Innovation Management

Today engineers and engineering managers are expected to have a good understanding of the various aspects of business acumen. Within an organisation, the process of innovation starting from idea generation to building a clear research-based business plan is vital towards driving organisational creativity and product success. This module explores the application of different idea generation and problem-solving techniques to develop a new business idea. It looks at the process of conducting credible market analysis to address the demands and solve problems of different customer segments in today's business environment.

As part of the module, you will be working with an assigned team on the development of a new product-based business idea in an area of engineering and technology in the UK market. You will be using an online concept testing tool called SimVenture Validate to build your business canvas. The main objective is to explore the real-world market and test the commercial viability of your business idea.

There are three critical steps involved in the coursework - Ideation, Business Plan and Market Testing.

Ideation - The first step is to apply a combination of the tools, and techniques of idea generation and testing from this module's workshops. As a group, you will need to come up with several business ideas before finalising one which you will then analyse and test using the Business Model Canvas in the SimVenture Validate platform.
Please note: The business idea should be a product related to Engineering and Technology and should be tailored for the UK market. You can integrate some service elements within your business idea if applicable. Students from MSc Engineering Management will be exploring this idea further for an international market in your assignment for ‘International Business ELE00081M' module.

Business Plan - As a team, to build the business plan of your idea, you will be using the Business Canvas template in SimVenture Validate (See figure 1). You will need to complete all the relevant components within this canvas using guidelines from your module coordinator. This task should be carried out as a group. Once the canvas is completed, you can use relevant information from this canvas as a reference point to write your individual report.

You will be given access to this online platform during the coursework. As figure 1 shows, there are 10 core aspects to the Business Model Canvas:

• Customer segments,
• Customer Relationships,
• Value proposition,
• Channels,
• Key activities,
• Key resources,
• Key partners,
• Costs,
• Revenue and
• Sustainability.

Market Testing - Once you complete your Business Canvas, the next step is to test the real market so that you can reflect on the commercial viability of your business idea. As part of that, you will need to use a combination of market analysis tools and tests. You will need to develop some critical assumptions and then plan your tests. You will need to follow the correct research procedure including ethics approval wherever applicable to complete the research work involved in the testing process.

There are three components in this module's assessment:
Marketing Group Poster
Group Presentation
Individual Report

Marketing Group Poster
Marketing a new product is a critical step in any business venture. As a group, you will need to give your product a creative name including a logo and a tagline for marketing purposes. The name should be distinct and should stand out from any similar products in the market. As part of your first assessment in this module, you will create a range of marketing posters as a group to promote your new product in the market.

Commercial Poster: From an advertisement perspective, create a commercial poster that focuses on the key aspects of your product in the market. Creativity is vital in your layout and design of this poster. What key messages will you include in this poster?
Trifold Marketing Brochure: Marketing brochures are great to build awareness of your product and brand among potential customers. It gives you more space than a regular poster to talk about your product.
For this part of the assessment, create a trifold marketing brochure using the guidelines from your coursework. Your brochure should have 6 distinct panels of information and should be able to fold twice over the middle section. The focus in your marketing brochure should be your product.

Press Release: Create a Press Release to promote the launch of this new product by assuming a launch date. Choose a relevant media outlet that you want to target to publish your Press Release. Now write a Press Release for this specific media outlet including a catchy title, an overview of your product and a clear marketing message for your intended audience.
Please note: Your Press Release should not be a general description of your product rather it needs to be something that is newsworthy. So, pitch your Press Release with a creative news hook that will grab your audiences' attention.

Key Points to remember: The branding and marketing themes should be clear and consistent in all your posters. All three posters should be compiled as one pdf file for submission.

Group Presentation

Getting adequate resources and funding is a crucial step for developing any business idea. In your business canvas in SimVenture Validate, you will have explored the necessary resources needed to build your concept. You will have also considered the relevant revenue models that could make your business profitable. But how realistic is your business model?

As a group, you will deliver a pitch using PowerPoint Slides in week 10 of Semester 1. You need to assume that you are delivering this pitch to a group of potential investors. The objective is to give them a convincing overview of your business model so that you can request funding to develop your business idea.

As part of your pitch, you will need to address the following:

Explain your business idea and your customer segment. What are the key features of your product?

Describe the ideation process and how you developed this business idea as a team.

Present a detailed market analysis highlighting how your business idea is addressing a gap/problem in that market and for a specific segment.

Compare your product with any existing/relevant competitors in the market. What makes your product unique?

Show your revenue model including a detailed breakdown of your resources and costing based on your work in Sim Venture Validate.

How much funding do you require from the investors? Why should the investors fund this business idea?