5.   Overall quality of work (10 marks)

Learning outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes related to this assessment are:

The Program Learning Outcomes related to this assessment are:

Integrate business knowledge, social intelligence and ethical decision-making in ways that are inclusive and culturally appropriate to produce outcomes that are impactful,    sustainable and fair.

Reflect on and continuously progress their own professional development, enhancing  their intellectual agility and adaptability as tools for success in ever-changing business contexts.

Coherently articulate technical and conceptual business knowledge that is both

contemporary and interdisciplinary.

Assessment details

GROUP FORMATION | You are required to form groups of maximum 5 students. Each group will   select a group leader and a deputy group leader, who have responsibilities that are specified in the Process for Guiding Group Work document [see Canvas]. These roles may be rotated among members.

Keep in mind that creativity is often stimulated by differences rather than similarities; it thrives in a  conflict of information, ideas and perspectives. Therefore, when forming your groups, please think about finding group members with different skill sets coupled with diverse backgrounds that reflect gender balance. Research has shown that these factors can help to foster creative thinking and     problem-solving in groups.

TASK | Your group task is to identify a specific problem and derive a relevant solution. To achieve this, consider your group as a task force (temporary work unit) within or outside an organisation.

Many of the world's corporate and non-corporate problems are complex and evolving. They require new ways of thinking, new methods, and new products/services to solve. They also require

collaborations between individuals with complementary skills.

Thus, in this Assessment you are asked to take on the role of active collaborators. Together, your team will identify a problem and come up with new and useful solutions that solve it.

Hot tip #1

“Cooperation” is the traditional approach used for most Group assignments.

However, for this module, Groups need to work “Collaboratively”. The nature of    cooperation is that individual Group members are delegated specific tasks, which are completed independently of other members. All pieces are then assembled together to generate a portfolio or final work piece. Collaboration goes beyond   this as it builds upon collective work around “shared” inputs. Communication is  vital to allow Groups to cohere and co-create solutions to their chosen problem. This collaborative, communicative, iterative approach is central to the Design

Thinking methodology required.

STEP 1 | The first step of your challenge is called “Problem Identification”; you have to choose a     Topic. Groups are required to identify a real-world organisational problem, OR, a non-organization- related problem. Whatever problem you select, it must be current, pressing, and have negative

consequences for stakeholders, e.g., the organisation, its employees, or society at large.

For example, organisational topics could range from firms having difficulty in establishing innovation- supportive cultures within their organisations, to addressing the high staff turnover or attrition rates.   Non-organisational topics could cover aspects such as the disposal of plastic waste, addressing

agricultural land degradation and advocating for healthy soil, etc.  The range is wide, your challenge is to identify a topic that the group feels motivated to work on.

STEP 2 | Groups will dive down to develop a deeper, more empathetic understanding of their

problem and the people who are impacted.  Following on from a clear “Problem Definition”, the task requires that groups move ahead with ideas to solve the identified problem.

Step 2 requires groups to develop a creative (i.e., new, and useful) and practical idea on how to

solve this problem.  Groups must approach their solution using Design Thinking in combination with Lean Startup principles. This approach is reflected in the assessment criteria.

STEP 3 | Groups must create a lead-generation landing page in which they concisely depict their   solutions to their target audience with a specific Call to Action. Driving real customers/end users to the landing page falls outside the scope of this assignment, though.

Hot tip #2

This task requires that groups focus their solutions around a “human-centred”

problem, and the Design Thinking methodology is a most appropriate tool for

this. However, Design Thinking is not the most suitable approach for solving

purely scientific or engineering problems.  Therefore, please avoid problems that require predominantly technical solutions.

Hot tip #3

Pick your topic wisely and discuss it with your tutor first to see whether it is a suitable and appropriate topic for this course, before you proceed. Try not to

change your project once you have commenced because you will lose valuable time in doing so. However, if you find early on that you have made the wrong     choice, discuss it with your tutor and make the switch quickly so you can make  up for lost ground.

IMPORTANT NOTES

1.   This assessment is designed to provide students the space to demonstrate their mastery of the   DT process and tools covered. This means that it is essential that groups appropriately apply the tools and techniques taught here as part of this academic course. Good outcomes tend to follow good processes, so groups are encouraged to trust in the DT process. It is good advice to invest

the group’s energy in the process, rather than overly focus on the quality of the eventual solution.

2.   The assessment limits itself to the first three phases of the DT process. Each phase is

introduced in the weekly Modules in Canvas. For the best project experience, students are

encouraged to keep pace with their learning. There is no requirement to complete phase 4 for this project; there is no grade in the rubric either.

3.   For a topic to be acceptable, it will have a clearly identified problem, as well as a set of people who are impacted by it. The following set of Topics will not be accepted:

Bullying, any topic related to the wellbeing of employees including workplace stress, negative effects of social media, multicultural work environments.

TOOLS AND METHODS

Groups must use tools and methods taught on this course that cover the first three phases of the DT process. When used effectively, they will help groups apply their learning towards developing a

proposed solution.

The tools are listed in the table below, and groups need to understand that those marked as

“Compulsory” must be provided as part of their portfolio. For tools marked as “Optional”, groups can choose which are the relevant ones to provide.

The quality of artefacts provided will be judged as part of the grading process. Grading will also factor in the relevance of these artefacts, i.e., the decisions a group makes to include, or omit,   specific optional tools.

Submission of this Assessment will not be in the format of a typical management report.  Instead, groups must logically organise and submit their portfolio of artefacts in one Word document.

To provide ongoing evidence of progress, it is essential that each group use the Files section on

Canvas for their group to maintain an up-to-date portfolio of their draft artefacts. This will allow their  Tutor the potential to provide formative feedback during each workshop. It will also afford Tutors the ability to judge a group’s progress as well as evaluate the authenticity of that work.

DOCUMENT STRUCTURE

Structure your submission document as follows:

1.   Cover Page

You must include the following on your cover page:

.     BUSM4550/1/3 Innovation Management; Date; Tutor name

.    Assessment 2: Group Project; Project title

.    Group Name (Tutorial X Group Y); Full names and student numbers of all group members

.    Clickable hyperlink to Landing Page

.    Word count (count excludes cover page, contents page, Reference list)

2. Table of Contents     (provide descriptive numbered headings for each phase,

sub-headings (for each artefact), and page numbers)

3. Artefacts Present each artefact on a new page sequentially according

to phase in a logical progression, using the following format:

a) Purpose:               Briefly explain your rationale for using this tool/method

b) Implementation: Describe in short how your group used this tool/method

c) Output: What information was forthcoming from implementing this tool/method?

Include easy viewable graphs, images, or tables.

d) Insights: What are the main learnings or insights you gained from having used

this tool/method?

How does this assist your group in progressing towards the

proposed solution?

FURTHER EXPLANATORY NOTES REGARDING THE USE OF TOOLS / METHODS

Secondary research

Groups will conduct secondary research as part of the “Problem Identification” and “Definition”

phases to learn as much as possible about the problem identified and its consequences. To achieve this, they will use scholarly and professional literature, as well as use other routes, such as reading journal articles, books, magazine articles referring to news, and TED Talks.

A full reference list must be included at the end of the summary and will include a minimum of 5

references from recent scholarly work (2014-2021). The remaining References can be non-scholarly works. References should be formatted using RMIT Harvard style(or Harvard style if using

Endnote). The list should be in alphabetical order by family name, and not listed by numbers or bullet points. The reference list is not included in the word count.

Problem Statement

This is an essential part of the Design Thinking process, as it helps you set out the problem with    clarity, and in an actionable way. All projects must therefore use the template provided as part of   their submission to identify the problem that the group is working on. The Problem Statement also importantly allows you to bring focus to the customer or end-user(s) that is experiencing the

problem.

Empathy Mapping

Using this tool, groups must use a series of prompts to identify their target group's thoughts,

feelings, motivations, desires, and needs in a way to gain a deeper insight into their customers.

Mind Map

Groups will submit a mind map that summarises the various facets or sub-sets of the problem they  face. That map will clearly indicate which part(s) of the problem the groups is attempting to derive a solution for.

Brainstorming

Groups will inevitably brainstorm to generate ideas on numerous occasions, especially during

divergent phases of the creative process. Any form of brainstorming that has been covered on this  course is acceptable.  Groups will apply these amongst other things, to derive as many as possible ideas for solving the problem.

Decision-making

Groups will also need to engage in convergent thinking as they shrink their list of ideas generated into a relevant and more workable set. This is an evaluation process that requires critical thinking.

Groups need to explain the methodology followed during convergence, as well as the rationale used to select the idea(s) implemented in their selected solution.

Value Proposition Canvas (achieving Problem-Solution fit)

The VPC sets out very clearly who the customer is that is impacted by the problem, together with

proposals that address that problem. Groups must provide a VPC that specifically zooms in on their target audience, there associated problem, and your team’s proposed solution. As expressed in the course materials, your VPC represents the ‘problem-solution’ fit in the Lean Startup scheme of

things. Be specific as you describe your solution’s features and functionality, keeping in mind that high level, or generic offerings are not acceptable.

Customer pitch

All members of a group need to read and sign the EOC agreement (see Canvas). The team leader must then upload this as a separate document to the report onto Canvas before or on the deadline for assessment 2. A special link will be created in the Assignment 2 portal to enable this.

Online collaboration

As you may not always have the opportunity to meet your group members face-to-face to

collaborate on this Assignment, using online tools (e.g., Skype, WhatsApp, Google docs, email, etc) are essential. Think of yourselves as a task force working in a virtual environment which is typical of teams globally.

A task force represents a miniature work organization tasked with achieving a goal. They can be found in scientific and consulting units or work organizations that are temporary in nature. All

members of the task force must work towards solving a given problem within a given budget and time frame, and in this task collaborating virtually using online tools. This is a good opportunity to refine your technology skills to practice and develop means and ways of effective collaboration    online.

First things first!

. Have you formed a group in Canvas?

You must form teams of five (5) students (minimum and maximum) from your tutorial group. At   times it will be inevitable to have four students in a team, but for such cases permission must be

obtained from the tutor. A special case must be put forward to the Course Coordinator by

students wanting to complete the assignment individually. Only cases with exceptional

circumstances will be considered. The same required output will be expected from each team and the same marking rubrics will be applied to each project, irrespective of team size.

We encourage you to start forming teams by week 3 at the latest. It is your responsibility to

register your team on Canvas in the 'Assignment 2' tab in the People section. It is essential that, in order to be awarded the collective group mark, you must be enrolled into the team. Failure to  do so will result in a zero mark even if you have contributed to the report.

To help you find a team, regular workshop attendance and getting to know fellow students

during activities are highly recommended. The deadline for aligning yourself with a group of your choice is 5 pm on Friday of week 4. If you are not part of a team by then, your tutor will assign     you to a team in week 5. Remember that you should be active in only ONE group and group

members must be from the same tutorial.

. Submission

This is a group assignment and hence only the group leader is required to submit this assignment and the EOC on behalf of the other group members.

.     Font:  Ariel or Calibri 12-point

.     Format:  Word documents in either .doc or .docx formats. Assignments submitted in pdf format will not be graded.

.     Keep a screen shot of the submission time in case this is required by the assessor.

Turnitin

Assignments and other assessments must be submitted through the CANVAS assessment