Projects

Your class project has 2 parts: a class presentation and an executive summary. Your grade will be assigned equally on these two deliverables.

Class Presentation

Unless otherwise notified, your team will present a project summary to the class in SES #24. Your entire presentation will be 15 minutes, which includes Q&A. Please use this time to inform your classmates about your specific project objectives and the insights you gained from the project. You should provide just enough information about the firm you’ve studied to enable the class to understand the context of the problem you are trying to solve. Then you should explain (a) the problem you were addressing, (b) the methodology you used to study the problem, and (c) your key findings, insights, and recommendations. You may take questions during your presentation, but be sure you plan your time so that you can get through all your prepared material. Your presentation will be evaluated for clarity, quality of insights, and professionalism in both the slides and the delivery. It is not essential that all team members present, but do rely on more than one presenter. We will end each presentation precisely at 15 minutes, so be sure to rehearse!

Executive Summary

Unless you make other arrangements with your “client,” you are expected to deliver a 3-5 page summary of your project, including (a) the problem you were addressing, (b) the approach you used to study the problem (e.g. who you interviewed, what resources you relied upon), and (c) recommendations and/or key insights. Part (c) depends entirely on what you were asked to deliver, so it might be recommendations, it might be important references, it might be a checklist of things to consider. Be sure to reference all sources. Your client knows you are smart people but it adds to your credibility if you are citing research studies or established experts. If your client has made a specific request for a different kind of deliverable, be sure to tell the instructors in advance, so we know what to expect. Like your class presentations, your executive summary will be evaluated based on clarity, quality of insights, and professionalism.

Feel free to contact us at any time to discuss your deliverables, particularly if you are concerned that you can’t tell them anything they don’t already know.

Course Info

Instructor
As Taught In
Spring 2009
Level
Learning Resource Types
Lecture Notes