Checkpoint one

Checkpoint One Assignments (10 points total / 2 points each)

Rubric
Each of the four items below will be graded according to the following scale.

• 2 points: 🔥 1
• 1.8 points: 💪 2
• 1.6 points: 👍 3
• 1.4 points: 🆗 4
• 1 point: 😐 5
• 0 points: 👻 6

0. Presentation

• 3-5 minutes long
• Each team member must present something
• Focused on providing a concise summary / presentation of each of the other three items below
• You should show off your alpha in working form
• You may use slides if you wish, but they’re not required
• While perfection isn’t the goal here, you should be clearly rehearsed

1. Alpha

• Make something—anything—work on the platform you’re developing for— HoloLens, iPhone, Echo Show, web, etc.
• We’re looking for proof that you can make stuff work with the platform you’ve been assigned
• Your alpha will be evaluated during your presentation; no other submission is necessary

2. Exploratory Research

• A comprehensive presentation of your group’s learning for this project so far
• It should be 2 things: 1) a primer (introductory reader) about your client/tech and 2) a glimpse into the sources that have informed your thinking about your project
• For 2) above, specifically consider what has informed your thinking or approach with your tech; have you looked at other products? What did you like? Where do you want to improve? Inspiration? Etc?
• For all of this, be sure to cite sources with links and to set off direct quotes with quotation marks
• Your doc should be relatively polished in terms of grammar, formatting, etc.
• Submit your project plan as a single PDF (one per group, not per student) in this Google Drive Folder
• Use the following naming convention: Project Name_Deliverable Name
  • Acceptable Example: Travlr_Exploratory Research
  • Unacceptable Example: Exploratory Research 9.10

3. Project Plan

• Whatever type of document works best for you is great here—Google/Word doc, slides, whatever
• Might be helpful to start with all your final deliverables and work backwards step by step for each one
• We’re looking for evidence that you’ve thought critically about each step of each process
• Think about what your greatest challenges / largest potential roadblocks will be and how you’ll be starting work immediately to tackle them.
• Consider reach / main / safety goals: what happens if everything goes better than expected, where you think you’ll land, and your minimum deliverable if everything hits the fan.
• It’d probably be a great idea to note that each of you has put all of these tasks into your calendar / task management system of choice
• Submit your project plan as a PDF in this Google Drive Folder
• Use the following naming convention: Project Name_Deliverable Name
  • Acceptable Example: Travlr_Exploratory Research
  • Unacceptable Example: Exploratory Research 9.10

4. PR/FAQ

• You’ll write a one-page press release and an accompanying FAQ written to be shared a bit after the successful release of your (future) final product.
• For the press release, write “an internal press release announcing [your] finished product… ‘centered around the customer problem, how current solutions (internal or external) fail[ed], and how the new product [blew] away existing solutions.'”
• The following outline might help:
  • Heading — Name the product in a way the reader (i.e. your target customers) will understand.
  • Sub-Heading — Describe who the market for the product is and what benefit they get. One sentence only underneath the title.
  • Summary — Give a summary of the product and the benefit. Assume the reader will not read anything else so make this paragraph good.
  • Problem — Describe the problem your product solves.
  • Solution — Describe how your product elegantly solves the problem.
  • Quote from You — A quote from a spokesperson in your company.
  • How to Get Started — Describe how easy it is to get started.
  • Customer Quote — Provide a quote from a hypothetical customer that describes how they experienced the benefit.
  • Closing and Call to Action — Wrap it up and give pointers where the reader should go next.
• Other guidelines:
  • Be concise and avoid jargon
  • Think about the “five W’s”: Who, What, Where, When, and Why
  • Start your press release with a strong lead, making sure to put the most important information first (the “inverted pyramid” approach)
• The two primary distributors of press releases, PR Newswire and Business Wire, have resources to help you write a solid draft:
  • “Free Press Release Templates and Examples” – PR Newswire
  • “Press Release Do’s and Don’ts: Your Guide to Press Release Perfection” – by Kathleen Meyer, Business Wire
• For the FAQs, aim for two or more pages of “frequently asked questions that customers can be anticipated to have about the offering, and their straightforward answers.”
• Read more about Amazon’s PR/FAQs here, here, and here (quotes above sourced from these articles).
• Submit your project plan as a PDF in this Google Drive Folder
• Use the following naming convention: Project Name_Deliverable Name
  • Acceptable Example: Travlr_Exploratory Research
  • Unacceptable Example: Exploratory Research 9.10