Capstone – Project
Helping CapSource Improve Management and Marketing of Online Case Library
A Collaboration Between
CapSource makes building and scaling industry-integrated project-based experiential learning programs easy. Through a combination of software and services, CapSource helps educators match with companies and design projects based on narrow academic requirements. CapSource is looking for a way to better manage and market their free offering, OpenCases, to attract the types of educators that would be interested in eventually using our more premium, paid products and services. The philosophy behind OpenCases is to take our old Capstone and Live Case project outlines and repurpose them as a free, open educational resource. Eventually, CapSource plans to use these cases as a way to vet students applying for their Virtual Internship Programs, a premium offering for industry partners.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand and implement the various facets of management consulting as it relates to project management, research and data collection, consulting ethics, intellectual property, and team dynamics.
- Conduct a management consulting engagement with an actual client from the beginning to the final formal report and presentation.
- Engage in a meaningful and professional relationship with the client to create value for the client based on managerial insight and managerial action.
- Develop and use a project plan to manage the project.
- Additional learning objectives listed according to the milestones below.
Resources:
- CapSource homepage: http://capsource.io/
- More info about OpenCases: http://capsource.io/opencases
- More on Capstone and Live Case formats: http://capsource.io/formats/
Project Topics
Marketing
Product Design & Development
Company Information
| Company | CapSource |
| HQ | New York |
| Revenue | Unlisted |
| Employees | 10-25 |
| Stage | Established Startup |
| Hiring Potential | Follow-on Projects, Formal Internship, Entry Level Full-Time, Upper Level Full-Time |
| Website | http://www.capsource.io |
Company Overview
CapSource provides students and their institutions with access to a directory of companies interested in collaborating through experiential learning. Using our hands-on collaborations like Site Visits, Co-Ops, Live Business Cases, and Capstone Projects, students learn by working on real challenges with business leaders from our network of host companies. We help design the projects so that they align teaching goals with company objectives in order to maximize the outcomes for all parties.
Experiential Learning Program Details
| School | Virginia Tech |
| Engagement Format | - |
| Course | Management Consulting (Spring 2021) |
| Level | N/A |
| Students Enrolled | N/A |
| Meeting Day & Time | N/A |
| Student Time Commitment | 4-7 Hours Per Week |
| Company Time Commitment | 2 Hours |
| Duration | 14.71 Weeks |
Program Timeline
Key Project Milestones
-
February 24, 2021 - Competitor Diligence
Explore how these companies offer similar but different experiences to students/educators:
https://www.mindsumo.com/challenges/all
Business Case Study Publishers:
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/home/
http://store.darden.virginia.edu/
Jordan’s former startup:
Suggested Deliverable:
Incorporate competitor insights into next milestone presentation
-
March 1, 2021 - Review the OpenCases library to gain an understanding of the structure and content of the digital library and evaluate its usability.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify potential problems in the strategic, operational, financial, accounting, and marketing areas of a business.
- Discover the causes of those problems using research tools appropriate to each business area.
Guiding questions:
- What are the features of the OpenCases Library? What benefits do they provide? Who/what groups have a need for this benefit?
- Is the layout and navigation of the OpenCases Library easy to understand?
- How easily can users learn to use the OpenCases Library?
- Is the content organized and easy to understand? Are headings, fonts, etc. easy to read?
- How fast can a user accomplish a typical task?
- How often do users make errors when using the system?
- Is using the OpenCases Library a positive experience?
Suggested Deliverable:
OpenCases Library and Strategy Preliminary Analysis…
What do you understand about the OpenCases offering?
How is it similar or different from competitors?
What are your next steps to investigate OpenCases as an offering?
Hint: (1) Establishing a target audience, (2) Establishing a survey and/or prospective user interview guide, (3) Collecting data to better understand interest in OpenCases and how CapSource can roll it out
-
March 15, 2021 - Perform target audience analysis, gather input from educators, and make recommendations for improving the OpenCases content and user experience
Learning Objectives:
- Identify potential problems in the strategic, operational, financial, accounting, and marketing areas of a business.
- Discover the causes of those problems using research tools appropriate to each business area.
- Develop programs and remedial actions to resolve the business challenges in a holistic and value-adding way.
Guiding questions:
- Who currently uses the OpenCases Library? Can you identify common characteristics and interests? Which ones are associated with greater use of the OpenCases Library?
- How do educators use or envision using these learning assets?
- Is there additional content or options that would add value for educators and their students?
- Reflecting upon the results of your research to this point, what should be done to improve the content, structure, and user experience for the higher education audience?
Suggested Deliverable:
Technical Report including:
- Findings from the research
- Recommendations on how to improve the content and the user experience
- An example of how to better package and organize the materials for educators and students
-
May 3, 2021 - Propose a go-to-market strategy for OpenCases in the higher-ed environment
Learning Objective:
- Develop programs and remedial actions to resolve the business challenges in a holistic and value-adding way.
- Present those plans of action and recommendations in a professionally appropriate manner, in both a written report and oral presentation
Guiding question:
- How would you recommend going to market for the higher education audience with OpenCases?
- How would you recommend improving the cases so they’re usable?
- What would the student environment look and feel like?
- Could this be a revenue generating part of the business? If so, how? Can you establish some revenue projections for 21-22, 22-23, and 23-24
Suggested Deliverable:
A go-to-market strategy, including target audience analysis and sample marketing materials for the OpenCase concept
Project Resources
There are no resources currently available