[MUSIC] Hello there, so I'm joined by Dr. James from Goldsmiths College. And we're gonna talk about how we can get an idea for a project, so where do I start? Where do I start to get an idea about my new project? >> Hello, well Matthew, one of the things that's really important >> Is of course your vision. So this is the idea of sitting down and working through what is your dream or end point for the project you're trying to do. Another way of looking at it, of course, is as a mission statement. And what you might do, is you might try and write down several different mission statements for your overall project. And that's great. But where do I get these missions from? What's a good, what's a process I can actually do which will lead to me having a set of mission statements? >> Right. Well, there are several processes that are used traditionally for this kind of thing. I suppose the most classic of which is brainstorming. So this is the idea of sitting down by yourself, or maybe with some other people, and working through your idea by adding whatever ideas and sub ideas come to mind in one go. >> So anything goes when you're brainstorming. >> Nothing's a bad idea. >> Absolutely >> Absolutely, the process is one of not discounting any ideas, but really getting as many different ideas down in one place. So you might start off, for example, by saying, I want to build a new kind of website to allow people to buy houses online. You might then start brainstorming different ways, like shall we have videos on that website? Shall we have a website that's internationalized? Shall we have a website that's linked to different estate agents? Shall we have a website that's linked to universities? Many different questions we might ask around the idea of that website. So you would do that, and you would play and do this brainstorming, and then take that into another technique. And this is the technique of SWOT analysis. >> RIght, and so SWOT analysis. >> I've never hear of that actually. What does it stand for, SWOT? >> Right, well this is looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your idea. So you're taking your idea, and you're taking your vision, and you're taking your mission, and putting them through a bit of a filter. And you say, well what are the good things about this idea? What are the strengths of it? And then you'll say what opportunities does it allow us? What are the treats and what are the weaknesses? >> Okay, that's great. So if I can summarize that. So I've got this idea that I've got a vision, I've got some general areas I'm interested in,which might be selling houses online or whatever it is. And then I might get together with some friends, or even just on my own and brainstorm on the idea. So I get lots of different aspects of what I might do. And then I can put all those things through a process called SWOT analysis, which allows me to really >> Understand what's strong about my idea, what are the problems with my idea, and so on. So that's really, that's really clear, so that's the process you can go through to come up with a clear idea for your project. >> Yeah that's a really useful process, SWOT analysis. You should always, maybe, use that kind of a framework to do it. So you start off with brainstorming, maybe move to SWOT analysis. Another thing that's really important is to understand what your target audience might be. >> Okay, so how do I describe a target audience? What do I do? Do I write down people's ages and names or, I mean, who is it? >> Well, demographics are really important. So one of the things you'll always be looking at are the ages of people that you might expect. You might look at the types of income they might have. You might look at where they live. But you might also look at behavioral aspects. >> Okay, so I understand where they live, their age, gender, so on, what do you mean by behavior? What's a behavioral aspect? >> So, they might be the way that they use the software, so are they a surfer or are they an investigator? It might be the way that they interact and purchase things. Do they purchase things very quickly, or do they take a long time to purchase them? What kind of customers do you think are going to use your software? What kinds of audience do you think are going to interact with the software system you built? So for example, you might be building a game, and you want to know what kinds of behaviors people like in gaming. Do they like reaching different levels? Do they like sharing information with other people? Different kinds of behaviors for that target audience. >> Okay, so I know who my target audience is. I've identified what kind of characteristics these people have. But then how do I push my idea to them? How do I sell it, you know? >> Right, well one of the things that you really, is useful to know is to understand what the different components will be. So like, if I actually create this idea, I create this product, or I create this game, or I create this piece of art online, where is it gonna go? What will it look like? How will I promote it? And if people will have to engage with it and pay for it, how much would it cost? So they would be something that we might describe as looking at the four Ps, the price, the product, the place, and of course how we promote it. Okay, price, product, place, and promotion. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> So, that would be a really useful way. Of course, it's no good having ideas that can't be realized. >> Well, that's right. So, what do I need? I understand this process. It's really clear what I'm gonna have to do. I'm brainstorming, I'm sort of identifying my audience, I'm getting some ideas about how I'm gonna find them, and sell it to them and what the process will be. But what do I need to actually start on this program? So, if I want to get started, what do I need? >> Well, you definitely need to know what kind of key resources you'll need. So you'll need to be able to identify things like hardware, software, technologies, the key resources. You'll also need to know the developement timeline. What would need to be done, by when, in order for your vision to be realized. >> Okay, that's great. So I think they're ready to get started on this brainstorming process now. So I'm going to say, thanks a lot, James, it's really nice to have that, that rounded view of all the different things you could do to get your project started. And so in the next lecture we're gonna talk about how you can start sort of developing your idea into something a bit more real. [MUSIC]
