Scenario
The funding pitch went extremely well, and you just received word that your idea for the new product/service has been approved. In fact, senior management sent a memo, company-wide, announcing the project.
One line in the memo really caught your attention: “We are eager to see the project to completion and the many other product offerings to come from this initiative.”
You reach out to the project manager (PM) and are told that, typically, senior management expects to see product/service extensions or some type of next steps stemming from an original product. This could include different versions of the product/service, such as cheaper or premium versions, new targeted customers, and more. The PM also adds that senior management will look for contingency planning to protect the funding for the project.
Prompt
For your business continuity plan, consider your next steps, including project improvements and how to mitigate risk to the project to protect the product investment. To accomplish this, you must leverage employee and customer feedback on the new product/service. Additionally, research the market and use a PESTLE analysis to examine if any external factor could affect your new product offering.
Specifically, your plan must address the following criteria:
• Business continuity plan: Outline a basic business continuity plan for your business that identifies key business areas and critical functions as well as identifies at least one measure for recovering or maintaining critical business operations in case of an emergency. Include how you will ensure that this plan is followed.
• Post-launch stage: Propose new ideas for the post-launch stage, including one idea for a product/service improvement you plan to implement after the initial launch, and one idea for increasing your customer base or engagement after the initial launch.
• Feedback loops: Explain how you will implement feedback loops for your product or service.
• PESTLE analysis: Use PESTLE analysis to identify at least one external risk factor that may affect the project. Then provide a solution or contingency plan for mitigating that risk.
