9A - Testing the Hypothesis - Part Two
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Who: Throughout my interviews, I noticed that
there are some people who should have the need I’ve identified, but don’t. I
didn’t necessarily interview people too far outside the zone of this need.
o
I interviewed two people from the Landscape
Architecture department of our school. While landscape architecture isn’t
exactly what the business would be targeting, the brand could definitely be
changed/updated to supply solar panels to business buildings or other pieces
instead of just homes. Both the interviewees agreed that they’ve seen some use
of solar panels in some designs, but not many because they are quite costly.
One of them said that she had seen them used mainly on pieces of architecture
that are meant to be environmentally friendly.
o
The next person I interviewed was from the
Interior Design department of our school. Mainly a style-based person, my
interviewee said she has not really been focused on the environment whilst
inside of a home or other interior space, unless it was strictly being used for
plants or other outside sources. While she really liked the idea, she did admit
that she didn’t consider it a need that she was very focused on.
o
My fourth interview was over the phone to an
architecture studio in Miami. I asked if they had ever heard of any studio down
south that promotes sustainable living by using solar panels. The guy that I
spoke to said he has heard of solar panels being sold by manufacturers and
installed straight to homes, but not panels being sold from architecture
studios as a focus of the business. He did mention that Miami is a promising
place for the business idea because there is a wide variety of wealthy people
there who want to look like they’re being sustainable. However, he did not have
a need for them at his studio.
o
My last interview was with an environmentally
friendly person who is in the agriculture department here. She said that she
really liked the idea and that she could see a definite need for people like
her.
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What: The environmentally friendly person I
interviewed brought up a good point and wondered if the steps to be sustainable
with solar panels would be enough? Of course it would help, but would the cost
outweigh the benefit of just simply recycling or going to the beach to pick up
trash?
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Why: I feel that the underlying need of the
outsiders is definitely different than the people inside of the boundary. For
example, the interior designer that I interviewed simply had no reason except
that it “wasn’t her style” and she wouldn’t do it because of that. On the other
hand, the landscape architects fell inside of the need, because they felt that
it would be something practical in designs.
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Inside the Boundary
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Outside the Boundary
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Who:
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Both of the landscape architects that I talked to
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The Architecture Studio in Miami
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The environmentally friendly/sustainable woman in the
Agriculture department
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The interior designer who didn’t want to use solar panels
in her design
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What:
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Help make the community more sustainable
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Help everyone afford the change to solar panels to produce
more sustainability
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Make others see how cool solar panels are and realize that
they would want them too
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Why:
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People want to make the change to go green
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People want to brag about their wealth with no other
intentions to be sustainable
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To use solar panels as a “fashion” statement on their
homes
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Hi Madison,
ReplyDeleteI find your opportunity to be really interesting in terms of using solar panels. It is a great idea that you are trying to see if the benefits outweigh the cost. I wonder why people would use it as a "fashion" statement though. In my opinion, it is more used to conserve the natural resources that we have on Earth. I guess that it opened the door to more potential ideas that we did not see before.
Hi Madison,I'm very interested in your research. When you hear about their use of solar panels in your survey, the result is predictable. Most people don't pay too much attention to this resource, even though it can be used to protect the environment. It is only in the first place that people consider the huge investment required for mass production. I think that's what every company thinks about first. And of course there are people you've interviewed who are very supportive of solar panels. I think that's a good start.
ReplyDeleteHi Madison,
ReplyDeleteI think that your opportunity is very interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing more on this. It was smart of you to interview people from the Landscape Architecture department of our school. I don't think that these would be the people many people would first think to interview when discussing this opportunity, but it provided useful information towards your hypothesis.
You interviewed all the right people. You didn't just focus on consumers, but also experts in the established field. I think thats a strength many of us failed to implement. Your approach to why was also pretty holistic, not all buyers of solar panels do it because of environmental reasons, especially in a city with Miami with flamboyant wealth, the motives might go beyond. I think your focus emphasized experts over consumers, that may be a weakness. Consider doing some large n surveying to truly understand this problem from a consumers perspective.
ReplyDelete