Sizing stakeholders and their interests
# - Vitamins
 
  +
# Sizing methods
# - Minerals and trace elements
 
  +
# TAM SAM SOM calculation examples
# - Phytonutrients
 
# - Nutrition declaration and dietary reference standards
 
 
|-
 
|-
| Nutritional economics ||
+
| Data for a research ||
  +
# Sources and tools for competitors overview
# - Managing diet under budget constraints.
 
  +
# Sources and tools for product and traffic analysis
# - Utility concept. Nutrient-health relationship.
 
  +
# Sources and tools for trend watching
# - Food-income relationship. Engel curve.
 
  +
# Life hacks for search
# - Intertemporal choice problem. Health vs unhealthy food choices.
 
# - Taxation and other fiscal policies applied to foods.
 
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Founder motivation ||
| New food processing technologies ||
 
  +
# Ways to Stay Motivated as an Entrepreneur
# - Processed and ultra-processed foods
 
  +
# Exercises for founders motivation
# - Food additives and processing aids
 
# - Gene engineering of foods
 
# - Nanonutrients
 
# - “Impossible” foods
 
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Pitch Day ||
| Digital solutions for dietary management ||
 
  +
# Market research results presentations
# - Apps for personal nutrition management
 
# - Food and IoT
 
# - Diet tracking, meal planning, population assessment tools
 
# - Nutrition platforms
 
# - Digital nutrition
 
 
|}
 
|}
 
== Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) ==
 
== Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) ==
   
 
=== What is the main purpose of this course? ===
 
=== What is the main purpose of this course? ===
  +
This course aims to give students theoretical knowledge and practical skills on how to assess market potential at an early stage of an IT startup (or any company) development. The ultimate goal is to teach students to conduct market research for their business.
The goal of this course is to introduce basic elements of the optimal nutrition – multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional concept, and help students find the balance between their physiological individual requirements and food consumed daily.
 
   
 
=== ILOs defined at three levels ===
 
=== ILOs defined at three levels ===
Line 66: Line 71:
 
==== Level 1: What concepts should a student know/remember/explain? ====
 
==== Level 1: What concepts should a student know/remember/explain? ====
 
By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
 
By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
  +
* Market research techniques using open data,
* Optimal nutrition as a science-based approach helping them in managing their personal diets
 
  +
* Typology of market assessment methods,
* Nutriom – the set of essential nutrients required for normal functioning of body’s systems, organs, and tissues
 
  +
* Types of research data and their application,
* Principles of dietary management under budget constrain
 
  +
* Market research components: competitors overview, value proposition, trend watching, venture status, business models, buyers profile etc
* Basics of industrial food processing, use of food additives and technological aids
 
* Genetic engineering techniques as applied to foods
 
* New food technologies, use of nanomaterials
 
* Trends in development of digital tools used in the personalized nutrition
 
   
 
==== Level 2: What basic practical skills should a student be able to perform? ====
 
==== Level 2: What basic practical skills should a student be able to perform? ====
 
By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
 
By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
  +
* Methods of ideation,
* Understand how to read food labels and where to find nutrition information
 
  +
* TAM SAM SOM method, 2 approaches,
* Understand how to construct personal diet under limited financial resources
 
  +
* Applied tools and resources for market sizing,
* Understand current food technology and processing methods
 
  +
* Principles to work with business hypotheses
* Understand trends in digital solutions used in personalized nutrition.
 
   
 
==== Level 3: What complex comprehensive skills should a student be able to apply in real-life scenarios? ====
 
==== Level 3: What complex comprehensive skills should a student be able to apply in real-life scenarios? ====
 
By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
 
By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
  +
* Identify and describe the market
* Apply nutrition principles in evaluating their personal energy intakes and expenditures
 
  +
* Assess market potential for any business idea
* Demonstrate and use basic knowledge of nutriom and its essential components in their dietary choices
 
  +
* Conduct relevant market research before starting up a business
* Conduct self-assessment of risks and opportunities of personal dietary behaviour
 
  +
* Use the most relevant and high-quality data for a market research
* Design personal diet and propose an optimal dietary tracking tool
 
 
== Grading ==
 
== Grading ==
   
Line 95: Line 97:
 
! Grade !! Range !! Description of performance
 
! Grade !! Range !! Description of performance
 
|-
 
|-
| A. Excellent || 90-100 || -
+
| A. Excellent || 85-100 || -
 
|-
 
|-
| B. Good || 75-89 || -
+
| B. Good || 70-84 || -
 
|-
 
|-
| C. Satisfactory || 60-74 || -
+
| C. Satisfactory || 50-69 || -
 
|-
 
|-
| D. Poor || 0-59 || -
+
| D. Fail || 0-50 || -
 
|}
 
|}
   
Line 110: Line 112:
 
! Activity Type !! Percentage of the overall course grade
 
! Activity Type !! Percentage of the overall course grade
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Paper #0: Market research structure || 10
| Homework 1 || 30
 
 
|-
 
|-
| Homework 2 || 30
+
| Paper #1: TAM SAM SOM || 10
 
|-
 
|-
| Final test || 40
+
| Workshops activity || 21
  +
|-
  +
| Paper #2: Market research || 30
  +
|-
  +
| Final Presentation || 30
 
|}
 
|}
   
 
=== Recommendations for students on how to succeed in the course ===
 
=== Recommendations for students on how to succeed in the course ===
  +
Participation is important. Showing up and participating in discussions is the key to success in this course.<br>Students work in teams, so coordinating teamwork will be an important factor for success.<br>Reading the provided materials is mandatory, as lectures will mainly consist of discussions and reflections not slides or reading from scratch.<br>The main assignment in the course is Market research paper which is supposed to be useful not only for this course but s a basis for future business oriented courses
 
   
 
== Resources, literature and reference materials ==
 
== Resources, literature and reference materials ==
   
 
=== Open access resources ===
 
=== Open access resources ===
  +
* - article with reflections on the methodology book on the 55 typical business models
* Introduction to Human Nutrition, 3rd Edition, 2019, Wiley-Blackwell
 
  +
* - a book with instructions on how to communicate with your potential users. How to conduct interviews so that you understand what the client wants to say and not what you want to hear.
* Food and Nutrition Economics. Fundamentals for Health Sciences. George C. Davis and Elena L.Serrano, 2016, Oxford
 
  +
* - the case book on the Jobs To Be Done. With JTBD, we can make predictions about which products will be in demand in the market and which will not. The idea behind the theory is that people don't buy products, but "hire" them to perform certain jobs.
  +
* A selection of with a summary of key ideas from Harvard Business Review
  +
* F. Sesno "" - the book on how to get information out of people through questions.
  +
* a visual guide book to dealing with your inner procrastinator
   
 
=== Closed access resources ===
 
=== Closed access resources ===
  +
* Crunchbase.com
 
  +
* Statista.com
   
 
=== Software and tools used within the course ===
 
=== Software and tools used within the course ===
  +
* Boardofinnovation.com
 
  +
* Miro.com
  +
* Notion.com
  +
* MS Teams
 
= Teaching Methodology: Methods, techniques, & activities =
 
= Teaching Methodology: Methods, techniques, & activities =
   
 
== Activities and Teaching Methods ==
 
== Activities and Teaching Methods ==
  +
{| class="wikitable"
  +
|+ Teaching and Learning Methods within each section
  +
|-
  +
! Teaching Techniques !! Section 1 !! Section 2 !! Section 3 !! Section 4 !! Section 5 !! Section 6 !! Section 7
  +
|-
  +
| Problem-based learning (students learn by solving open-ended problems without a strictly-defined solution) || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Project-based learning (students work on a project) || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Differentiated learning (provide tasks and activities at several levels of difficulty to fit students needs and level) || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Contextual learning (activities and tasks are connected to the real world to make it easier for students to relate to them); || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Business game (learn by playing a game that incorporates the principles of the material covered within the course). || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| inquiry-based learning || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|}
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
|+ Activities within each section
 
|+ Activities within each section
 
|-
 
|-
! Learning Activities !! Section 1 !! Section 2 !! Section 3 !! Section 4 !! Section 5
+
! Learning Activities !! Section 1 !! Section 2 !! Section 3 !! Section 4 !! Section 5 !! Section 6 !! Section 7
  +
|-
  +
| Interactive Lectures || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Lab exercises || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 0
  +
|-
  +
| Group projects || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Flipped classroom || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 0
  +
|-
  +
| Discussions || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Presentations by students || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Oral Reports || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Cases studies || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 0
  +
|-
  +
| Experiments || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
 
|-
 
|-
| Homework and group projects || 1 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0
+
| Written reports || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0
 
|-
 
|-
| Oral polls || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
+
| Individual Projects || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0
 
|-
 
|-
| Testing (written or computer based) || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
+
| Peer Review || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
 
|}
 
|}
 
== Formative Assessment and Course Activities ==
 
== Formative Assessment and Course Activities ==
Line 155: Line 204:
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Discussion || Difference between Art and Creativity. Examples from your personal experience<br>Tools to manage your attention: work with exercises above<br>Is it true that an ideation stage is the very first step to take when starting your own business? If not, what needs to be done before?<br>Idea diary: share your experience, was it useful? How to keep motivation to continue?<br>Sharing your business ideas: is it risky for a founder? Why?<br>Name and discuss principles of hypothesis thinking<br>Name and comment on ideation tool you know. Did you have an experience with it?<br>Where to take creativity? Your advice<br>Lets find examples of “Steal like an artist” approach among startups<br>Create a list of 5 business ideas you have ever had in your mind. Choose 1 and make an exhaustive list of the problems that are associated with the proposed business idea. || 0
| Question || (Please list exercises and tasks you used to evaluate the quality of students' self-study work, perform ongoing performance assessment and the mastery level of this section's topics. Please feel free to provide sample assignments, tests, polls, essay topics. Please provide 4-7 tasks described with sufficient detail. || 1
 
  +
|-
  +
| Workshop || Break into teams, choose from the list below 1 tool to work with. Use the templates to create new business ideas. Summarize the results. Share your results and experience of using the template with other teams || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Exercise || Start an "Idea diary" (not necessarily business ideas): create a convenient place for notes (notion, pinterest, instagram, paper notebook, etc.). Note the time/place/circumstances of ideas coming, learn to write down ideas. Draw conclusions from 1 week's work: where, when, how, why new ideas arise and whether you can manage their flow. || 0
 
|}
 
|}
 
==== Section 2 ====
 
==== Section 2 ====
Line 163: Line 216:
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Discussion || What are the basic steps in market research?<br>What are the commonly used market research methods?<br>What research question types can be asked in surveys?<br>Should startup prefer primary or secondary research? || 0
| Question || (Please list exercises and tasks you used to evaluate the quality of students' self-study work, perform ongoing performance assessment and the mastery level of this section's topics. Please feel free to provide sample assignments, tests, polls, essay topics. Please provide 4-7 tasks described with sufficient detail. || 1
 
  +
|-
  +
| Workshop || SWOT analysis: compare your business idea with competitors and market situation<br> Get familiar with industry trends and reports: Find and create a list of 3 to 5 business research papers or trend reports in your industry || 0
  +
|-
  +
| Home written assignment || Market research doc: create a structure that is:<br>1-2 pages long<br>Describes your business idea<br>Contains the structure of your future research<br>Contains a list of questions to answer during the research for each chapter proposed<br>Contains links and references to data sources potentilly interesting to use in a research<br>Its feasible: it should be a chance you may answer all the questions stated in the doc<br>The doc format is designed and well structured<br> || 1
 
|}
 
|}
 
==== Section 3 ====
 
==== Section 3 ====
Line 171: Line 228:
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Oral test || Good or bad interview question?<br>Useful or useless feedback? || 0
| Question || (Please list exercises and tasks you used to evaluate the quality of students' self-study work, perform ongoing performance assessment and the mastery level of this section's topics. Please feel free to provide sample assignments, tests, polls, essay topics. Please provide 4-7 tasks described with sufficient detail. || 1
 
  +
|-
  +
| Workshop || Work on your customer profile using the Persona template. Make a client interview script with the help of the Problem-validation-script. || 1
  +
|-
  +
| Case study || Watch the video with the case study. This is an example of HOW NOT to take a customer discovery interview. Discuss what went wrong? || 0
 
|}
 
|}
 
==== Section 4 ====
 
==== Section 4 ====
Line 179: Line 240:
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Workshop || Estimate your target market using the TAM-SAM-SOM template in MIRO. Explain the data. || 1
| Question || (Please list exercises and tasks you used to evaluate the quality of students' self-study work, perform ongoing performance assessment and the mastery level of this section's topics. Please feel free to provide sample assignments, tests, polls, essay topics. Please provide 4-7 tasks described with sufficient detail. || 1
 
  +
|-
  +
| Case study || Learn a market sizing case: online babysitting service || 0
 
|}
 
|}
 
==== Section 5 ====
 
==== Section 5 ====
Line 187: Line 250:
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
 
|-
 
|-
  +
| Workshop || Use 3 tools from this lesson's theory that you are least familiar with or have not used at all. From each source, take one insight on the state of your project's market. (For example, the total size of your target market, a leading competitor, number of users, or a growing trend) || 0
| Question || (Please list exercises and tasks you used to evaluate the quality of students' self-study work, perform ongoing performance assessment and the mastery level of this section's topics. Please feel free to provide sample assignments, tests, polls, essay topics. Please provide 4-7 tasks described with sufficient detail. || 1
 
  +
|-
  +
| Oral presentation || Take one tool from the list below and create a “how-to” guide to the service for your classmates. The guide could be done in a form of 1) video-instruction 2) text 3) visualized scheme 4) presentation. The guide must answer how to use a tool and give an example of its use on concrete case study. Studying the guide should take your reader not mach then 15 min. || 1
  +
|}
  +
==== Section 6 ====
  +
{| class="wikitable"
  +
|+
  +
|-
  +
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
  +
|-
  +
| Workshop || Exercises:<br>Personal SWOT Analysis<br>List of Personal Achievements<br>Analysis of Motivating Activities<br>Your Personal Vision || 0
  +
|}
  +
==== Section 7 ====
  +
{| class="wikitable"
  +
|+
  +
|-
  +
! Activity Type !! Content !! Is Graded?
  +
|-
  +
| Pitch session || The final Market Research report should follow the structure discussed <br>Content of the oral presentation may include: business description, market overview, main sources used in the research, competitors overview, monetization opportunity, market size, further stages of research or business work, team, comments on some challenges during the work || 1
 
|}
 
|}
 
=== Final assessment ===
 
=== Final assessment ===
 
'''Section 1'''
 
'''Section 1'''
  +
# For the final assessment, students should complete the Market Research paper.
# (In this block, please specify the questions that a student must answer to pass this section of the course. It is possible that you won't have such assessment formally in your class, however, these questions must reflect the key concepts that a student must master after completing of this section. They questions must not be short and might require a detailed answer with preparation. If this assessment is performed for several sections at once, feel free to skip this step in one of the sections and list more questions in the future sections. 3-5 questions.)
 
  +
# It should follow the market research paper structure, contain information about market volume (TAM SAM SOM), data must be gathered with help of data sources learnt.
# 1. Building a personal physical activity profile (based on compendium of physical activity)
 
  +
# The paper should refer to market potential and give the basis to make business decisions, answer questions on how to start and develop your idea, what is your business model, target customer persona, product MVP etc.
  +
# Grading criteria for the final project presentation:
  +
# Market sizing has been carried out
  +
# Customer segments are named
  +
# Сompetitor analysis has been conducted
  +
# At least 2 prominent data sources are used
  +
# Customer discovery interviews conducted
  +
# Future steps are mapped out
  +
# The final report is visualized clearly and transparent
 
'''Section 2'''
 
'''Section 2'''
  +
# (In this block, please specify the questions that a student must answer to pass this section of the course. It is possible that you won't have such assessment formally in your class, however, these questions must reflect the key concepts that a student must master after completing of this section. They questions must not be short and might require a detailed answer with preparation. If this assessment is performed for several sections at once, feel free to skip this step in one of the sections and list more questions in the future sections. 3-5 questions.)
 
# 1. Measuring calories and essential nutrient intake. 7-day diet design.
 
 
'''Section 3'''
 
'''Section 3'''
  +
# (In this block, please specify the questions that a student must answer to pass this section of the course. It is possible that you won't have such assessment formally in your class, however, these questions must reflect the key concepts that a student must master after completing of this section. They questions must not be short and might require a detailed answer with preparation. If this assessment is performed for several sections at once, feel free to skip this step in one of the sections and list more questions in the future sections. 3-5 questions.)
 
# 1. Constructing indifference curve.
 
 
'''Section 4'''
 
'''Section 4'''
  +
# (In this block, please specify the questions that a student must answer to pass this section of the course. It is possible that you won't have such assessment formally in your class, however, these questions must reflect the key concepts that a student must master after completing of this section. They questions must not be short and might require a detailed answer with preparation. If this assessment is performed for several sections at once, feel free to skip this step in one of the sections and list more questions in the future sections. 3-5 questions.)
 
 
'''Section 5'''
 
'''Section 5'''
  +
# (In this block, please specify the questions that a student must answer to pass this section of the course. It is possible that you won't have such assessment formally in your class, however, these questions must reflect the key concepts that a student must master after completing of this section. They questions must not be short and might require a detailed answer with preparation. If this assessment is performed for several sections at once, feel free to skip this step in one of the sections and list more questions in the future sections. 3-5 questions.)
 
  +
'''Section 6'''
  +
  +
'''Section 7'''
  +
   
 
=== The retake exam ===
 
=== The retake exam ===
 
'''Section 1'''
 
'''Section 1'''
  +
# For the retake, students have to submit the results of the market sizing exercise with the TAM SAM SOM method in the form of a visual framework studied.
 
 
'''Section 2'''
 
'''Section 2'''
   
Line 214: Line 306:
   
 
'''Section 5'''
 
'''Section 5'''
  +
  +
'''Section 6'''
  +
  +
'''Section 7'''

Revision as of 13:32, 24 November 2022

Market Research for IT Startups

  • Course name: Market Research for IT Startups
  • Code discipline:
  • Subject area: Technological Entrepreneurship

Short Description

This course is for students who see themselves as entrepreneurs. The course is designed for the early development of business ideas and provides methods and guidelines for business research. The course teaches how to assess the potential of business ideas, hypothesis thinking, methods for generating ideas and testing their quality

Prerequisites

Prerequisite subjects

  • N/A

Prerequisite topics

  • N/A

Course Topics

Course Sections and Topics
Section Topics within the section
Ideation tools
  1. Art VS Creativity
  2. Ability to discover
  3. How to generate ideas
  4. Creativity sources
  5. Ideation in groups
  6. Rules for ideation for startups
Market research content
  1. Types of research: primary vs secondary
  2. How to plan a research
  3. Market research chapters content
  4. Frameworks used in a market research (SWOT, Persona, etc)
  5. Tools and sources to conduct a competitors analysis
Customer development
  1. Interviews are the main tool for “Get Out The Building” technique
  2. The "Mum's Test"
  3. Jobs-To-Be-Done
  4. Good and bad interview questions
Market sizing
  1. Market analysis VS market sizing
  2. Sizing stakeholders and their interests
  3. Sizing methods
  4. TAM SAM SOM calculation examples
Data for a research
  1. Sources and tools for competitors overview
  2. Sources and tools for product and traffic analysis
  3. Sources and tools for trend watching
  4. Life hacks for search
Founder motivation
  1. Ways to Stay Motivated as an Entrepreneur
  2. Exercises for founders motivation
Pitch Day
  1. Market research results presentations

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

What is the main purpose of this course?

This course aims to give students theoretical knowledge and practical skills on how to assess market potential at an early stage of an IT startup (or any company) development. The ultimate goal is to teach students to conduct market research for their business.

ILOs defined at three levels

Level 1: What concepts should a student know/remember/explain?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

  • Market research techniques using open data,
  • Typology of market assessment methods,
  • Types of research data and their application,
  • Market research components: competitors overview, value proposition, trend watching, venture status, business models, buyers profile etc

Level 2: What basic practical skills should a student be able to perform?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

  • Methods of ideation,
  • TAM SAM SOM method, 2 approaches,
  • Applied tools and resources for market sizing,
  • Principles to work with business hypotheses

Level 3: What complex comprehensive skills should a student be able to apply in real-life scenarios?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

  • Identify and describe the market
  • Assess market potential for any business idea
  • Conduct relevant market research before starting up a business
  • Use the most relevant and high-quality data for a market research

Grading

Course grading range

Grade Range Description of performance
A. Excellent 85-100 -
B. Good 70-84 -
C. Satisfactory 50-69 -
D. Fail 0-50 -

Course activities and grading breakdown

Activity Type Percentage of the overall course grade
Paper #0: Market research structure 10
Paper #1: TAM SAM SOM 10
Workshops activity 21
Paper #2: Market research 30
Final Presentation 30

Recommendations for students on how to succeed in the course

Participation is important. Showing up and participating in discussions is the key to success in this course.
Students work in teams, so coordinating teamwork will be an important factor for success.
Reading the provided materials is mandatory, as lectures will mainly consist of discussions and reflections not slides or reading from scratch.
The main assignment in the course is Market research paper which is supposed to be useful not only for this course but s a basis for future business oriented courses

Resources, literature and reference materials

Open access resources

  • - article with reflections on the methodology book on the 55 typical business models
  • - a book with instructions on how to communicate with your potential users. How to conduct interviews so that you understand what the client wants to say and not what you want to hear.
  • - the case book on the Jobs To Be Done. With JTBD, we can make predictions about which products will be in demand in the market and which will not. The idea behind the theory is that people don't buy products, but "hire" them to perform certain jobs.
  • A selection of with a summary of key ideas from Harvard Business Review
  • F. Sesno "" - the book on how to get information out of people through questions.
  • a visual guide book to dealing with your inner procrastinator

Closed access resources

  • Crunchbase.com
  • Statista.com

Software and tools used within the course

  • Boardofinnovation.com
  • Miro.com
  • Notion.com
  • MS Teams

Teaching Methodology: Methods, techniques, & activities

Activities and Teaching Methods

Teaching and Learning Methods within each section
Teaching Techniques Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7
Problem-based learning (students learn by solving open-ended problems without a strictly-defined solution) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Project-based learning (students work on a project) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Differentiated learning (provide tasks and activities at several levels of difficulty to fit students needs and level) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Contextual learning (activities and tasks are connected to the real world to make it easier for students to relate to them); 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Business game (learn by playing a game that incorporates the principles of the material covered within the course). 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
inquiry-based learning 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Activities within each section
Learning Activities Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7
Interactive Lectures 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Lab exercises 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
Group projects 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
Flipped classroom 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
Discussions 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Presentations by students 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Oral Reports 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Cases studies 0 1 0 1 1 1 0
Experiments 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Written reports 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Individual Projects 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Peer Review 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Formative Assessment and Course Activities

Ongoing performance assessment

Section 1

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Discussion Difference between Art and Creativity. Examples from your personal experience
Tools to manage your attention: work with exercises above
Is it true that an ideation stage is the very first step to take when starting your own business? If not, what needs to be done before?
Idea diary: share your experience, was it useful? How to keep motivation to continue?
Sharing your business ideas: is it risky for a founder? Why?
Name and discuss principles of hypothesis thinking
Name and comment on ideation tool you know. Did you have an experience with it?
Where to take creativity? Your advice
Lets find examples of “Steal like an artist” approach among startups
Create a list of 5 business ideas you have ever had in your mind. Choose 1 and make an exhaustive list of the problems that are associated with the proposed business idea.
0
Workshop Break into teams, choose from the list below 1 tool to work with. Use the templates to create new business ideas. Summarize the results. Share your results and experience of using the template with other teams 1
Exercise Start an "Idea diary" (not necessarily business ideas): create a convenient place for notes (notion, pinterest, instagram, paper notebook, etc.). Note the time/place/circumstances of ideas coming, learn to write down ideas. Draw conclusions from 1 week's work: where, when, how, why new ideas arise and whether you can manage their flow. 0

Section 2

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Discussion What are the basic steps in market research?
What are the commonly used market research methods?
What research question types can be asked in surveys?
Should startup prefer primary or secondary research?
0
Workshop SWOT analysis: compare your business idea with competitors and market situation
Get familiar with industry trends and reports: Find and create a list of 3 to 5 business research papers or trend reports in your industry
0
Home written assignment Market research doc: create a structure that is:
1-2 pages long
Describes your business idea
Contains the structure of your future research
Contains a list of questions to answer during the research for each chapter proposed
Contains links and references to data sources potentilly interesting to use in a research
Its feasible: it should be a chance you may answer all the questions stated in the doc
The doc format is designed and well structured
1

Section 3

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Oral test Good or bad interview question?
Useful or useless feedback?
0
Workshop Work on your customer profile using the Persona template. Make a client interview script with the help of the Problem-validation-script. 1
Case study Watch the video with the case study. This is an example of HOW NOT to take a customer discovery interview. Discuss what went wrong? 0

Section 4

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Workshop Estimate your target market using the TAM-SAM-SOM template in MIRO. Explain the data. 1
Case study Learn a market sizing case: online babysitting service 0

Section 5

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Workshop Use 3 tools from this lesson's theory that you are least familiar with or have not used at all. From each source, take one insight on the state of your project's market. (For example, the total size of your target market, a leading competitor, number of users, or a growing trend) 0
Oral presentation Take one tool from the list below and create a “how-to” guide to the service for your classmates. The guide could be done in a form of 1) video-instruction 2) text 3) visualized scheme 4) presentation. The guide must answer how to use a tool and give an example of its use on concrete case study. Studying the guide should take your reader not mach then 15 min. 1

Section 6

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Workshop Exercises:
Personal SWOT Analysis
List of Personal Achievements
Analysis of Motivating Activities
Your Personal Vision
0

Section 7

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Pitch session The final Market Research report should follow the structure discussed
Content of the oral presentation may include: business description, market overview, main sources used in the research, competitors overview, monetization opportunity, market size, further stages of research or business work, team, comments on some challenges during the work
1

Final assessment

Section 1

  1. For the final assessment, students should complete the Market Research paper.
  2. It should follow the market research paper structure, contain information about market volume (TAM SAM SOM), data must be gathered with help of data sources learnt.
  3. The paper should refer to market potential and give the basis to make business decisions, answer questions on how to start and develop your idea, what is your business model, target customer persona, product MVP etc.
  4. Grading criteria for the final project presentation:
  5. Market sizing has been carried out
  6. Customer segments are named
  7. Сompetitor analysis has been conducted
  8. At least 2 prominent data sources are used
  9. Customer discovery interviews conducted
  10. Future steps are mapped out
  11. The final report is visualized clearly and transparent

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7


The retake exam

Section 1

  1. For the retake, students have to submit the results of the market sizing exercise with the TAM SAM SOM method in the form of a visual framework studied.

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7