Instructor’s Manual Abstracts
Issue 2 IM Abstract: Payton Needs a Prototype
Alexander Miller
Case Overview
On a hot July evening in the summer of 2022, Payton Mackey was walking back to her summer sublet in London, Ontario, Canada, frustrated and leafing through her prototype sketches. She had several product designs for her business, Fidgetry, and was anxious to get a physical product in her hands to show prospective customers. Her entrepreneurship program mentor had asked her why a prototype was so important. “I need to physically hold it; I need to know exactly what it will be before I can proceed,” Mackey had proclaimed. “How can I get customer feedback, build marketing materials, or do forecasting if I don’t have one?”
Mackey is a student in an entrepreneurship incubator who is exploring how to get a physical prototype made for her business idea. She explores various means of production, including CNC, mold and additive production and the use of CAD files. She also explores the benefits and drawbacks of local, national, and international manufacturing and the idea of outsourcing as part of a business model.
Learning Objectives
By working through this case, students should be able to
- Describe various methods for producing goods, including CNC, injection molding, and additive production.
- Discuss the benefits of local, national, and international services providers.
- Outline the pros and cons of outsourcing an element of a business.
- Calculate costs and determine at which volumes various methods of production see financial benefit.
Course Suitability
This case would best fit a third- or fourth-year undergraduate course focused on entrepreneurship or manufacturing, or other courses that include discussion of the following topics:
- Product design
- Entrepreneurship
- Manufacturing management
- Prototyping
- Outsourcing
- Product innovation
- Small business entrepreneurship
- Start-ups
- Strategy
Recommended Reading
Kelley, T. (2001). Prototyping is the shorthand of innovation. Design Management Journal, 12(3), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1948-7169.2001.tb00551.x
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