DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

University of Toronto

CSC454/2527S: The Business of Software

January-April 2003

Assignment F: Draft Plan

Handed Out: 25 February 2003, 8 p.m. (deadline changed to March 17 on March 7^th)

Due In: 10 17 March 2003, 6 p.m.

Marks: 15%

Each team will submit a draft business plan that is "as complete as possible". (The more complete it is, the more feedback you will get from your TA.) It is to be handed in to Philip Stern just before class begins on March 10^th 17^th in BA1180.

Emphasis should be placed on describing clearly and at an appropriate level of detail:

• an Executive Summary for the plan

• the basic idea (the product and/or service and/or content, and the market to be served), the objectives, and a mission statement for the new venture

• the market, including segmentation and sizing

• who the customer would be for the product, service, and/or content, what the "user benefit" would be, and what the customer might be willing to pay. Evidence should be given of actual contact with potential customers.

• technology definition and development plan

• the competitive landscape into which your product, service, and/or content will be introduced, how you will position yourself in this landscape, and how you will differentiate yourself from the competition

• how you will sell and market the product, service, and/or content

• the beginnings of a financial plan for operating the company

• the beginnings of a financing plan for raising capital if any is needed

• the start-up management team, which could include a reasonable number of additional key personnel.

All of this will be refined and possibly elaborated further in your final business plan.

The typical submission is expected to be from 15 to 30 pages on paper not counting the title page, table of contents page, or Appendices. The paper report must be word processed (i.e., not hand-written) and submitted on 8.5"X11" paper. Structure and organization, spelling, grammar, word usage, and document appearance will count for roughly 1/6 of your grade on this Assignment. Sketches, diagrams, and tables should be used where appropriate to assist in conveying concepts such as competitive information and product positioning.

While perfection is not expected, reasonably grammatical English is – or your Assignment will be returned for rework and resubmission.

Each submission must include a title page with a meaningful title, the course name and number, your TA’s name, the date, your names, and your student ID#s. The second page should contain a table of contents. The second page must also indicate what roles individuals played in carrying out various parts of the work.