DEPARTMENT
OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CSC454/2527S:
The Business of Software
January-April
2003
Assignment
H: Plan v3
Handed
Out:
Due
In: 11 April 2003,
8
a.m.
Marks:
27%
(15%
team grade, 5% team grade for improvement, 7% for
individual participation)
Each
team will submit a complete "final" business plan. This is to be
handed in to Kelly Rankin in Bahen 7214 on paper in 2 copies.
You
must also resubmit the marked-up copy of Assignment F that has your TA’s
comments and feedback on it.
Emphasis
should be placed on describing clearly and at an appropriate level of detail:
• an Executive Summary for the plan. Note that this cannot be
taking most of the information in the plan and tryingtosqueezeitintolessspace.
You must be selective, focusing on the key idea, the problem it solves,
what’s special about your solution, the strength of the management team,
and the financial return to the investors.
• the basic idea (including the product and/or service and/or
content to be marketed), the objectives, and a mission statement for the new
venture
• the market to be served. Evidence should be given of
understanding the market and its segments both in quantitative and qualitative
terms.
• 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.
• the skeletal technology definition and development plan.
Evidence should be given that you are not likely to drown under lengthy and
expensive R&D before you even have a chance to come to market.
• 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. A positioning diagram and a
competitive matrix are often useful ways of expressing your ideas. Evidence of
actual contact with users of competitive products can be very valuable.
• how you will sell and market the product, service, and/or
content. Particular attention should be paid to pricing and distribution.
• a financial plan for operating the company, backed up by a
financial model expressed as a spreadsheet. It is essential that your key
assumptions be clearly documented.
• a financing plan for raising seed capital. It is essential
that you explain how the money will be used, and how investor objectives for
ROI and liquidity can be met.
• the start-up management team, which could include a
reasonable number (one, two, or at most three) of additional key personnel to
augment the strengths included in your team and to address the weaknesses by
filling obvious holes.
The
typical submission could be 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 typed and submitted on 8.5"X11" paper. Structure and
organization, spelling, grammar, word usage, and document appearance will count
for roughly 15% of your total grade. Sketches, diagrams, and tables
should be used where appropriate to assist in conveying concepts such as
competitive information and product positioning.
Each
submission must include a title page with a meaningful title, your names, your
student ID#s, your TA’s name, the course name
and number, and the date. The second page should contain a table of contents.
The second page must also indicate what roles individuals played in carrying
out various part of the work.
Finally,
each individual must return to Kelly Rankin in Bahen 7214 an individual
copy of the forms on the next 3 pages. Each individual 3-page submission
should be in its own sealed envelope, and must be handed no later than April 11th 2003
Evaluation
of Individual Contributions to Group Work
Assume
that you have $100 to pay the group members who have participated in your term
project. On the basis of each member's overall contribution over the entire
semester, please allocate this money among the members. You should consider
quality of ideas, time invested, group participation, personal effort,
commitment, and "going beyond the call of duty" in this allocation. Make
sure to rate your own contribution as well.
Project
Name____________________________________________________________
TA
____________________________________________________________________
Name
of Group Member "Pay"
1)
______________________________________________ $
____
2)
______________________________________________ $
____
3)
______________________________________________ $
____
4)
______________________________________________ $
____
5)
______________________________________________ $
____
6)
______________________________________________ $
____
7)
______________________________________________ $
____
TOTAL $
100
Additional
comments (optional, use additional paper if more space is needed):
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Last
name (optional): ______________________First name (optional): _____________
Approx.
number of hours/week (including class) spent on this course (optional):
______
PLEASE ALSO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON THE NEXT TWO
PAGES
GROUP WORK PROCESS SATISFACTION SURVEY
SO WE CAN
DECIDE HOW MUCH TO INCLUDE ON GROUP PROCESS AND DYNAMICS IN FUTURE YEARS,
PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ON THIS PAGE AND THE NEXT PAGE
1. What were the major interpersonal problems, if
any, encountered by your group over the past semester.
Circle the letter of any that apply:
a) difficulty contacting
group members
b) feeling that your
opinions were not considered
c) feeling that you had
to take the leadership role to get anything done
d) difficulty
taking or receiving feedback from team members
e) insufficient
brainstorming
f) inflexible positions
on the part of team members
g) defensiveness on the
part of team members
h) misunderstandings due
to unclear expression of ideas
i) misunderstandings due
to poor listening
j) other:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2) What were the organizational problems, if any,
encountered by your group:
a) difficulty agreeing on
a shared vision
b) failure to clearly
define responsibilities
c) failure to divide
tasks equitably
d) failure
of some individuals to carry out what they had promised
e) difficulty adjusting to
change when reevaluating plans seemed advisable
f) other:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
3) How much work should we include in future
classes on group process in CSC454:
a) more
b) about the same
c) less
4) How helpful was the group process form handed
out with Assignment C:
a) very helpful
b) significantly helpful
c) slightly helpful
d) useless
5a) How satisfied are you with amount of face-time
you spent together?
(Very satisfied) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Very dissatisfied)
5b) How satisfied are you with your
partners’ response to phone or e-mail communication?
(Very satisfied) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Very dissatisfied)
5c) How satisfied are you with the division of labour in your group?
(Very satisfied) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Very dissatisfied)
5d) How satisfied are you
with the quality of your own work?
(Very satisfied) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Very dissatisfied)
5e) How satisfied are you with the quality of your
partners’ work?
(Very satisfied) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Very dissatisfied)
5f) How satisfied are you with decision-making and
leadership in the group?
(Very satisfied) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Very dissatisfied)
5g) How satisfied are you
with the ability of the group to listen to one another’s ideas?
(Very satisfied) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Very dissatisfied)
5h) How satisfied are you
with the level of participation in the brainstorming?
(All contributed) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Only a few)
5i) Do you feel the group did sufficient
brainstorming or was the process rushed?
(Good brainstorming) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 -
3 - 2 - 1 (Rushed)
5j) To what extent do you
feel your opinions were considered?
(Well considered) 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 -
2 - 1 (Totally Ignored)