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The BEST Project

The BEST Project Brief:

In a group of four, become a Business Enquiry and Solution Team and undertake a case study on a local business. In collaboration with your team choose a local business that you would like to work with, arrange an interview with the business and through enquiry and research, develop a potential business improvement plan for their company and present it to them.

You will need to clearly set your Learning Intentions and Success Criteria from the beginning. In collaboration with your team you will need to choose a business that you would like to work with, this might be a local business or family business. You will need to email them to gain their approval and then arrange at least one interview with the business. You will use the new St John’s Grammar School Innovative Agency Framework to pose questions, engaging and connection, enquire and research and then develop a potential business improvement plan for their company and present it to the class and to the business.

Entrepreneurial thinking – ‘The pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources that you currently control.’ – Howard F Stevenson

Outcomes

 Students will be supported to achieve personal agency through the development of the following skills:

  • Problem Seeking

  • Time Management

  • Research

  • Reflection

  • Connecting to experts

  • Communication

  • Team work

  • Evaluate

How to do the BEST Project

Getting started

Step 1. Communication. Meet your group, get to know them and complete the group activity

Step 2. Brainstorm. Think about a business that you would like to do a case study on. Think about the connections that you already have, interests and strengths of the team. Remember it takes a team to manage a business.

There is no ‘I’ in TEAM. You all need to agree on the business.

Step 3. Team work. Decide on the role of each team member. Again think about your strengths, skills you would like to develop and team dynamics.

  • Marketing Director

  • Finance Manager

  • Operations Architect

  • CEO

Step 4. Connect with experts. Make contact with the company using the template provided to arrange an opportunity to connect with the company and begin to problem seek.

Step 5. Research. Using the ‘Design Thinking’ model plan your approach for connecting with the company that you have selected.

Thinking about your business

Empathise - What is the purpose of the business?

  • What are their needs?

  • What things work at the moment?

  • What are their problems?

  • Remember they are the experts

Define - Write down your observations

  • Analyze your observations

  • Define a problem that your group has found

  • Outline the details of the problem

Ideate - Think of solutions to each aspect of the problem   

What is something that you could change, add, develop, create, solve

Prototype - Develop solution prototypes for each aspect of the problems

Draw, design, create

Test - Test the product using the best solutions identified

Make contact with the business to share your final idea this could be via, email, phone, power point, business meeting, pitch an idea, product sharing