COM6062 - Building a Business

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Generate creative ideas for a technology enterprise;
Appraise the use of innovation in product and service design and in digital technologies for organisational development;
Evaluate the technological, regulatory and ethical requirements for data management and security;
Employ the financial and marketing skills needed to evaluate how their business can create value both for the company and their customers in the creative technology sector;
Use data to support organisational benchmarking against others and to review the use of innovation and digital technologies in their own organisation.

Content:

This module equips students with the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge it takes to set up a commercially viable enterprise. Students learn how to evaluate the market and identify business opportunities, the necessary stages from idea to delivery, and how to review performance against sector benchmarks. To do this the module covers:
- Researching markets: the product, marketing strategy, creating the product, forecasts (Sales, cash flow, break even), and benchmarking.
- Tools for developing a business model (Business Model Canvas).
- Overview of Goal Directed Project Management (GDPM), objectives, project scope, benefits, delivery method, stakeholders, resources (finance, staffing, infrastructure), constraints, project plan, and risk analysis.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Through a mixture of seminars and workshops students develop an idea for a tech business and work this up in a business plan. The case study is used as a vehicle for content delivery. Examples of business projects, to illustrate the required level and scope, include:

- Blogging consultancy: suitable for technically qualified bloggers. The consultancy will be able to support businesses in developing their own blogging platform.
- Online training business: this business idea will offer on line software development courses to subscribers.
- Cloud hosting service: this business will offer cloud server storage facilities to customers. Extensions include a data entry service.
- Website development business: a business offering build and manage web site hosting services for clients.

Business development is managed through a business development and strategic management tool, such as Business Model Canvas, and the workshop sessions take students through the stages of development. Group work with on-going formative and developmental feedback is integral to the learning and teaching.
Workshops/seminars
Hours: 36
Intended Group Size: Cohort

Guided independent study
Hours: 164

Further details relating to assessment
Business pitch: this pitch should be accompanied with data presented via a business development tool, such as Business Model Canvas.
Critical commentary: this is a reflective report that outlines the key decisions made, reviews the outcomes for aspects of strength and weakness and formulates measures for onward development.

Other relevant matters
Students will develop the report over several weeks, receiving on-going formative feedback prior to final submission at the end of the module.

Assessment:

001 Business pitch: 10mins 60%
002 critical commentary 2000 words 40%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - PRS_CODE=
Level - 6
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered -

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