EOP-3 and EOP-4Project Descriptions
EOP-3 and EOP-4 task you to examine the path (trajectory) that has resulted in the current state of a consumer or industrial product. You are asked to tell the story of how this product came to exist in its current form.
Selected Product: Bidet
- Synthesize a large amount of information to create a compelling narrative
- Relate your product to the user needs they satisfy, starting with the fundamental human need and progressing to modern needs. To do so, you need to address:
• Dimensions of Value: what the dimensions of value are/were, how the dimensions changed, how the ability of the product to satisfy those dimensions changed. - Apply concepts from class to illustrate the what, why, how, when, and in what context these changes took place. For example:
• Type of innovation (radical/incremental, process/product, component/architecture, competence-enhancing/competence-destroying)
• Sources of innovation: the people and organizations and how their collaborations and competitions influenced the development
• Externalitites: changes due to complementary goods and services, installed base; the availability of enabling technologies
• Dominant Design: emergence of standards, a dominant product architecture, or a clear winner in a competition
• Context Factors: Social, economic, political, or other factors that affected the trajectory
You don’t need to address all of these for every inflection point – but you should discuss the nature of the change and the factors driving it.
EOP-3 (3-5 page):Trajectory Analysis summarizing the evolution of the product from ancient times to modern day.
Possible Points Item
5 Formatting and Submission
• On time
• Standard format (double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman, 1” margins, running header with name, page numbers in lower right corner, section headers)
• File name: “EOP-3__#” (.docx, .doc or .pdf)
• Title page with “EOP-3”, Product Name, full names, due date
15 1.0 Introduction
• Name of Product
• Description (what it is, what it does, major components)
• Fundamental need it satisfies now
15 2.0 Trajectory Overview
Provide an overview of the entire trajectory
• Starting point – description of how the fundamental need was satisfied in ancient times
• Three intermediate inflection point
• Ending point
50 3.0 Trajectory Analysis
For the intermediate and end points:
• Give a name to the inflection point
• Describe the product as it existed at this inflection point
• Describe what major changes were made to the product (e.g., changes to specific major components) at this inflection point
• Discuss the reasons for the change(s) with respect to relevant factors:
Any or all of the following: dimensions of value, type of innovation, source of innovation, externalities, emergence of a dominant design, contextual factors (e.g., economic, social, political)
10 4.0 Conclusion
• Overview of the evolution (synthesize your information to summarize the changes that took place and why)
• What are the biggest ideas to take away from this trajectory?
• Statement about the nature of the fundamental human need that was satisfied
5 5.0 References
• APA or equivalent standard format
• Sufficient information so the original source material can be located
(-10 max) Penalties:
• Basic writing quality
You can implement your project however you like. These instructions are one way to do so. Please note that your report needs to follow the structure set up in the table above – the order of the steps below is a suggestion on how to develop the information that will go in each section.
Step 1. Establish the end-points of your trajectory
a. Select a modern-day product and establish the end-point of your trajectory. The end-point is the most advanced version of the product currently available on the market.
b. Identify the first point where a recognizable version of this product came into existence. This is likely to be sometime in the last 200 years, but could be as little as 60 years ago.
Step 2. Identify inflection points
Working backwards from your end product:
a. Identify major changes that occurred in the evolution of the product. Rely on your personal experience with the product. Talk to your parents, grandparents about how the product evolved over their lifetime. Fill in any blanks with research.
b. Create a time-ordered list (or timeline) of these changes. Eliminate any that branch off from the path between your end-points.
c. Select the most important (or most interesting) inflection points along your timeline. While these will most likely be due to advances in technology, they can also be due to social/economic/political changes (e.g., regulation/deregulation, industry standardization, major product failures/accidents, environmental concerns, new manufacturing process)
Step 3. Analyze the Inflection Points
For each inflection point:
a. Describe the major change that occurred
b. Analyze the reason for the change with respect to relevant factors, e.g., dimensions of value, type of innovation, source of innovation, externalities, emergence of a dominant design, contextual factors.
c. List the major points you need to make relevant to the inflection point
d. For each major point, identify the supporting rationale and details for that point
Step 4. Write the Inflection Point Paragraphs (1-3 paragraphs per point)
For each inflection point:
a. Place your major points in order so that there is a logical flow between points
b. Convert your list to paragraphs, where each paragraph consist of:
• A topic sentence (thesis statement) that clearly states your main point
• 2-4 supporting sentences that provide your rationale or additional detail
Step 5. Analyze the Pre-Product Evolution
a. Determine the fundamental human need this product satisfies. Think back to ancient times and how this need was satisfied then.
b. Identify changes in how people satisfied the need leading up to the emergence of your “product.” This can be done with very broad strokes – it does not need to be as detailed as the inflection points.