During this stage we planned and performed our research plan about "porch piracy" in the US, which included desk research done by my teammates and an online survey that I designed and publish using Qualtrics. 

With the information collected we identify three elements:

• Target user

• User needs

• Value proposition 

We established the target user based on the results of the research, taking into consideration:

• Likeliness of being a victim of porch piracy

• Security or surveillance systems that already exist or are readily available 

• Demographics 

• Room to innovate with solutions that are different from the solutions that already exist

The survey results highlighted three important issues that users have with current solutions.  We translated those issues into the needs that our products would address. 

To easily communicate the benefits that our product will provide to the target user and to differentiate us from the competition, we developed the follow value proposition. 

As part of the analysis, we also evaluated some of the products that already exist in the market.  This research helped us to understand what needs are being met as well as the issues that are still existing with the current solutions, issues that we should consider during the ideation process. 

The functional decomposition process is used to identified all the possible solutions by combining all the functions that an existing product should perform.

For this case, since we were creating a new product instead of combining the functions that a product should perform, we identified the tasks that the product should accomplish, and then identified the combination of possible solutions that we could incorporate into the concepts.   

Taking into consideration the elements identified within the functional decomposition, as a team we held brainstorming sessions that allowed us to come up with unique ideas that could solve the porch piracy issue.  

Then, by using the divergent-thinking process we selected the most promising ideas for further development:

1. Hidden door panel 

2. Magnetic mat

3. Porch furniture

4. Retractable net 

To better explain the concepts that we have selected, I designed concept boards for each of the concepts which explained in great detail the benefits of the products and their characteristics.  For the design of the concepts I used my drawing skills to do simple sketches, which I modified using Photoshop. 

Note:  As a team, we decided to eliminate the "Door panel" concept due to some limitations such as cost, design, and adaptability to hold different package sizes. 

To guarantee that each of the concepts was explained in the same depth and context, I designed a storyboard for each one, which represented the use of the products on a regular basis.   To keep it simple, each storyboard only contained between 6 to 8 frames.   

To evaluate the different concepts developed, we designed a Pugh Matrix, which is a method that allowed us to evaluate individually each of the features of the concepts and determine which one perform better based on the overall results.  

For the evaluation we conducted seven in-person interviews, following these steps:

• Explanation of the project

• Show the concept board and the storyboard of the each concept

• Explain how to fill up the Pugh Matrix

To reduce the bias during the evaluation process, we randomly showed the concept boards and we also changed the order of the concepts on the Pugh Matrix.  

Based on the feedback received, we identified the most relevant insights that could allow us to improve the product concepts and meet the user needs.

After completing the evaluation process, we decided which concept we should select for further development. In doing so we took into consideration the following information:

• Results of the Pugh Matrix

• Insights

• Competitors in the market

• Opportunity for improvement 

• Uniqueness of the concept 

As a team we decided that the Concept #3 Retractable was the most promising idea that could fulfill the user needs. 

We performed a second iteration of the concept, incorporating additional features:

• New installation method

• Locking method

• Size of the product

• Customization (finishing that matches facade)

To continue doing testing, we built a mid-fi prototype using material readily available in the warehouse stores and the "Makerspace", a rapid prototype facility at UW-Madison.

To build the prototype, we designed the casing using Adobe Illustrator, and cut out the pieces from HDF wood 1/4" using a laser cutter.  To mimic the retractable net we used two window shade that operate with the same mechanism that we expect to incorporate in a high-fi prototype. 

We also made a short video that demonstrates the real size of the product, how it will look like on the porch, and how to use it. 

To estimate the cost we identified all the materials necessary to build the product and their costs.  As a general rule of thumb, the prototype raw materials costs are 10x the production material costs, therefore the cost of production of the product would be the cost of parts used divided by ten. 

• Target user:  Amazon's customers

• One-time purchase

• Amazon Prime members will have a 10% discount 

• Selling Price: $50.00