Assignment task:
The purpose of this assignment is to perform a smoke test and explain the results of the smoke test through a presentation.
As a group, choose a single business to pursue together. Identify the segment of your potential customers that would be early adopters. This should be a group of people to whom you can communicate your product or service offering through some method of direct contact. The group needs to be significant in numbers such that, if they were to adopt your product or service, there would be a validation of the offering that justifies further development.
Conduct a smoke test with these target early adopters. Prepare specific, organized questions to assess the value of the team's product or service, customer likes and dislikes, potential barriers to adoption, and improvement options. Your test should reach a minimum of 100 people who reflect your target market.
Smoke tests can vary tremendously. Some may be offered through social media where the measured result might be a "click here if you are interested." It could also be a guerilla marketing campaign passing out flyers to a specific group of people and asking them to go to a webpage or sign up for a trial.
Your deliverable is a summary of the test presented as a PowerPoint presentation (8-10 slides). Be sure to include the following points:
1. Description of the problem you solve, including who is affected and to what degree. Describe the price customers will pay.
2. Your unique solution to this problem and how it varies from current offerings.
3. Your value proposition: "We offer X to improve your life by X. If you are interested, click here."
4. Specific market segment: How many people? What is the common characteristic that allows you to communicate with them?
5. Describe the test that the team conducted. Who did you contact, how did you contact them, what feedback was sought and received?
6. Summarize test results, key learnings, and potential next steps. Include at least three customer response anecdotes that summarize key learnings.
7. Summarize planned next steps. Do you continue development, pivot your product, or redo the test? Given what you learned, what is your next action?
8. How could the smoke test have been conducted differently? What improvement in test methods are indicated?