Business Finance Homework Help

Hello, I need help with 6 individual peer responses regarding our discussion questions.

Please help me respond to each peer individually/ separately

Discussion Question #1: Choose a service or product currently in development. You may choose your own product or service for this discussion. Describe the prototype developed for that service or product.

Katherine said: I have my own Flamingo Flocking business. People send me requests to have a flock of lawn flamingos placed in their yard for birthdays or other special events. Where I live there are several people who provide this service so I had to do something different to stay competitive. I started making accessories for my flamingos. We have party hats, tutus, bowties, leis, sombreros, wedding veils, Minnie mouse ears, graduations caps, etc.

I had to make several prototypes in order to create these accessories. Prototypes are important, “A prototype is a representation of a design produced before the final solution exists.” (The Importance of Prototype, 2015). They have to be small enough to fit on the flamingos and whatever I use to attach the accessories needs to be secure enough to not fall off. I have to plan out the design before I get any materials. For the Minnie mouse ears, I had to brainstorm the concept. Draw what I wanted it to look like. Then I planned out the materials. I had to figure out what I could use that would also be weather resistant. Once I planned that all out I went to the store and purchased the materials and then came home and made a model. The first model had ears that were too big. So, I had to scale back on the ears and then I had to ensure that the elastic I used to secure them to the head would stay put. I finally ended up with a pattern that I could use every time so that even my kids could help make them.

Katelynn said: I have my own Flamingo Flocking business. People send me requests to have a flock of lawn flamingos placed in their yard for birthdays or other special events. Where I live there are several people who provide this service so I had to do something different to stay competitive. I started making accessories for my flamingos. We have party hats, tutus, bowties, leis, sombreros, wedding veils, Minnie mouse ears, graduations caps, etc.

I had to make several prototypes in order to create these accessories. Prototypes are important, “A prototype is a representation of a design produced before the final solution exists.” (The Importance of Prototype, 2015). They have to be small enough to fit on the flamingos and whatever I use to attach the accessories needs to be secure enough to not fall off. I have to plan out the design before I get any materials. For the Minnie mouse ears, I had to brainstorm the concept. Draw what I wanted it to look like. Then I planned out the materials. I had to figure out what I could use that would also be weather resistant. Once I planned that all out I went to the store and purchased the materials and then came home and made a model. The first model had ears that were too big. So, I had to scale back on the ears and then I had to ensure that the elastic I used to secure them to the head would stay put. I finally ended up with a pattern that I could use every time so that even my kids could help make them.

Clint said: My prototype happened about a year ago but long in my head for the planning and figuring out aspect. I wanted to add a lounge to my cigar shop but financially and many other reasons I had to figure out the whole process. Bottomline: my prototype was others already made lounges that had come before me and the internet. I went to similar and different lounges all over and cherry picked, stole their ideas and hard work to be my project. Then I went through and asked others about the pitfalls, cost and if my customer would support this investment. I again asked what my customer wanted and how I could give them this experience and make it reasonable and affordable for my small business to support. The research and effort was slow because I needed time and to work out several little issues and many that popped up along the way. Authors like Gregory (2019) highly recommend learning from others, it’s free and builds off of their prototype.

Along with the prototype, this was changing my current business and concept. I wanted to make sure I was ok with that and be prepared for more change and if I lost or gained customers. I added a beer and wine element to my cigar shop. Which meant adding a bathroom, ADA approved, seating, coolers and another state inspection. Along with over 200 more square feet of area to manage. So far it has been a success and I still kept the cigar lounge vibe.

Discussion Question #2: How might a business learn about a proposed process improvement through a prototyping activity? What is the fundamental purpose of a prototype? Provide a specific example.

Katherine said: A business can learn about improvements through prototping. The very first prototype they create they will see potential issues with the model and they can then create a better prototype until they finally have created a product that meets all the needs and specifications that they require.

Creating a prototype is really just a way for a company to ensure that the product they are developing will work the way they want it to or that it will look the way they want it to. It is like a test for the product. Every time a prototype is created the business will learn more about that product they are developing. “Building a prototype allows you to measure data about your product you otherwise wouldn’t of been able to get. It allows you to correct any issues, see what works what doesn’t, to give the flexibility to make any major changes before final production. In some cases, you may even have to go back to the drawing board after your prototype is built.” (ID Blogger, (2019).

For instance, when I created my Minnie mouse ears for my flamingo business the first prototype I made had ears that were too big. I found when I attached them to the head of the flamingo that the ears were too big and looked off and that because they were big they were heavy and tilted the head piece backwards. I wanted them to be able to stand up straight so I was able to look that the first prototype and made adjustments to make a better version for the final product.

Deanne said: Prototyping is a very important aspect of product or service design. There are several different types of prototypes some of these include: sketches and diagrams; 3D; physical model; and Wireframe (Indeed, 2021). A business or company can learn a significant amount of information about a proposed process improvement through prototyping. Prototyping allows a company to design and create a prototype product. The company may choose to create one or more prototypes and test them to see which prototype best meets the needs of the customer. During prototyping the business will directly learn about process improvement or ways that the product can be improved through data received from testing. Prototyping can assist the company narrow down which prototype can be put into production. It is important for a company to not rush the process because if not enough time or testing is allocated in the prototyping it could negatively affect the data received. The fundamental purpose of a prototype is to essentially test your product or service.

One such example of a product which was developed by several prototypes is Amazon’s Echo. This product was initially thought to have been discussed in 2011 and would not be released into production until several years later. Amazon’s Echo had at least twenty prototypes created, and it went through years and years of prototyping before it would become a popular virtual assistant in many homes across the United States (Business Insider, 2021).

Brandy said: Through prototyping activities, businesses can learn about what works and what does not work. For a programmer, as an example, what they may want to see or how to work something may be easier for them to understand and a lot harder for the average user to comprehend or understand how to operate a new item. I always feel that when an upgrade is done to a cell phone, some of the changes that are made do not make sense. They take away or change things that I am used to using and now I have to relearn a new way to do something. I know I am just one person, but this change is a pain. This is also the reason items are prototyped or beta test items. It allows people to use the product and find things that may need to be changed, fixed, or maintained. The definition of prototyping is the practice of building quick, inexpensive, and rough study models to learn about the desirability, feasibility, and viability of alternative value propositions and business models (Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., & Smith, A. 2014). The fundamental purpose of a prototype is a rough, first edition model of an item. An example would be the new iPhone 13. The iPhone 12 is about to debut but the next generation iPhone needs to be ready a least one year later. The iPhone 13 is already developed and is in the hands of users to test out what they like and do not like about the product. They are able to test items such as the camera, speed of the operating system, touch screen, and how apps work. It is through these test that they are able to make changes to the phone that is going to make it much more user-friendly and have a lot fewer problems when the phone debuts sometime in 2021 or 2022. The prototype is used to ensure that the new concepts of the technology are actually going to work and that the item will have limited flaws in the final model.