Mr. Roberts
1) My expert is an engineer. Although he currently works at the company I am during my internship at, he has had interest in the past in building recreational robots. Therefore, he is the perfect expert to go to when I have questions about the reality of creating my product and the cost and feasibility of it.
2) He is a domain expert who will advise me on the construction of my product...a robot.
3) As stated above, this person works at the company I am interning with and I stopped by his office for a chat about robotic engineering.
4) He gave me some of his time out of his day and informed me on the feasibility of my product.
5) In order for my product to become a reality, it needs to be built and created. Therefore I need someone to do the engineering work.
Tracy
1) She is a sales associate at a local pet store that sells puppy pads and pooper scoopers.
2) Market expert; she is in the same business as I want to be in - the assistance of cleaning up puppy messes.
3) I actually went to the local puppy store that I bought my own puppy's puppy pads from and spoke with her while she was working.
4) She gave me some time out of her day and assisted me with providing information on the puppy clean up market. I then bought more puppy pads from her.
5) In order to make my product successful, I need to know what other products are out there that could be my competitors. She provided me with this information.
Petsmart Manager
1) She is a manager at petsmart and has been working in the pet industry for 6 years.
2) She is a supplier and is a head manager at the store that I would be ideally selling my product to so that they can then sell it to customers.
3) I called the petsmart closest to my house and asked to speak with the manager. She gave me a call back at a time that was convenient for her and then we spoke about the pet supplies supply market.
4) She took time out of her day to call me back which was a very kind gesture in return I gave her a promise that if my product became a reality I would good petsmart top selling rights.
5) My product will be have to be sold by a pet store that has already established credibility. Petsmart is a very credible pet store that many people trust.
Refection: I think this exercise showed me that many people are willing to share with you information that find them selves an expert at knowing. Therefore, I will not be as timid to approach people to ask them questions. This experienced differed because I was talking to professionals that were already successful in their fields so it gave me a lot of insight.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you got a lot of good feedback from this assignment. Approaching people can come off as awkward and can ultimately lead people to shy away from doing it, but the results can be far worth the awkwardness. I think the people you approached are very experienced in the field so remaining in contact with these people if you are to follow through with this product would be extremely beneficial.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you got a lot of good feedback from this assignment. Approaching people can come off as awkward and can ultimately lead people to shy away from doing it, but the results can be far worth the awkwardness. I think the people you approached are very experienced in the field so remaining in contact with these people if you are to follow through with this product would be extremely beneficial.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you were able to receive some great advice from the individuals you reached out to! Recreational robots are really unique to begin with, so the fact that you are making one to help people with a daily task is going to bring you much success. I hope that you plan on making this robot kind of similar looking to a "rumba". Hopefully you know what I am talking about.. It is the circular vacuum that roams around the house and has sensors on it. This would be a very cool system to pick up dog leftovers, not just poop, but also pee, spilled food, and any other mess they may make.
I think you picked the right people for this assignment. It would have been really cool if you could have found someone who was like a waste disposal expert and get their opinion on the feasibility of a robot handling an organic mess. However, that could be completed on the engineering side, as well.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have found that people love to talk about things they are knowledgeable about. That's the easiest type of interview to conduct! :)
Megan, the people you chose to interview, were perfect for the assignment. They were a perfect fit to what you were looking for. About your reflection, it is very true that people are willing to share information with you. This type of exercise definitely help you come out of your comfort zone.
ReplyDelete