Design Thinking: Ideation with Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) for Developing Commercially Viable Solutions (QAA 1 2 3) #FEEUK

Group Size ? 1.) Small group (teams of 4-6)
2.) Individual Task
3.) Large Group
4.) Any
Small group (teams of 4-6)

Learning Environment ? 1.) Lecture Theatre
2.) Presentation Space
3.) Carousel Tables (small working group)
4.) Any
5.) Outside
6.) Special
Presentation Space, Carousel Tables (small working group)

QAA Enterprise Theme(s) ? 1.) Creativity and Innovation
2.) Opportunity recognition, creation and evaluation
3.) Decision making supported by critical analysis and judgement
4.) Implementation of ideas through leadership and management
5.) Reflection and Action
6.) Interpersonal Skills
7.) Communication and Strategy
1Creativity and Innovation 2Opportunity recognition‚ creation and evaluation 3Decision making supported by critical analysis and judgement

Objective: After completing this session the students will be able to:

Analyzing a variety of user insights based on a user’s journey in the “campuspreneurship” context
Explaining the purpose of the Value Proposition Canvas based on successful examples of existing organizations (i.e. Uber and Tesla)
Developing multiple value proposition canvas’ (VPC) through the ideation process for the development of new products and services
Demonstrating effective communication and teamworking/leadership skills needed for effective and diverse teams for new product/service development.

Introduction:

The purpose of an ideation workshop is to spark a sense of creativity among students that will enable them to develop an innovative solution. By focusing on the value proposition canvas, the students can work in groups to understand the customer problems in greater detail, by categorizing the user insights, and then proceeding towards developing the gain creators, and pain relievers and positioning a new product and service.

Activity:

The Lab session is two hours in duration. This takes place in the sixth week following the scaffolding sessions that provide the learner with the background of entrepreneurship, various types of entrepreneurs, and the institutional and regulatory context for entrepreneurship in the UAE before they proceed towards working on the VPC (Value Proposition Canvas) in the CUD Business Incubator area. The activity given is to focus on a term that I coined as “Campus-preneurship” where students are required to focus on the higher education sector, students, and campus life and integrate Internet-of-Things for the development of new products/services that will appeal to students, higher education institutions, or stakeholders related to campus life.

- The session starts with a refresher video on UBER and TESLA that illustrates how these two companies have used the VPC to develop their business.

- The students are divided into groups of five – later this will determine if they can effectively work together as a group or form interest-based teams.

- The students have already pre-determined three areas of interest in the previous workshop. They are required to develop three value proposition canvases and save these as photographic images for reflection.

- As the instructor, I casually approach each group, observe and have a discussion with the students about their ideas. The students make notes about the type of information that will be needed to enhance the quality of the VPC ideation project. The students will repeat this process in the following workshop.

- The students will learn through trial and error as an iterative process of ideation and design thinking for the development of a new product/service

- The best projects from this course are showcased in Global Entrepreneurship Week held at the Canadian University Dubai

Impact:

- The impact of the ideation process is important as it enables the learners to generate, develop n communicate new ideas for products and services and understand that this is only one phase of the innovation process. In these sessions, students have developed a range of business ideas that have translated into real businesses.

- The student feedback has been positive, and the students enjoyed working in the open lab (business incubator), they felt this encourages their creative thinking they felt this course is different to all other courses studied at the University.

Resources:

Value Proposition Canvas
Sticky Notes
Pens
Projector/Chairs
Business Incubator Space

Pictures or images:

Video of the Business Incubator Lab Space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXzYv8xd6wE

Video of Mentoring/Coaching styles of Lab Sessions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pog1659LvjE

References:

Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation. John Wiley & Sons.

Plattner, H. (2020) An Introduction to Design Thinking: Process Guide. Institute of Design at Stanford

Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiWkRiynPAo

Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlf2iRRufGE

Video 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klbi9CauXqg

About the Author
This guide was produced by Professor Dr. Naveed Yasin (Professor of Entrepreneurship, Head of Creative Industries, Head of Entrepreneurship, Canadian University Dubai, United Arab Emirates.).