Research existing products (IoT and non-IoT) that perform similar tasks as your team’s smart device concept. Summarize the features of 3-4 competing products, and analyze the competing products to identify opportunities to make your team’s smart device innovative compared to the competition.

Gather information to summarize the following for each competing product:

• What is the product's name and its specific context of use? (include product image)

• What are the key functions and features of the product?

• What are the key parts (inputs, outputs, etc.) that the product uses to perform its tasks?

• Does the product use an internet or network connection to send or receive data with apps, databases, or other devices? If so, what functions or features does this provide?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the product?

• What information sources were used in your research? (include links to sources)

❏ Deliverable

Submit a document or presentation that summarizes each competing product and identifies opportunities for your team’s smart device to be innovative compared to the competition.

Conduct internet research to find an example IoT product or system for each of these contexts:

1. Consumer Context: home or personal use

2. Business Context: business, industry, agriculture, etc.

3. Public Context: government services, public infrastructure, healthcare, environment, etc.

Gather information to summarize the following for each IoT product:

• What is the IoT product’s name, purpose, and specific context of use? (include product image)

• What value does the IoT product provide? (e.g., is it more convenient, is it more efficient, is it more cost-effective, is it safer, does it perform a task not possible otherwise, etc.)

• What physical inputs (such as: sensors, etc.) does the IoT product have? What data does it gather from its physical environment using these inputs?

• What physical outputs (such as: motors, etc.) does the IoT product have? What actions does it perform in its physical environment using these outputs?

• What type of internet or network connection (such as: cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.) does the IoT product have? What data does it send or receive with apps, databases, or other devices through this connection?

• What information sources were used in your research? (include links to sources)

❏ Deliverable

Submit a slide presentation containing your research findings

Each team will complete the IoT code tutorials to develop a firm understanding of the technical opportunities and constraints your team will have when designing your own smart device with the provided IoT electronics kit.

❏ Deliverable

Demonstrate that you have completed the tutorials and can discuss how the IoT electronics kit and code work together.

Your team will generate possible ideas for a smart device that performs a useful and valuable task. After evaluating the ideas, your team will select one concept for your team’s project.

1. Each team member should independently generate and record at least 10 possible ideas for tasks that could be performed using one or more parts in the IoT electronics kit. If helpful, create quick sketches to help illustrate ideas.

2. As a team, discuss and refine your ideas to form a combined numbered list of possible tasks for smart devices. For each idea, discuss these questions and make any refinements:

   1. Does the smart device perform a useful task in an innovative way?

   2. What inputs and outputs from the IoT kit would be used to help perform the task? (The smart device must use at least one input and at least one output from the IoT kit.)

   3. Are there certain parts or actions of the smart device that would need to be simulated? If so, can you still create a prototype device that performs the main task?

   4. What are some possible ways that the smart device could interact with a web app?

3. Construct a decision matrix to help evaluate your team’s list of ideas by ranking the relative weight (from Low to High) of each smart device idea on these two criteria (and then plotting a numbered point on the matrix to represent each concept):

   1. User Value (how desirable and valuable would this product likely be to users)

   2. Team Interest (how much interest do you have in pursuing this as your project)

4. Use the decision matrix to select one idea to pursue for your team’s project. Ideally, your selected idea will have high user value and high team interest.

❏ Deliverable

Submit each team member’s initial list of ideas, your team’s combined numbered list of ideas, your team’s decision matrix, and identify which idea was selected for your team's project.

Create a slide presentation that summarizes your team’s proposal for a smart device and web app. Practice your presentation before delivering it to your class. This will be an opportunity for other project teams to ask questions and provide constructive feedback to help your team clarify and improve its project concept.

Your team's presentation should include the following (in this order):

1. Project Team: product name, team name, team members & their roles

2. Value Proposition: Be sure the value proposition for your project concept is clear and compelling.

3. Competitive Analysis: Briefly describe the examples of competing products & highlight their key strengths and weaknesses. Explain the opportunities your team identified to design a product that is unique or better compared to the competitors.

4. User Research: Identify how many people were interviewed and how they were selected. Highlight key aspects of the persona that was created from the interview data, and describe the scenario for the persona.

5. Design Requirements: Highlight key requirements for the smart device and web app, and briefly explain how these were influenced by your competitive analysis and user research. In addition, explain the physical input(s) and output(s) from the IoT kit that will be used to help fulfill the functional requirements for your smart device.

6. Interaction Storyboard: Identify the selected task, briefly explain how a user interacts with the web app to complete the task, and identify how the web app will interact with the smart device through the internet.

The presentation should have 6-12 slides and take 5-10 minutes to deliver.

❏ Deliverable

Submit your team’s slide presentation

Discuss and establish a list of design requirements that your team’s smart device and web app will have to meet. Your team's design requirements should list a minimum of:

• 3 Functional Requirements

• 3 Usability Requirements

• 3 User Experience (UX) Requirements

• 1 Other Requirement

Design Requirements Template

❏ Deliverable

Submit a document with your team's design requirements

Conduct user research by interviewing potential users (or other stakeholders) for your smart device and web app. Analyze your interview data to create a persona and scenario of a typical user, which will help inform and guide your design process.

Persona Template

❏ Deliverable

Submit your team's interview questions, interview data, and persona.

Discuss and create a value proposition for your team’s smart device concept using this format:

• For [describe target users] who [describe problem or need], [name of product] is a [describe type of product] that [describe benefit or value].

Your team's value proposition is an “elevator pitch” that quickly communicates your smart device concept to outside people and helps provide focus to your team as you design, build, and evaluate your smart device.

❏ Deliverable

Submit a document with your team's value proposition for your smart device concept.

VALUE PROPOSITION: For homeowners who want an easier way to control their house's climate, EcoStat is a smart thermostat that learns your home routine and automatically adjusts your house's temperature settings to provide ideal comfort, energy efficiency, and cost savings.

Create an with a sequence of 3-6 sketched screen mockups to show how a user would interact with your smart device’s web app to perform a task. Be sure to select a primary task that is central to the purpose of your product.

❏ Deliverable

Submit an image (photo, scan, etc.) of your team's interaction storyboard.