Oh no April 3, 2013

Today we woke up with a message on our whatsapp group from Candice informing us that another group had the same product as us.

First thought: Shock.
We immediately started to discuss our game plan.
There were definitely mixed views amongst the group through out the day. Some thought we should not back down, and fight till the end, essentially pursue a scare tactic. Others thought that we should already start thinking about our plan B. One thought that was unanimous was that we should remain calm, and wait to see how the day would unfold.

To our surprise and relief, the competing team decided to change their product. That has made us even more eager to develop a winning product. Competition keeps you on your toes, that is for sure!

Today we also had a conversation about cake sale. We are trying to get as much prepared before the day as we can. Our lack of planning from cake sale one, was definitely a learning curve for us, and we don’t intend to make the same mistake twice. After all, they do say that it is only a mistake if you make it twice.

Considering I was raving about how could our communication was yesterday, I must admit that today it was not that good. One of the members could not make a meeting because we had not previously discussed it properly. This is something that we definitely need to take into consideration. In the beginning, we decided upon official times and days that we would meet, but now we are slacking a little bit. This has created a little bit of confusion, an example being today. We need to try and stick to the decisions that we make, although it might not be such an issue now, it may hurt the group a bit later.

Well that’s it for Wednesday, a long but fruitful day.

Pitching the Product April 2, 2013

Today was pitch day, if that is what you can call it. We officially had to introduce our product to Stuart our lecturer. Now if you know Stuart, you know that he is quite a tough man, so we were eager to get his vote of confidence. I think the nerves in everyone were starting to kick in. Would he like it, would he be interested, would he understand it????

Meeting time came. We were as ready as we could ever be.
The first reaction: raised eyebrows.
The first word: ‘Interesting’
The second word: ‘Interesting’

Basically there was a lot of ‘interesting’.

However the most important thing that I think we got out of the meeting are all the questions we need to consider in the development of our product. Many of the independent questions being asked were things that had already been circulating within group conversations. This is something that we need to constantly be asking ourselves throughout our development process so that we are able to produce to our full potential. We have definitely learned the value of an outside perspective, from someone who has had experience in the field. Ian Corbett, a guest lecturer taught us about the significance of tapping into one’s knowledge assets. It will always prove to be an advantage to look to those who have had some sort of experience in the industry. Even if we tend to think that some questions may appear irrelevant, it is still necessary to address them. Most of these questions will help form part of a efficient market research plan.

An important lesson learned about groups for me during this prototype development process has been the impact of good communication. As a group we have tried our best to really share as much information as possible with each other, and ensure that we are honest in our conversation about how we feel about certain things. We each know that it is alright to speak up if you are in favour of something. we also know that it is create to commend each other when we feel a good job has been done. This communication has ensured that we are always on the same page, and that no single member ever feels lost.
This was quite clear in our pitch. Everyone had valuable input to share, and there was no confusion between us. As a team, you could see that we were well organised in terms of our chosen product and the reason for it.

Well, that’s all for today!!!

Till tomorrow.
Aurevoir

PROTOTYPE DOCUMENT April 1, 2013

So my time to blog has finally arrived. It has been quite troublesome trying to figure out HOW to blog, but alas here I am, blogging (first time).

As a group we have tried to manage our time as efficiently as possible over the last few days, a tiresome task. Needless to say, it has not been much of a holiday in the traditional sense on the word.

Today we had to meet up to finalise our prototype document. We are quite happy with what we have, but being the eager beavers that we are, we always see room for improvement. As a team we have sort have managed to become well adjusted to one another, and I think what is quite vital is that we are learning quickly each and every individuals work ethic.

In this sense I think we have been quite lucky, in that everyone is on the sae page and wants to do a good job. Although in the beginning we allocated a person to focus on each deliverable in terms of handing in, we try to help each other along the way as much as possible. The prototype documents has been no different. Given that Shani, has been doing a brilliant job in putting this document together despite her recent ailments, we knew that as a team we had to help her as much as possible. The saying doesn’t go “Team work makes the dream work” for nothing.

We have also been looking at a couple of things to make our product as aesthetically pleasing as possible. This has included laser etching, cattle branding, engraving and stencilling. I have no doubt that each one of our brains are working like the inside mechanics of a clock, thinking of all the possibilities in developing a winning product.

Given the stress levels at the moment, with assignments bombarding, we even try to help each other on individual projects, providing each other with tips as much as we can. One can say that this is another level of trust that we are building within the group.

What more can I say, I am happy with my group and the work that we are producing and look forward to the months that are to come!