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MGMT 1601: Management Software and Technology

Design a Solution and Collect Feedback Using Forms

As discussed last week, there are three aspects to a SaaS business model that are typically different: Customer segments, value propositions, and revenue models. You explored how these work from a technical perspective, with a specific application to StapTutor, a technical prototype of a generative AI application. However, there is more than one way to design and explore design features that go into a SaaS product. In this exercise, we will explore the Value Proposition Canvas, a popular tool for conceptualizing value propositions.

As  mentioned  in  previous  weeks,  the  concept  of  a value   proposition is  essential  for understanding  the  adoption  of  a  disruptive  technology.   In Business Model Generation Osterwalder et al. (2010) state that value propositions are the “building blocks that describe bundles of products and services that create value for a specific customer segment” (p. 22). Often referred to as product-market fit, the synergy between value propositions and customer segments drives all the remaining elements of disruptive innovation, even in the context of larger organizations. It is thus essential that disruptive technology innovators have a firm grasp of their customer segments and value propositions.

The authors later created a simple tool specifically for validating value propositions (Osterwalder et al., 2015). Today, the Strategyzer Value Proposition Canvas (Strategyzer AG, 2020) is widely used to simplify the discovery of value propositions and customer segments specifically. You will use this tool to help you create and validate your digital transformation idea.

This exercise will teach you to think critically about how you would validate a value proposition and communicate it. Using the Strategyzer Value Proposition Canvas, identify a value proposition for a disruptive innovation that uses Generative AI. You will then explore one approach for conducting a user-feedback experiment for disproving your beliefs, with evidence.

Step 1: Watch the Demonstration

Watch the video demonstration either in your tutorial or on Brightspace. This will demonstrate the Value Proposition Canvas. When you are finished, proceed to the nextstep.

Step 2: Create a Value Proposition Map

Once you have wrapped your head around the Value Proposition Canvas, your actions should be straightforward. Your goal is to illustrate a value proposition that can be created using Generative AI, such as the proposition discussed in Exercise 8. The value proposition can be anything, as long as it is correctly illustrated, similar to Figure 1. Some examples of problems that might be addressed, at least in part, by generative AI include:

•    Determining whether you should goto the hospital if you feel sick.

•    Writing social media posts.

•    Developing business brand names.

•    Troubleshooting your smartphone.

When complete, your canvas should look something like the visualization below, but tailored to your customer profiles and value proposition. Take a screenshot of this image —you will submit it with your challenge questions.

Figure 1 - Sample Value Proposition Canvas for SnapTutor

Step 3: Create a Microsoft Forms Questionnaire

To use the Value Proposition Canvas effectively, we need to collect feedback and iterate around our ideas. It is not enough to just put our best betonto the canvas and hope that it will workout. Well-designed products and services are often based on real data and lots of evidence speaking with your potential customers.

There are many ways to collect feedback, though one of them is Microsoft Forms. Forms is an easy-to-use tool for collecting feedback. It can be used to collect survey responses, user input, and opinions. Using this data, it is possible to justify your hypotheses.

It’s very difficult to make an effective questionnaire. As mentioned in the summary, data is not automatically less biased than personal experience. Data needs to be created in a way that supports  its  objectivity.  Qualtrics,  a  leading  survey  software,  provides  a  list  of  common questionnaire mistakes to avoid. Three of these are listed below (Qualtrics, 2023):

1. Leading questions and leading words – The language that you use should be as neutral as possible. Avoid emotional words (e.g., “welcomed”, “celebrated”) or negative (e.g., “ prohibit”, “demand”) as well as phrases that sound misleading (e.g., “wouldn’t you like to …”)

2. Non-exhaustive listings – Be sure to provide a list of responses that include an option that is correct for them. These are very common when discussing demographics, like age or gender. Consider providing an “other” or free text entry option.

3. Forcing respondents to answer – If you are following good survey ethics, you should never force your participants to answer a question that they are uncomfortable answering. Make sensitive questions (or all questions) skippable.

Figure 2 - Microsoft Forms Interface’

Take sometime to make a survey that tests one of the elements of your value proposition. Think carefully about the questions that you would like to ask before finalizing the survey.

Step 4: Prepare to Share

Before sharing your document, it is also important to note the importance of research ethics. To avoid potential harms that can come from conducting research with humans, it is valuable to have processes and procedures in place that can provide 1) transparency and 2) accountability with the user,s data. Furthermore, do not collect participants, data without first being confident that you are compliant with relevant laws and policies.

At Dalhousie University, research conducted with humans must be approved by the Dalhousie University Research Ethics Board. The Board determines whether your activity is compliant with the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS), which specifies how universities in Canada are expected to conduct this work (Canada, 2022). If you are interested in learning more about the TCPS, consider visiting the link provided in the References.

We will not conduct any actual data collection with Forms at this time, though please prepare to share it. It will be part of your challenge question submission.

References

Osterwalder, A., Pigneur,Y. and Clark, T. (2010). Business Model Generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers and challengers. Wiley & Sons.

Osterwalder, A, Pigneur , Y., Bernarda, G., Smith, A., and Papadakos, T. (2014). Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want. Wiley & Sons.

Qualtrics (2023). Survey Errors and How to Address Them. Qualtrics XM.

https://www.qualtrics.com/experience-management/research/survey-errors/

StrategyzerAG (2020). The Value Proposition Canvas.

https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/valueproposition-canvas

Canada (2022). Tri-Council Policy Statement Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans.

https://ethics.gc.ca/eng/policy-politique_tcps2-eptc2_2022.html