How Student Projects Are Built and Tested
A Build Week project does not begin with a logo or a pitch.
It begins with a person, a problem and a spending pattern.
Students interview parents and peers, investigate what people already buy, build the numbers underneath an idea and create an offer customers can understand.
On Friday, that offer enters Maker Market.
Design it. Build it. Price it. Test it.
One Project, Six Decisions
Students work on one developing project across the week.
The project changes as they learn more about the customer, the market, the costs and the practical requirements of delivering the offer.
The process is organized around six connected decisions.
The Six-Part Project Sequence
1. Find the Friction
Students interview parents and peers about recurring problems, workarounds, purchases and unmet needs.
They look for situations in which people already spend time or money trying to make something work.
Examples:
- a repeated household purchase;
- a product people wish they could customize;
- an item that is difficult to find;
- a task people find inconvenient;
- or an experience that could be easier or more enjoyable.
2. Research the Existing Market
Students investigate what customers currently do and buy.
They compare products, prices, formats, reviews, availability and competitors. The purpose is to understand the existing market before choosing what to build.
Examples:
- retailer comparisons;
- unit prices;
- package sizes;
- competitor offers;
- customer reviews;
- and alternative solutions.
3. Define the Offer
Students decide what they will create, who it is for and why that customer might care.
They make choices about the product, service, assortment, format and customer experience.
Each offer must be:
- desirable to a customer;
- feasible within the available time and $50 budget;
- and capable of supporting a workable price.
4. Build the Business Case
Students connect the idea to numbers.
They work through costs, pricing, revenue and margin so the financial model can influence the product before it reaches the market.
The business case may include:
- material or product costs;
- retail prices;
- expected unit volume;
- revenue;
- cost of goods sold;
- gross profit;
- gross margin;
- fixed and variable expenses;
- net profit;
- and different demand scenarios.
5. Create the Market-Facing Offer
Students turn the research and business case into something a customer can understand.
Depending on the project, this may include a physical product, prototype, website, menu, package, service description, brand identity or sell sheet.
The sell sheet explains:
- what the product is;
- who it helps;
- what the customer receives;
- what it costs;
- why the offer is useful;
- and what the customer should do next.
6. Test It at Maker Market
At Maker Market, visitors have cash and several projects compete for each purchase.
Students observe what customers understand, question, ignore and buy.
They compare those choices with the assumptions in their research and business cases.
The result gives each student a clearer next decision: revise the product, change the price, simplify the offer, investigate a different customer or run another test.
See the Process in Three Different Projects
The same method can produce very different projects.
Printa used it to develop a custom 3D-printing service.
Boba Lab used it to create a customizable drink menu and price architecture.
Bag Works used it to model a repeat-purchase household delivery offer.
Each project began with customer behaviour, moved through a business case and ended with a market-facing test.