REFLECTION - LEARNING LAUNCH 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I work as a researcher in a government organization . Apart from undertaking industrial research &   development , I am engaged in supporting Small and Medium Sized Enterprises ( SMEs ) to develop new   products as well as improve their existing product range in order to meet customers ’ expectations and   access new markets . The challenge here is to ensure that the new or improved products actually meets   the qualities or specifications that the customers really want , and not what we think the customers   might want . 

 Supporting SMEs in the product development cycle entails a set of activities .   The process usually starts   with inviting the organizations to express interest in the product development / improvement program .   The organizations are asked to state the products that they would like to improve and the market that   they are targeting . Once a list of interested organizations is received , a first meeting with the   organization is set up . The main agenda is really to understand the company ’s products , what they   would like to improve on , available resources and the target market that they hope to concur with the   improved product . This is followed by a market survey to give us a picture of what similar products are   already in the market , including what the market really wants . A series of brain storming workshops that   lead to the development of new product ideas are held subsequently . The ideas are then developed into   concepts , which are later developed into prototypes for market testing and later on introduced to the   market . At every stage of the product development / improvement process , each idea is evaluated   before being taken to the next stage of development . 

 For this challenge , I have selected the learning launch because we used this approach to test the new   product prototypes in the market , as well as gather information from the potential customers . The   gathered information is used to make improvements on the product . 

 Juan Monroy and Daren Carrieri in their article “ The learning Launch : How to Grow Your Business   with the Scientific Method ” published on 20th June 2016 on the Darden School of Business ’ website ,   describe a learning launch as a “ carefully designed experiment or prototype designed to test the key   underlying value - generation assumptions of a potential new - growth initiative . A learning launch is a   learning experiment conducted quickly and inexpensively to gather market driven data to determine   whether   a growth idea has enough merit to warrant detailed investigation with the commitment of   further time , people and resources ” . According to the article “ Design Thinking for Growth : A Toolkit for   Managers ” by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie , published in Rotman Magazine Fall 2011 ( pp.17 – 21 ) ,   “ the learning launch is a tool that moves the developed prototypes into the market ” . The authors   describe the learning launch tool as a means of detecting data that disapproves the hypothesis . 

 In most cases , once a new product prototype is developed , we often tend to think that we have   incorporated all the customer requirements in the new / improved product . But this will have to be put   to test by actually taking the prototypes to the market and asking customers for their feedback . 

 Application 

 In our case , we applied the learning launch tool during a small local trade exhibitions . After a vigorous   process of product improvement / development described above , we invited the SMEs that I had worked 

 with , to take part in an exhibition / fair . Potential customers and experts in the relevant field were also   invited . The SMEs were required to show case their new / improved products alongside their “ normal   products ” . In order to collect information on the customer feedback , we came up with a questionnaire   that had some questions regarding the new / improved products .   The questionnaire had questions such   as , what do you like about this product ? How can it be improved to meet your requirements ? Etc . The   questionnaires were distributed amongst my colleagues who had conversations with the potential   customers invited to the fair . At the end of the exhibition , we had gathered significant data that would   help us and the SMEs to improve on the new products . 

 Insight 

 The collected data gave us a great insight about the actual customer requirements rather than what we   initially thought the customers wanted . This information was very useful in improving the “ new   products ” which had been showcased . This activity also gave some confidence to the SMEs in that it   created an opportunity for a first contact with potentially new customers . The learning launch also led   to the generation of interest from some customers who already expressed interest to purchase the   products as soon as they were launched in the market . The SMEs were also able to exchange ideas   amongst themselves and create new business networks . 

 Approach 

 The learning launch in my opinion was very successful . I would use the tool again in the future . In order   to gain access to more potential customers , I would perhaps do the learning launch during a bigger trade   exhibition / fair . I would also improve the structuring of the data collection questionnaire , in order to get   quantitative data . This would perhaps make data analysis much easier ! 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: REFLECTION - LEARNING LAUNCH 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I work as a researcher in a government organization . Apart from undertaking industrial research &   development , I am engaged in supporting Small and Medium Sized Enterprises ( SMEs ) to develop new   products as well as improve their existing product range in order to meet customers ’ expectations and   access new markets . The challenge here is to ensure that the new or improved products actually meets   the qualities or specifications that the customers really want , and not what we think the customers   might want . 

 Supporting SMEs in the product development cycle entails a set of activities .   The process usually starts   with inviting the organizations to express interest in the product development / improvement program .   The organizations are asked to state the products that they would like to improve and the market that   they are targeting . Once a list of interested organizations is received , a first meeting with the   organization is set up . The main agenda is really to understand the company ’s products , what they   would like to improve on , available resources and the target market that they hope to concur with the   improved product . This is followed by a market survey to give us a picture of what similar products are   already in the market , including what the market really wants . A series of brain storming workshops that   lead to the development of new product ideas are held subsequently . The ideas are then developed into   concepts , which are later developed into prototypes for market testing and later on introduced to the   market . At every stage of the product development / improvement process , each idea is evaluated   before being taken to the next stage of development . 

 For this challenge , I have selected the learning launch because we used this approach to test the new   product prototypes in the market , as well as gather information from the potential customers . The   gathered information is used to make improvements on the product . 

 Juan Monroy and Daren Carrieri in their article “ The learning Launch : How to Grow Your Business   with the Scientific Method ” published on 20th June 2016 on the Darden School of Business ’ website ,   describe a learning launch as a “ carefully designed experiment or prototype designed to test the key   underlying value - generation assumptions of a potential new - growth initiative . A learning launch is a   learning experiment conducted quickly and inexpensively to gather market driven data to determine   whether   a growth idea has enough merit to warrant detailed investigation with the commitment of   further time , people and resources ” . According to the article “ Design Thinking for Growth : A Toolkit for   Managers ” by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie , published in Rotman Magazine Fall 2011 ( pp.17 – 21 ) ,   “ the learning launch is a tool that moves the developed prototypes into the market ” . The authors   describe the learning launch tool as a means of detecting data that disapproves the hypothesis . 

 In most cases , once a new product prototype is developed , we often tend to think that we have   incorporated all the customer requirements in the new / improved product . But this will have to be put   to test by actually taking the prototypes to the market and asking customers for their feedback . 

 Application 

 In our case , we applied the learning launch tool during a small local trade exhibitions . After a vigorous   process of product improvement / development described above , we invited the SMEs that I had worked 

 with , to take part in an exhibition / fair . Potential customers and experts in the relevant field were also   invited . The SMEs were required to show case their new / improved products alongside their “ normal   products ” . In order to collect information on the customer feedback , we came up with a questionnaire   that had some questions regarding the new / improved products .   The questionnaire had questions such   as , what do you like about this product ? How can it be improved to meet your requirements ? Etc . The   questionnaires were distributed amongst my colleagues who had conversations with the potential   customers invited to the fair . At the end of the exhibition , we had gathered significant data that would   help us and the SMEs to improve on the new products . 

 Insight 

 The collected data gave us a great insight about the actual customer requirements rather than what we   initially thought the customers wanted . This information was very useful in improving the “ new   products ” which had been showcased . This activity also gave some confidence to the SMEs in that it   created an opportunity for a first contact with potentially new customers . The learning launch also led   to the generation of interest from some customers who already expressed interest to purchase the   products as soon as they were launched in the market . The SMEs were also able to exchange ideas   amongst themselves and create new business networks . 

 Approach 

 The learning launch in my opinion was very successful . I would use the tool again in the future . In order   to gain access to more potential customers , I would perhaps do the learning launch during a bigger trade   exhibition / fair . I would also improve the structuring of the data collection questionnaire , in order to get   quantitative data . This would perhaps make data analysis much easier !
### Output: 