This is a group project, to be completed in your assigned groups over three weeks. Individual work will not be accepted. Please note the following:

• All presentations will take place in a boardroom simulating a real-life business meeting. There will be no class held during the scheduled boardroom meetings, you are advised to use the rest of your class time to work on your group project, you will continue to have access to our lab
• You can find an example of a professional meeting agenda here, use this as a template and change the details to fit your meeting specifics
• At the end of each meeting (except the last meeting), you will be provided with feedback and direction for the following phase
• Each group has been assigned a specific time slot to meet with the Prof in the boardroom. Check Blackboard for a list of the groups and the time slots for each presentation
• Plan to present for 10 minutes, to allow for questions and feedback

Your Web Development Company

• You and your colleagues have started a web development company, your first step is to give your company a name!
• Your job is to create an information website for a client using WordPress.com
• A WordPress account will be created for each group, and all group members will be added with the “Admin” role. Do not create your own account, I will create it to ensure I have access to the dashboard

Your Client:

You have the choice of finding your own client (real or fictitious business), or using the example below.

Sam’s Bakery (fictitious business)

Your client is Sam, she works part time at a local bakery, and runs a small business from her basement. Through her small business from home, Sam provides the following services in her local community:

• Bakes cakes for various occasion
• Runs small events such as Summer workshops for kids, fundraising and seasonal events
• Since Sam works from home, the events take place either at the client’s location, or a community center
• She plans on opening her own store in the next five years

Sam needs an information website to showcase her work and services, she also needs help with Social Media and strategies to drive traffic to her website through organic SEO

Your client has lots of pictures uploaded on a Google drive

Note: This is a fictitious business, you can make assumptions and suggestions as needed. Your Prof will represent the client during the meetings.

Fashion Management Students: you can use your Capstone Project (fictitious business) 

Your client is your capstone project. Each group will be working with the same team members and project topic assigned for FASH 4502: Applied Fashion Management Project

Tips for the meetings:

Treat this as a business meeting:

• Start by distributing copies of the Agenda to each team member, no need to go over the agenda (or present it)
• Put away you cell phones and laptops (unless used to present), i.e. do not hide behind a screen
• Engage in a conversation with your team (eye contact, body language)
• Everyone must have a role in the meeting! (your boss, the owner of the Web Development company would not pay you to attend a meeting unless you have something to say, value to add

Website Checklist 

Your final website must include the following (i.e. I will be looking for the following through the Dashboard when marking your work):

• Pages: at least 5 pages
• Blog posts: at least 5 blog posts, properly categorized and tagged
• Images: at least 5 images with proper SEO attributes. I’ll be looking for quality over quantity (you do not need to upload 50 images, but you DO need to add image attributes for the ones you upload)
• Orphaned content: delete any unused images or pages
• Widgets: at least 3 widgets of your choice, including a Most Recent Blog Posts widget
• Home page: must include a welcome message (short paragraph about the project)
• Blog: blog posts must be accessible through a Blog tab on the navigation bar
• Theme: your website must be fully configured based on the demo link of your chosen theme

Group Simulation Boardroom Meetings (Total 20%)

Meeting 1 (5%):

To prepare for this meeting, you will be working with your team on the first two phases of the Design Thinking Process: Empathize & Define. If you have questions while working on this phase, you must email me to get answers (and not wait until the meeting day!).  On the meeting day, you will be presenting the results of the first two phases of the Design Thinking Process: Empathize & Define.

Deliverables to be submitted in hard-copy at the beginning of the meeting:

1. Meeting agenda
2. Empathy map(s)
3. Value proposition canvas
4. Persona
5. Problem statement
6. Journey map
7. List of questions – if you have any

You will leave the meeting with: feedback, answers to any questions, and a clearer direction for the project

Meeting 2 (5%):

To prepare for this meeting, you will be working with your team on the third phase of the Design Thinking Process: Ideate. On the meeting day, you will be presenting the results of your work on the Ideate phase. Use the brainstorming and card-sorting techniques learned in class, make sure you take pictures of the process to share in your final group reflection

Deliverables to be submitted in hard-copy at the beginning of the meeting:

1. Meeting agenda
2. Project Plan
3. Information Architecture (storyboard):  this can be an Excel sheet, hand-sketch, or a clear picture of the actual board with your card-sorting exercise result (with post-it notes)
4. Suggested WordPress themes (3-5 free themes): include demo links and justification for each choice
5. One recommended theme; justify your recommendation
6. Recommended widgets

You will leave the meeting with: approved Project Plan and one selected theme to be configured for the next meeting

Meeting 3 (10%):

To prepare for this meeting, you will be working with your team on the fourth and fifth phases of the Design Thinking Process: Prototype & Test. Using WordPress.com, you will configure your website based on the approved Project Plan. This is an iterative process where you will be testing and fine-tuning your final website in preparation for the meeting.

Deliverables to be submitted in hard-copy at the beginning of the meeting:

1. Meeting agenda
2. Fully configured WordPress website (no hardcopy required)
3. Group reflection PPT
   • Max of 5 slides
   • What went right / what went wrong
   • Include pictures of the process when possible (for example brainstorming meetings, card sorting exercise…etc)

You will leave the meeting with: feedback and reflection on the learning experience