GRA 6850 Managing Digital Platforms and Ecosystems - SUMMER COURSE
GRA 6850 Managing Digital Platforms and Ecosystems - SUMMER COURSE
This Summer course belongs to "Global Innovation Challenge". The course is open to BI MSc in Business students only, and international students.
The rise of the platform economy has brought on radical changes to the way we work, socialize and create value. Digital platforms such as Airbnb, Google, Amazon, Salesforce, GitHub and many more act as service-providers, marketplaces, sales-channels, mediators or hubs for data, code and tools. Platforms may be global enterprises or local niche players. They may follow a pure online strategy or be part of a hybrid business model. They may be for profit entities or embody community-based prosocial movements. They may be value drivers themselves or channels in the marketing mix. What all players in the platform economy have in common is their basic building block – the platform. Good platforms are rooted in a consistent strategy, they are intuitive in their architecture, convincing in their design with content that is highly accessible through organic web searches and they fit seamlessly into the broader platform ecosystem. Today’s decision-makers will not only have to engage with platforms as a part of their daily work, but they also need to be able to understand, develop and manage digital platforms. This course will take you through all stages of a platform development project combining theory on platform and content strategizing, insight from practitioners and hands-on work with user experience management tools.
This course takes on the perspective of a decision-maker on the business-side of a platform project and will enable you to initiate, plan and manage a platform development project. Participants will gain a fundamental understanding of the platform economy and its basic building block – the digital platform. In particular, they will learn how to set up their own platform strategy and which steps to take on the way to a deployable platform. Furthermore, they will learn to go beyond the launch of their platform and maintain a digital innovation pipeline for their digital product.
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Key Question |
Focus of Module |
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What are digital platforms and why are they so disruptive?
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Which are the elements of a consistent platform strategy?
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How can we build a convincing user experience?
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What are effective ways to building the platform within constraints of time, budget and scope?
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How can we ensure the relevance of platform content?
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How can we ensure continuous performance through monitoring, maintenance and refinement?
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How to incorporate fair design principles into the platform, and to account for sustainable practices regarding power, privacy and participation. |
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As part of the continuous evaluation, students are required to ‘build’ their own platform or platform element (website, app or feature). Based on the course modules, they will complete bi-weekly assignments where they will develop a basic platform strategy, develop a wireframe and choose a design approach, define a content strategy, set up a project plan and a hypothetical performance dashboard.
- Advanced knowledge of the building blocks of digital platform ecosystems
- Thorough and critical understanding of how digital platforms impact organizations and society
- Apply the foundations of user psychology to user experience management
- Apply different analytical methods towards designing effective and sustainable platform strategies
- Advanced knowledge of fair design principles regarding power, privacy and participation.
- Building a consistent platform strategy based on vision, market need and audiences
- Analyze and deal critically with key audiences based on user personas
- Identify an appropriate and relevant channel (website, app, feature…) and draft a convincing user-experience using wireframes
- Identify relevant project management methods and set up a digital project management plan weighing constraints of time, budget and scope
- Use existing user-data and user profiles do craft an individual content plan and ensure its relevance to audiences and search engines
- Set-up a performance dashboard, identifying the key metrics to monitor continuous needs for improvement
- Defining strategic vision, specific audiences and measurable goals of a platform project à e.g. act effectively as head of digital platforms
- Setting-up a platform project with different stakeholders
à e.g. act effectively as a digital platform owner - Identifying and resolving potential areas of conflict within business and IT teams during a platform project.
à e.g. act effectively as a digital platform manager on the business side - Briefing agencies and partners towards a desired user experience
à e.g. act effectively as a UX-Manager on the business side - Deriving KPIs from the overarching goals and plan continuous measurement and communication towards key audiences within the organization
à e.g. act effectively as a business intelligence specialist or data scientist.
- Platform Strategy
- Understanding the Audience (gains, pains, goals)
- Understanding the Market (learn from the best in class)
- Vision & Goals
- Setting up the PMO (Timing, Resources, Scope)
- Architecture and Design
- Defining and prioritizing key features
- Setting up the structure/architecture
- Defining a design (CI/CD)
- Building and Scaling the Platform
- Agile vs. Waterfall Development
- Testing and Prototyping
- Pitfalls to avoid
- Self-Development vs. integrating partners (build, partner, invest)
- Cornerstones of successful Collaborations
- Creating the right Content
- Setting up the editorial plan
- Reaching the right audiences
- Setting up a SEO Strategy
- Setting up a SEA Strategy
- Working with Content Creators (e.g. Influencers, Journalists etc.)
- Monitoring, Maintenance and continuous Refinement
- Defining key-metrics and KPIs
- Setting up a measurement dashboard
- Continuously learning from user behavior (quant and qual)
- Maintaining an active innovation pipeline
- Incorporating fair design principles
- Ensuring universal Accessibility
- Designing Privacy and Participation Mechanisms
Examination
The participants will be asked to work on five interlocking tasks, as outlines above. In groups of up to three students, they
- first develop an idea for a platform of their choosing and detail their initial vision in writing of up to five pages. This writeup contains not only the vision of their platform, but also a description of their envisioned market, and a persona-based description of their core audience.
- second, students will create a first wireframe prototype of their platform, mapping out an initial user experience and guidance through the offering, again in writing of up to five pages, including a wireframe walkthrough with description
- third, students will create a realization plan, on the strategic level, how they will realize the platform, again in writing of up to five pages and identifying key resources and partners to implement their idea.
- fourth, students will draft an initial content plan, in writing of up to five pages, with which contents they will engage their audience and how they plan their SEO strategy (their tactical plan)
- fifth, students will write a final evaluation of their idea, of up to five pages, that includes the definition of performance metrics, and a plan for the continuous improvement of their application.
- Finally, student groups will present their entire platform project including strategy, structure and content in class. Presentations will be 15mins including a pitch of their platform (10mins) as well as a brief in-class discussion (5mins). Furthermore, each student group will be asked to offer nuanced feedback to another group in class (5mins).
Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.
This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course starts.
At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Disclaimer
Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.
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Exam category: Activity Form of assessment: Presentation and discussion Weight: 25 Grouping: Group (1 - 4) Duration: 15 Minute(s) Comment: Initital presentation of students platform / digital product idea, to the instructors and case organization, structured along the learning structure of the course. Exam code: GRA 68501 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 75 Grouping: Group (1 - 4) Duration: 4 Week(s) Comment: Full report on students' idea and implementation plan for the platform / digital product they developed over the course. Exam code: GRA 68501 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.