Team Project Overview

 

Let’s first address the concerns that some online students have about team projects. While team projects do bring with them challenges of collaboration and time management, this course and its theme must employ this strategy to assist individuals with the amount of work required to complete a meaningful activity in the weeks provided. The entrepreneurial landscape as it exists today requires teamwork spread over potentially geographically dispersed partners, so an entrepreneur should not be afraid to have this learning experience in an online course. An effective level of communication and collaboration must be leveraged to successfully develop, manufacture, and introduce a product to a wide target audience.

This course is unlike others you may have taken in the past. The structure is more flexible, and the goals are more aligned with the personal goals of each student. With that in mind, utilize the opportunities afforded in this course to form a community of thinkers and collaborators as you either move your idea to design and production or look for ways to improve or validate a current entrepreneurial venture. You will attempt to choose your own teams at the end of Module 1, which will require each of you to participate in first week introductions, engage in conversations, and scrutinize the public submissions made in Module 1 for potential teammates.

Now, with all of those concerns addressed, let’s discuss the documentation requirements of the team project. The New Product Development Process table below illustrates the requirements associated with each module. You will use the New Product Development Process Documentation Template to complete your documentation. You will be able to view and download this template on the following page or during Module 2.

New Product Development Process

	Module 1	Module 2	Module 3	Module 4	Module 5	Module 6	Module 7	Module 8
New Product Development Process	Organization and Planning	Idea Generation and Screening	Market Assessment	Concept Design and Development	Business Analysis	Product Branding, Marketing, and Advertising	Prototype and User Testing	Commercial-ization and Distribution
Documentation Requirement	Team Formation	Team Contract Idea Generation and Screening	Market and Legal Environment Analysis	Concept Design and Development	Business Analysis	Branding Strategy and Promotion	Prototype and Concept Testing	Distribution Plan Commercial-ization Plan Executive Summary

As the team progresses through the modules, the documentation requirements will accompany the text and video commentary introduced. This documentation is not a business plan; however, much of what is included in this documentation can be transferred to a business plan. The template used for the course is actually patterned from sample business plans available online, making the documentation assignments meaningful while keeping with the goals and objectives of ENTR 430. With that in mind, there are two primary expectations associated with each of these documentation requirements:

1. All work is submitted on time. All documentation is submitted by an agreed upon deadline, similar to the deadlines established by the stakeholders of an entrepreneurial venture. The documentation is completed in a collaborative manner, and each team member is held accountable for meaningful and valuable contributions. Weekly progress reports and strategically placed peer evaluations will inform the instructor of productivity and concerns to be addressed as needed. The team should not hesitate to reach out to the instructor at any time should a team member not be contributing according to the standards set in the team contract.
   
   The work involved for each submission is time consuming and should not be started close to the required submission date. It is recommended that you preview the entire course this week, especially the pages titled Team Project Module Expectations. A career as an entrepreneur is not a consistent, 40-hour per week schedule. But it can be a very rewarding career if you have a good idea and an exceptional drive to accomplish goals. This necessary mentality—a drive to work and succeed—is also needed for this course. For example, you will be asked to get feedback from members of the product’s target market a minimum of three times throughout the process. The first time you will solicit feedback is during the idea generation stage (Module 2), when each individual will need to conduct interviews with consumers. Focus groups will be conducted during Modules 4 and 7. In Module 4, you will receive feedback on a two-dimensional representation of your concept design. In Module 7, you will receive feedback on a three-dimensional prototype design model. However, remember that a successful entrepreneur solicits feedback as often as possible, so please do not feel limited to these requirements.
2. Each submission adheres to quality standards and enhances previous submissions.  Each submission is completed in a preliminary stage aligned with the team’s movement through the module, and is then enhanced or updated as each new module is completed. As the team moves through the modules, new commentary or ideas may require the team to revisit previous submissions to modify initial entries to create one cohesive document. This is why the entire documentation template will be submitted each time. Each documentation submission is part of a larger template that is completed in labeled stages. Prompts for each submission are given in the template as well as on Team Project Module Expectations pages found within the actual module of study. Your team may decide to utilize a “divide-and-conquer” strategy of completing documentation, in which each person is responsible for one piece, or you may work on pieces collaboratively, whether it be in small group or a full group. This will be decided throughout the process as well as considered during the Team Contract draft.
   
   What is the Team Contract? More information and a template will be provided in Module 2. Your team will craft a contract that governs methods of communication and collaboration and sets the standard for each individual's contributions. Your team will apply this contract to the idea generation phase of the project and then have a chance to finalize the team contract before submission to the instructor. The contract will require the team to draft a timeline of individual activity completion and documentation contribution and submission. The instructor will hold you accountable to this schedule of submissions. Any change in the timeline will need to be discussed with, approved by, and changed in the course by the instructor.

On the following page, we will discuss the expectations of the team and each of its members in regard to the team project.