Testing Business Models and our findings
In this course we wanted to discover how can one integrate business thinking in a user-driven innovation process?
We were introduced with local company, who has made innovative daylight solution. We ITPD students were merged with students from Innovation & Business studies. Our main task was to determine the market (Schools, Hotels, Hospitals etc.) where company should expect the largest ROI.
Project was organized in matrix type, so each of us were in both functional and project teams. I was in User Research and in the same time OEM teams. In UR team I was able to discuss and share methods for researching users. In OEM team I was able to discuss which companies to visit, what kind of information to get, which was expected to result in tangible business model which should provoke discussions between all stakeholders.
User Research Methods
In the beginning of the project the excitement was so high that I was willing to test all (known to me) UR methods.
Research tools [Elements of UX, p.51]:
- surveys
- interviews
- focus groups
- user tests
- field studies
- usability testing
- scenario design
- ethnographic field studies
However, due to a lack of time and short meeting sessions between team members (we and I&B students had different time schedules) we spent most of the energy getting to consensus and deciding how a work should be done. This resulted in some overlays of our work. That should be kept in mind for the next projects, that clear, agreed roles and a strategy in the beginning is important 
Tangible Business Model
And one more thing that I would do next time after we have consensus – making more research on company’s solution, so there would not be a need to ask simple questions for company about them in the middle of project.
So in the end we ended up with some interviews, daylight solution research and business model testing in the end. Some teams used Personas and Scenarious to present their ideas and users.
Our business model had a matrix structure as well and it showed how effective going into a specific market (Architects, Offices, Wellness centers etc.) would be if parameters of Customization, Visual Perception, Cost etc. would be changed.
You can get insight of our project in my Flickr “Business of Design” set. Or our course’s Flickr set.
