We've included some sample project ideas below. We encourage users to mix-and-match components from various departments for the best cross functional project experience. In all cases, we customize the projects based on company goals and student learning objectives.

• Analyze and Suggest Improvements for Internal Communication and Tools

  1. Investigate current ways the company’s team is communicating internally. How active is the company from a communication standpoint? What suite of tools are they using? How well are these tools integrated with one another? Consider: calendar, chat, email, and project management at the very minimum.
  2. Does the team seem to be using all of the same tools and doing so effectively? How do these tools compare to similar tools on the market? How do these tools affect productivity and employee satisfaction? Note: This assignment requires interviews and surveys of significant internal stakeholders at the company.
  3. Is there a cheat sheet when it comes to communication and project management at the company? If so, review the manual and provide recommendations on updates based on what you’ve learned from the company personnel. If not, produce a rough draft of the manual or cheat sheet and review it with your project managers.
  4. Provide the company with a proposal including the analysis of the status quo of communication in the company and thoroughly examine recommendations for future improvement.

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  Automation Assessment & Recommendations

  1. What suite of tools is the company currently using? How well are these tools integrated with one another?
  2. How can the company be better automating certain processes to improve productivity?
  3. Find 2-3 areas that could use automation.
  4. Select one area of potential automation to focus on. Build automation or suggest step-by-step process of how automation can accomplish the desired business objective. How would this automation save money and/or time for the business?

Cross Functional Departmental Cooperation Assessment & Recommendations

1. What are the different functional areas?
2. How do they interact with each other?
3. What improvements could you recommend to improve internal interdepartmental communication? Think standing meetings, internal newsletters, new checklists, and other mechanisms that might help improve cross functional department collaborations.

Design a New Product

1. Become familiar with the company’s core competencies and current product offerings. How does the company categorize and organize their products? How do these products compare with competitors?
2. Assess the company's product roadmap and goals for new product development. Who are the critical stakeholders (including internal and external)? Brainstorm and ideate product development ideas with the team. Identify the potential market opportunity and clearly define the problem. Propose 2-3 new product ideas given the company’s current product portfolio and desired goals.
3. Select one product for further development. Is this a similar customer base to the company’s original product or is this product for a new market entirely? Collect user feedback on the idea and/or any prototypes/drawings.
4. Develop official target audience personas for the new product. Explain why these personas are potential customers and why you feel these groups present a reasonable market opportunity. Write user stories to detail why users need the product to solve a problem or accomplish a goal.
5. Create a product roadmap including assessment of time, budget, and resources required to get the product to market.
6. Create a prototype of your design: the prototype could either be a drawing, digital asset, or physical mock-up.

• Design New Packaging

• 1. How is the packaging currently designed? What are the basic materials that go into the packaging? How does the packaging impact the manufacturing and distribution process? What does the packaging cost as-is? How does the packaging compare with industry peers?
  2. How do the current customers feel about the packaging (or unpacking) experience? What did they like about the experience? What do they feel could be improved?
  3. How does the company’s packaging compare to industry peers? What best practices can be adopted from similar companies to improve the unpackaging experience?
  4. Suggest 1-2 specific packaging improvements for the company’s product. Analyze the impact these changes would have on required materials, vendor relationships, the manufacturing and distribution process, and overall cost.
 

• Design Product Extension

  1. Assess the company’s product portfolio over time.
  2. What products are ripe for new additions or complete reinventions?
  3. What product extensions can you think of with your group?
  4. Select one product for further assessment. Assess the potential cost, benefit, and impact of adding your proposed product extension.

We've included some sample project ideas below. We encourage users to mix-and-match components from various departments for the best cross functional project experience. In all cases, we customize the projects based on company goals and student learning objectives.

• Raw Materials Audit

  1. What raw materials are being used? Where are they getting the raw materials? How is the relationship with these suppliers? How do current key stakeholders feel about these raw materials and/or suppliers?
  2. What is the cost of raw materials? How does this compare with other suppliers?
  3. Explore potential new raw materials providers. Do any of them present potential benefits for the company (improved quality or reduced cost)?

• Manufacturing to Distribution Process Mapping & Improvements

• 1. How does the company get their products to distributors?
  2. How is the company currently manufacturing the products?
  3. What is the process of preparing the final goods for distribution?
  4. How does the distribution system work? How long does it take to get from destination to destination?
  5. Can any of this be automated or optimized? This about increasing efficiency and/or reducing costs.

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  Distribution System Testing

  1. How does the company distribute their products?
  2. How reliable are the distributors?
  3. How far-reaching are these distributors?
  4. Are there better potential distributors? What about potential new distributor relationships?

New Distribution Partner Assessments

1. Understand the current distribution partner relationships. Map out how products get to end customers and in what quantities.
2. Assess potential new markets for the product. What regions seem the most appealing? Why? Select one region and make the case why this is the most ideal region to enter.
3. What distribution partners would be able to help you reach your selected region? What other products are they distributing?
4. How does entering this new region impact revenues and costs?

We've included some sample project ideas below. We encourage users to mix-and-match components from various departments for the best cross functional project experience. In all cases, we customize the projects based on company goals and student learning objectives.

Process Mapping & Performance Improvements

1. What type of QC control process is the company currently using? Can you map it out end-to-end?
2. How effective is the company’s current QC process?
3. How could the process be improved? Think technology and process workflows.

Instituting Quality Control with Suppliers or Third-Party Vendors

1. Analyze how the company’s suppliers, partners, and vendors administer QC. Does this meet your company’s standards?
2. What types of quality check is the company currently doing? How often? What is this process like and how can it be improved?

Quality Control with Customers and End Users

1. How does the company ensure quality with their customers?
2. How well does the company check-in on customers to ensure quality?
3. How can the company improve their quality control process related to the customer experience?