This past year has been very significant in both my academic and personal life, New Venture Design (NVD) unlike any other university module, presented itself as a catalyst for something I never expected, the developing of a new type of thinking in me. I have grown more in the period of this module than ever before in my life, this essay will highlight the relationship of this new me and the module known as BS6702.
I found myself in a lecture unlike any other, facing challenges unlike what I expected I would find in a business based course. Corrine is someone I came to identify myself with very strongly as it felt to me that her way of seeing the world is very similar to how I have been viewing it. Her method of passing unto the students the academic material is very unorthodox and in my own way I tend to not follow the norm of things in life, this came to light in the first semester with the emphasis of the recurring theme of innovation.
The first few lectures presented the module to be what I had been wanting. The module flowed so fluidly through Corrine where creativity and thinking outside the box was the essence. The varied topics of discussion as well as the non-rigid format it was discussed in created an atmosphere where I felt more comfortable to be myself than with any other lecturer and set of students.
Unexpectedly, the first lesson I learned was discipline. In my interpretation I viewed the module almost as a life teaching in itself, teaching one how to learn as well as the skills and knowledge involved in Venturing into my own business if it is to be the case one day. Blogging has always been something I’ve wanted to do in a regular fashion, but something I’ve failed to even start. After writing the first blog I set to dedicate my Wednesdays to NVD blogs, and kept this promise true, often spending hours on a single piece of writing, looking up and reading about peripheral topics of interest like quantum teleportation as an example of a paradigm shift or incredibly inventive products like BMW’s R1200GS.
Focusing on Innovation, the first few lectures shaped the way I would see the module for the rest of the year. Products, workarounds and paradigm shifting innovation created a student friendly path to reach the first goal within the module of creation of a product or service that would be presented to the dragons. By nature being a curious person the method of teaching affected me positively where I was able to explore with my colleagues and lecturer a wide span of topics while feeling confortable to be able to speak and speculate about the development of invisibility when the original topic is paradigm. This encouragement passed on to promote me speaking more often in other lectures.
The first blog covered an innovative product, mine being the newest model of a trail motorcycle. I viewed it in a way I wouldn’t have if not given the task. The intricacy of engineering and technology put together to create a machine that pushed innovation, efficiency and physics to their limits. The four P’s of innovation became known to me, Product, Process, Position and Paradigm.
The varied topics of discussion in lectures allowed me to explore many topics in my blogs and so I formed an opinion in a very hot topic in the global social level. Workaround was a term I came to me to learn in this lecture, and in the struggle to find one in my personal life I look into a large scale of things with the theme of use of non-renewable resources. The task opened my thinking to the process of things, attempting to shed light in all variables of a process in order to gain some control over it or improve it in some form. From the simplicity of changing simple actions to using products to make life more efficiently I was able to understand how this can help an business entrepreneur as he/she would gain a fuller knowledge of the product/service itself as well as all the details of its relationship to people. The User, designer and community became a critical factor into thinking about my own development of a product or service. Particularly what and how they connected to each other was a think I came to think about, in many cases with rules, objects and skills implied or necessary to make the process full, like money is an object often present in the process of a purchase as well as a skill being present when someone sells a service like plumbing.
The following task given was to critically analyze a flawed system, identify the people, objects, skills and rules involved and present a creative and innovative solution. The service provided by the in-campus Subway is incredibly inefficient and inconsistent, so I am able to explore the potential possibilities behind making it able to cope with the high demand.
But viewing a full picture of what it takes to become a business entrepreneur meant looking outwards. The attitude towards the business and dedication to a dream were evidently factors that were coherently viewed in the success behind a product, service or overall business. Further viewing of Dragons Den and Branding came into play.
Branding is a topic that abundantly was talked about in a marketing course so I came in with considerable amounts of knowledge, unlike many models like the already discussed triangle map or paradigm shifting innovations of the past. The importance of branding was highlighted again to me as a critical factor to a successful product, and when challenged to find a successful product with weak branding I seem to fail to find one. The key factor is distinction and uniqueness, although, other factors play a role in branding that vary from competitors, to social trends, to the product itself as well as even the way the people involved in the business interact with the public.
I had the chance to create a product and a service, one in each semester I finally was able to implement all learnt on the creation of a portable smart device charger. It felt like I had incorporated the knowledge to create a product that could work in our market very fast. Including concepts designed to find problems in a product or service following an ample array of questions to ask yourself about the product. As well as learning to deal with the people involved, as well as learning to find the problem and learning in an effective manner how to go around the problem and incorporating a solution. Additionally, information acquisition, questionnaire designs, what to ask and what not to ask in an interview. Knowing to be aware of all factors because the structuring questions in certain ways will influence the answer.
The persona became central to the second semester, the core aspect of creating a product unlike of the first half of the module. The module now required more of me than before by the creation of the persona and actual extensive research with the designated group. A depth understanding of what ‘persona’ really meant was achieved out of the lecture hall. Alan Watts paints a clear picture of persona in the context of history, where it translates to ‘mask’ used in Greek plays in the Roman Empire era. In our context it became clear that I was to create a set of personalities that would accurately distinguish who it is that the product is for. When creating one myself I realized how the level of detail would influence my product as well as the problems within this group of people. A thorough persona leaves smaller room for error and improves chances to get things right, but makes research very difficult and excludes many people from the potential market, so a balance is essential. The highlight of types of needs (cognitive, emotional and physical) complement very well the material of semester one.
The last significant lesson I learned from NVD was to ‘keep asking why’. This was intended to draw to the surface the needs of the persona but I found it useful on other aspects such as critically viewing the product/service being created. My group and I were able to exercise this in our primary research, being mostly group interviews with university students this philosophy gave us extensive reports on the progress of the service, this is something I will take to all projects I take part in the future.
The method of teaching was very advantageous in interacting with the students but I found to be inefficient in transferring means. I did enjoy the countless discussions and stories shared in class and I think more modules should follow this format, however a more mechanical, textbook style can be more effective in passing consistent means. Having said that, another solution could lie in the amount of content, towards the end of the module, lectures were concluding faster. Despite so, I feel like the overall experience enhanced my university experience, but more importantly allowed me to become the person I am today. The personality of the lecture was made in a way I heavily identify with, where exploration of non-definite models was possible when creativity is cultivated while maintaining a guideline of disciplines that permit the business venture to flourish in a challenging, engaging and enjoyable way.
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