Project related Q&A

Update:

I split up the old post which had both Q&A as well as deliverable format. The old post is now exclusively deliverable format and is available here:

http://marketing-yogi.blogspot.com/2011/11/more-phase-iii-project-q.html

A recent post on take-aways from past projects (particularly those in 2010) can be found here:

http://marketing-yogi.blogspot.com/2011/11/take-aways-from-past-projects.html
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Hi all,

Got asked a few Qs, might as well putup answers here.

1."The decision problem is vague. Should we focus more on telecom services or handset features?"

My response: The scope document is vague for good reason. Provides enough wriggle room to variously interpret decision problems. Pls come up with your own decision problem that is not-inconsistent with the project scope.

Regarding telecom service versus handset, well, the scope doc says the client XYZ is a major player in the telecom services space - so it is primarily a service provider. The handset features thing is likely secondary to its main goal of improving its position among telecom service providers.

Pls come up with a suitable D.P. and appropriate downstream analysis. The main theme of interest will be, how much does your D.P. align with the scope document and how logical and consitent is the donwstream analysis with the stated D.P.

2. Scope says, XYZ wants to know "where the market is going". What does this mean?

Well, XYZ will want to know many things, sure, but only so many are knowable with the data at hand. My intention behind that part was, illuminate the current standing of different offerings first and then project a few years into the future. Make assumptions as necessary. There'll be little data to back up projections into the future, understandably so. Shall later expand on wht I mean by this point.

More Q&A as they come will be on this page as updates.

Sudhir
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Update: More project related guidance

In general, there are a few Questions which the client is likely to find of interest and which I think each project team could consider going through.

(i) What is the turnover (i.e. rate of change or switching) among attractive customer segments in telecom carriers and handsets? [Hint: See how long one has been with a carrier/handset Q among others]. Is there a trend? Anything systematic that might indicate the market is moving towards or appears to be favoring a certain set of attributes more than others?

(ii) What kind of usage patterns, apps etc are the attractive segments (say in terms of purchasing power or WTP etc) moving towards? More voice? More data? More something? From here can flow recommendations to the client on which applications to focus on, which platforms to explore alliances with etc perhaps.

(iii) Perceptual maps of current reality - where attractive customer segments perceive current carriers and/or handsets to be. What are the critical dimensions or axes along which such percpetions have formed? What are the attractive gaps in positioning that may emerge? Which niche perhaps can a new or existing service lay claim to on the positioning map?

More Qs will be added as they occur.

Pls note that it is *not* necessary that these Qs be answered or recommendations made along their lines. Its just a guide for teams to think about incorporating into their current plan/roadmap. Incorporating these Qs makes sense only if they align with the D.P.s and the R.O.s you have chosen.

Sudhir