Take your solution to the next stage

Follow our guidance to launch your idea

The journey of an innovator

Stage 1

Ideas generation

Think about a problem first and then come up with ideas for a solution. This stage is crucial as it lays the foundation for all the other phases and guides the overall process.

Stage 2

Research & Testing

This is where you validate your idea through market research; what other solutions already exist? Ask the intended user what they think of your idea.

Stage 3

Concept development

This is the time to do your research to identify the strengths, weakness opportunities and threats existing in the market, to help inform your business plan.

Stage 4

Product development

The actual design and manufacture of the product, starting with creating a prototype. You can then use this to test potential flaws and trial with your chosen audience.

Stage 5

Marketing

Here, you come up with your business plan and pitch it! You will also need to consider how you will promote your solution, using your market research, cost and scheduling.

Ideas Generation

The ideation stage is all about research and applying what you’ve learnt to the development of your idea

In the ideation stage, thinkers spark off ideas in the form of questions and solutions through creative and curious activities such as mind-mapping

Ideation provides both the fuel and also the source material for building prototypes and getting innovative solutions into the hands of your users

Use this Activity Plan and Power Point Presentation to explore the innovation and impact aspect of your team’s idea.

Research & Testing

Ever heard of IP? Copyright? Trademark?

These are all really important things to know about, you want to make sure you get rewarded for your amazing ideas right?

Check out the Cracking Ideas website for more information and fun activities around design thinking, computing and IP!

MIT Media Lab

Learn technical concept, such as how to train a simple classifier, and the ethical implications those technical concepts entail, such as algorithmic bias

Security & Ethics

Use this Activity Plan and  Power Point Presentation to explore the security and ethics aspect of the team’s idea.

The Hitchhikers Guide to AI & Ethics

A handy three-part series exploring ethic issues in Artificial Intelligence, written in the style of a sci-fi novel

Learn more about Intellectual Property

Concept Development

Market research is the process of gathering data and information about your target audience by speaking to them. It also helps you to determine how viable and successful your product or service would be among these people. You can also find out what’s trending in your industry, what your target audience and customers want and need out of products and services like yours, and what’s influencing their decisions to convert and buy.

How to do market research

Step 1

Define your buyer persona

Buyer personas are generalised representations of your ideal customers. They help you visualise your audience, streamline your communications, and inform your strategy. Some key characteristics you should include are: age, gender, location, job title, income.

Step 2

Speak to a sample of that persona

In order to understand the views and habits of your target audience, you need to interview a representative sample of them. You can do this via an online survey, in-person focus group or individual phone calls. Aim for a mix of participants and a minimum of 10 people.

Step 3

Prepare your research questions

Create a discussion guide to make sure you cover all of the questions and use your time wisely. Your discussion guide should be in an outline format, with a time allotment and open-ended questions allotted for each section.

Step 4

List your primary competitors

Understanding your competitors is crucial. To identify organisations whose services overlap with yours, determine which industries you’re pursuing. Once you find an industry term that you identify with, use it to create a list of companies that also belong to this industry.

Step 5

Summarise your findings

Start by looking for common themes that will help you tell a story and create a list of action items. To make the process easier, use the following outline: background, participants, executive summary, consideration, decision, action plan.

Product Development

Marketing

Remote learning tools

Buncee is an award-winning creation and communication tool. Its all-in-one technology empowers all users to easily create and share visual representations of content. With over a thousand templates to choose from, you can unleash your creativity in no time.

Product development - Enterprise & communications

Use this Activity Plan and  Power Point Presentation to explore the enterprise and communications aspect of the team’s idea.

So what is marketing anyway?