Business Market Trends Interview Series

Project Instructions
Step 1: Define the Problem and Research Question
Identify a meaningful problem worth solving and write the research question that will guide your project.
This question should help focus your interviews, community engagement, evidence gathering, and final recommendation.
Step 2: Lock the Research Protocol
Before analysis begins, document:
The research question
Participant criteria
Interview protocol
Student-community engagement plan
Business-model brainstorming prompt
Coding approach
Decision criteria
This artifact should show how the study was designed before the final conclusions were written.
Step 3: Conduct 10 Interviews
Interview 10 people who are relevant to the problem or product context.
Record and transcribe every interview.
These interviews are a required part of the capstone and form the core of your primary research.
Step(opens in a new tab) 4: Engage with the MBA Program Student Community(opens in a new tab)
Complete at least 2 forms of direct student-community engagement and document what you learned from each.
These engagements should add evidence beyond the 10 interviews.
Step 5: Run the Business-Model Brainstorming Session
Recruit 5 friends, family members, or business mentors.
Run one session focused on business-model alternatives, and record and transcribe it.
This should help pressure-test possible business approaches before the final recommendation.
Step 6: Analyze the Evidence
Code or summarize your interviews, student-community findings, brainstorm findings, and secondary sources.
Identify recurring findings, contradictions, weak signals, and what changed your thinking.
Step 7: Propose and Compare Serious Alternatives
Develop an original product concept, then compare serious product and business-model alternatives using the same criteria.
Identify which alternatives remained plausible and which one came closest to your final recommendation.
Step 8: Assess Technical Feasibility
Explain:
What technical components are required
What seems straightforward
What seems difficult
What remains uncertain
What technical limitation could break the concept
This section should make the technical credibility of the concept visible and testable.
Step 9: Write the APA Paper
Write one full APA-style paper that integrates the problem, methods, findings, product proposal, technical logic, alternatives, risks, and final executive recommendation.
Step 10: Submit the Required Evidence Artifacts
Provide:
The research protocol
Transcripts
Coded findings
Evidence log
Evidence-to-decision table
Technical assumptions
Alternative comparison artifact
Threshold and contingency artifact
These artifacts create the auditable trail behind the final paper.