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PROJECT REPORT
Tasks for Course:
DLBEPPPV01_E – Project: Prototyping and Validation of a
Business Idea

CONTENT
1. Tasks ......................................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Task 1: Own start-up idea (fictional or real) ............................................................................................... 2
1.2 Task 2: Corporate start-up / new business idea......................................................................................... 4
1.3 Task 3: Given start-up idea ......................................................................................................................... 6
2. Additional information for the evaluation of the written assignment .............................................. 9
3. Tutorial Support ......................................................................................................................... 9

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1. TASKS
You can choose from the following tasks for the project report. Please choose one of them to work on in your
project report. Please note that the tasks only differ in terms of the background; the steps to be performed in this
project are the same for all topics.

1.1 Task 1: Own start-up idea (fictional or real)

Background: You have developed a business idea for your own startup, either as part of your study program (for
example in the course Development of Business Ideas) or beyond. It is important that you have a completed
Business Model Canvas of your business idea as a basis for this project. In particular, the customer segments you
address and the central value proposition should be clear. If the business model is still missing, you can still create
it now, the effort is manageable.
Task: Now it's time to implement your business idea. To minimize the risks (e.g. that your business idea may not
be desirable from the customer's point of view, technically feasible or financially viable), you choose an iterative,
i.e. step-by-step approach: ensure to be aware of the many uncertain assumptions behind your business model.
Then design suitable experiments (starting with customer interviews, a simple landing page, prototypes and a
minimum viable product) to test and validate key assumptions. The more you systematically test those, the more
confident you can be that they are true.
If you want to check whether users really have a need for your value proposition or product, then a prototype is
very helpful. You test the prototype implementation of your business idea with real users, observe how they use
the solution and get honest feedback. Now it's time to reflect honestly and learn. From this test, you draw key
insights, such as whether your assumptions were confirmed or should be discarded. You also deduce how you
should further develop your prototype and the business model. In real life, you would do many of these loops (=
iterations) to implement your business idea in a low-risk, customer-centric and fast way. For this project, it's
enough if you describe one iteration after testing.
So, regardless of whether you chose your own startup idea, an idea in an established company, or the fictional
idea, you'll go through the following steps with your project:
1) Make the hypothesis, on which your business model is based, transparent. A hypothesis in this context is an
assumption on which your business idea is based. It is important for you to find out whether this assumption is
actually true or not, in order to be sure whether your business idea could be successful (Bland & Osterwalder, p.
30). For each field of the business model canvas, formulate three to five hypotheses (e.g. assumptions about the
target group or a need addressed by your solution). The hypotheses should be as testable, precise and
independent as possible. An example of a hypothesis is, "We believe millennial generation workers prefer digital
job applications." Or: "We believe that mid-sized companies are willing to pay 1,000 euros for training that helps
them target high potentials in the field of artificial intelligence."
Next, prioritize your hypotheses. What are your three most critical assumptions behind your business idea and
why?
2) Even if the business idea sounds logical in theory, you don't know for sure whether there will actually be
interested customers or whether you can really make money with it. By experimenting, for example with a simple
prototype implementation of your idea, you can gradually reduce the many risks and uncertainties in your
business idea. Instead of jumping straight into app development, you can also simulate the core functionality of
your idea with a stack of Post-Its, make it tangible and thus check whether the effort of implementation is even
worth it.

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To do this, select a central hypothesis that you want to test in the next step. It is best to choose one of the so-
called desirability hypotheses; these relate to customers, their needs and the value proposition and are important
for reducing market risk.
Now think about a suitable experiment to validate this hypothesis. This can be a prototype or another experiment.
Bland and Osterwalder (2020) describe a wide range of different experiments that bring different advantages and
disadvantages depending on the situation. Instead of the one that is easiest to implement, choose an experiment
that can move you forward particularly strongly, that is, provide the strongest possible evidence and reduce
uncertainties in your business idea as much as possible. If you first create a very simple paper prototype of your
idea, that's fine. For the project, however, you should go one step further and develop it into a click dummy, for
example.
Please explain why you decided to do a certain experiment. Also consider what data you will collect (metrics) and
what decision criteria you will use later to judge whether the hypothesis has been confirmed or refuted. Describe
how you prepared the experiment.
3) Conduct the experiment in practice to test the hypothesis. If you have chosen a prototype as experiment, test
it with real users and systematically get their feedback (for example using a feedback grid). Report how the
experiment went. Be open and grateful also for honest negative feedback and suggestions for improvement;
positive feedback for your idea is not automatically better!
4) Learn and adapt your business model and (if applicable) your prototype: What insights did you gain from
testing? What do these mean for your hypothesis? How strong is the evidence you gained? For example, was the
hypothesis confirmed, are the results contradictory, or were new directions discovered? How would you proceed
to implement your business idea? Which decision will you mak? Will you pursue the idea, adapt it, discard it, or
test it further? Also, describe the next iteration, such as the next stage of development of your prototype.

Literature:
Bland, D./Osterwalder A. (2019). Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation. Wiley.
Blank, S./Dorf. B. (2018). The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company. John
Wiley & Sons Verlag.
Knapp, J. (2016). Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days: How to Solve Big Problems
and Test New Ideas in Just 5 Days. Simon & Schuster.
Osterwalder, A./Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and
Challengers. Campus.
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically
Successful Businesses. Currency.

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1.2 Task 2: Corporate start-up / new business idea

Background: In an established company (for example at your employer), you have developed a business idea for
a new product, service or business model. This is an internal start-up, so to speak. It is important that you have a
completed business model canvas of your business idea as a basis for this project. In particular, the customer
segments you address, and the central value proposition should be clear. If the business model is still missing,
you can still create it now, the effort is manageable.
Task: Now it's time to implement your business idea. To minimize the risks (e.g. that your business idea may not
be desirable from the customer's point of view, technically feasible or financially viable), you choose an iterative,
i.e. step-by-step approach: You make yourself aware of the many uncertain assumptions behind your business
model. Then you design suitable experiments (starting with customer interviews, a simple landing page,
prototypes and a minimum viable product) to test and validate key assumptions. The more you systematically
test those, the more confident you can be that they are true.
If you want to check whether users really have a need for your value proposition or product, then a prototype is
very helpful. You test the prototype implementation of your business idea with real users, observe how they use
the solution and get honest feedback. Now it's time to reflect honestly and learn. From this test, you draw key
insights, such as whether your assumptions were confirmed or should be discarded. You also deduce how you
should further develop your prototype and the business model. In real life, you would do many of these loops (=
iterations) to implement your business idea in a low-risk, customer-centric and fast way. For this project, it's
enough if you describe one iteration after testing.
So, regardless of whether you chose your own startup idea, an idea in an established company, or the fictional
idea, you'll go through the following steps with your project:
1) Make the hypothesis, on which your business model is based, transparent. A hypothesis in this context is an
assumption on which your business idea is based. It is important for you to find out whether this assumption is
actually true or not, in order to be surer whether your business idea could be successful (Bland & Osterwalder, p.
30). For each field of the business model canvas, formulate three to five hypotheses (e.g. assumptions about the
target group or a need addressed by your solution). The hypotheses should be as testable, precise and
independent as possible. An example of a hypothesis is, "We believe millennial generation workers prefer digital
job applications." Or: "We believe that mid-sized companies are willing to pay 1,000 euros for training that helps
them target high potentials in the field of artificial intelligence."
Next, prioritize your hypotheses. What are your three most critical assumptions behind your business idea and
why?
2) Even if the business idea sounds logical in theory, you don't know for sure whether there will actually be
interested customers or whether you can really make money with it. By experimenting, for example with a simple
prototype implementation of your idea, you can gradually reduce the many risks and uncertainties in your
business idea. Instead of jumping straight into app development, you can also simulate the core functionality of
your idea with a stack of Post-Its, make it tangible and thus check whether the effort of implementation is even
worth it.
To do this, select a central hypothesis that you want to test in the next step. It is best to choose one of the so-
called desirability hypotheses; these relate to customers, their needs and the value proposition and are important
for reducing market risk.
Now think about a suitable experiment to validate this hypothesis. This can be a prototype or another experiment.
Bland and Osterwalder (2020) describe a wide range of different experiments that bring different advantages and
disadvantages depending on the situation. Instead of the one that is easiest to implement, choose an experiment
that can move you forward particularly strongly, that is, provide the strongest possible evidence and reduce

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IU.ORG

uncertainties in your business idea as much as possible. If you first create a very simple paper prototype of your
idea, that's fine. For the project, however, you should go one step further and develop it into a click dummy, for
example.
Please explain why you decided to do a certain experiment. Also consider what data you will collect (metrics) and
what decision criteria you will use later to judge whether the hypothesis has been confirmed or refuted. Describe
how you prepared the experiment.
3) Conduct the experiment in practice to test the hypothesis. If you have chosen a prototype as experiment, test
it with real users and systematically get their feedback (for example using a feedback grid). Report how the
experiment went. Be open and grateful also for honest negative feedback and suggestions for improvement;
positive feedback for your idea is not automatically better!
4) Learn and adapt your business model and (if applicable) your prototype: What insights did you gain from
testing? What do these mean for your hypothesis? How strong is the evidence you gained? For example, was the
hypothesis confirmed, are the results contradictory, or were new directions discovered? How would you proceed
to implement your business idea? Which decision will you make? Will you pursue the idea, adapt it, discard it, or
test it further? Also, describe the next iteration, such as the next stage of development of your prototype.

Literature:
Bland, D./Osterwalder A. (2019). Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation. Wiley.
Blank, S./Dorf. B. (2018). The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company. John
Wiley & Sons.
Knapp, J. (2016). Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days: How to Solve Big Problems
and Test New Ideas in Just 5 Days. Simon & Schuster.
Osterwalder, A./Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and
Challengers. Campus.
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically
Successful Businesses. Currency.

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1.3 Task 3: Given start-up idea

Background: Your friends have come up with a business idea for a start-up and asked you to be part of their team.
You enthusiastically agree. The core of their business idea is an app that helps people “without green fingers” to
care for their houseplants optimally and conveniently.
The problem: Many people appreciate houseplants, whether it's the cactus in the office, the house lines at home,
or herbs on the windowsill or balcony. However, proper care is important to enjoy the green splendour for a long
time. Many people today lack the knowledge, time or even interest to look more closely at what individual
houseplants need. A common problem, therefore, is that care tends to be trial and error or even neglected. Many
busy people do not have the leisure to take care of the proper care of plants in addition to their job, family and
free time and find it a burden to also have to think about regular watering.
The solution: The app "Your Green Thumb” enables users without in-depth knowledge of biology to treat their
plants properly on an individual basis, for example, to select a suitable location, water and fertilize them with the
right frequency and quantity. The first rough business model of the planned app can be seen below:

Fig. 1: Fictitious business idea "Your green thumb"; based on the business model canvas according to Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2011

Task: Now it's time to implement your business idea. To minimize the risks (e.g. that your business idea may not
be desirable from the customer's point of view, technically feasible or financially viable), you choose an iterative,
i.e. step-by-step approach: You make yourself aware of the many uncertain assumptions behind your business
model. Then you design suitable experiments (starting with customer interviews, a simple landing page,
prototypes and a minimum viable product) to test and validate key assumptions. The more you systematically
test those, the more confident you can be that they are true.
If you want to check whether users really have a need for your value proposition or product, then a prototype is
very helpful. You test the prototype implementation of your business idea with real users, observe how they use
the solution and get honest feedback. Now it's time to reflect honestly and learn. From this test, you draw key
insights, such as whether your assumptions were confirmed or should be discarded. You also deduce how you
should further develop your prototype and the business model. In real life, you would do many of these loops (=

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IU.ORG

iterations) to implement your business idea in a low-risk, customer-centric and fast way. For this project, it's
enough if you describe one iteration after testing.
So, regardless of whether you chose your own startup idea, an idea in an established company, or the fictional
idea, you'll go through the following steps with your project:
1) Make the hypothesis, on which your business model is based, transparent. A hypothesis in this context is an
assumption on which your business idea is based. It is important for you to find out whether this assumption is
actually true or not, in order to be sure whether your business idea could be successful (Bland & Osterwalder, p.
30). For each field of the business model canvas, formulate three to five hypotheses (e.g. assumptions about the
target group or a need addressed by your solution). The hypotheses should be as testable, precise and
independent as possible. An example of a hypothesis is, "We believe millennial generation workers prefer digital
job applications." Or: "We believe that mid-sized companies are willing to pay 1,000 euros for training that helps
them target high potentials in the field of artificial intelligence."
Next, prioritize your hypotheses; What are your three most critical assumptions behind your business idea and
why?
2) Even if the business idea sounds logical in theory, you don't know for sure whether there will actually be
interested customers or whether you can really make money with it. By experimenting, for example with a simple
prototype implementation of your idea, you can gradually reduce the many risks and uncertainties in your
business idea. Instead of jumping straight into app development, you can also simulate the core functionality of
your idea with a stack of Post-Its, make it tangible and thus check whether the effort of implementation is even
worth it.
To do this, select a central hypothesis that you want to test in the next step. It is best to choose one of the so-
called desirability hypotheses; these relate to customers, their needs and the value proposition and are important
for reducing market risk.
Now think about a suitable experiment to validate this hypothesis. This can be a prototype or another experiment.
Bland and Osterwalder (2020) describe a wide range of different experiments that bring different advantages and
disadvantages depending on the situation. Instead of the one that is easiest to implement, choose an experiment
that can move you forward particularly strongly, that is, provide the strongest possible evidence and reduce
uncertainties in your business idea as much as possible. If you first create a very simple paper prototype of your
idea, that's fine. For the project, however, you should go one step further and develop it into a click dummy, for
example.
Please explain why you decided to do a certain experiment. Also consider what data you will collect (metrics) and
what decision criteria you will use later to judge whether the hypothesis has been confirmed or refuted. Describe
how you prepared the experiment.
3) Conduct the experiment in practice to test the hypothesis. If you have chosen a prototype as experiment, test
it with real users and systematically get their feedback (for example using a feedback grid). Report how the
experiment went. Be open and grateful also for honest negative feedback and suggestions for improvement;
positive feedback for your idea is not automatically better!
4) Learn and adapt your business model and (if applicable) your prototype: What insights did you gain from
testing? What do these mean for your hypothesis? How strong is the evidence you gained? For example, was the
hypothesis confirmed, are the results contradictory, or were new directions discovered? How would you proceed
to implement your business idea? Which decision will you make? Will you pursue the idea, adapt it, discard it, or
test it further? Also, describe the next iteration, such as the next stage of development of your prototype.

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Literature:
Bland, D./Osterwalder A. (2019). Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation. Wiley.
Blank, S./Dorf. B. (2018). The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company. John
Wiley & Sons Verlag.
Knapp, J. (2016). Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days: How to Solve Big Problems
and Test New Ideas in Just 5 Days. Simon & Schuster.
Osterwalder, A./Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and
Challengers. Campus.
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically
Successful Businesses. Currency.

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2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT REPORT

When conceptualizing and writing the project report, the evaluation criteria and explanations given in the writing
guidelines should be considered.
Transfer: Describe the approaches and models you used to develop your solution and justify your choice in each
case. You may have concretized or modified certain steps. You should also describe and justify this.
Documentation: Make sure, for example, that the history of the result is complete and understandable.
Resources: Acquire all necessary resources such as data, applications, technical equipment, software, tools, etc.
Make sure that you use the available time and materials efficiently.
Process: Document your approach in detail and reflect on it continuously, at the latest in the final chapter. Also
point out the limits of your approach.
Creativity: Does a comparable product already exist? What is the innovative power of the solution?
Quality: Does the result really solve the problem described above?

3. TUTORIAL SUPPORT
In this written assignment task, several support channels are open; as the student, it is your responsibility to select
your preferred support channel. The tutor is available for technical consultations and for formal and general
questions regarding the procedure for processing the research essay. However, the tutor is not required to
approve outlines or parts of texts and drafts. Independent preparation is part of the examination work and is
included in the overall evaluation. However, general editing tips and instructions are given in order to help you
get started with the written assignment.

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