L56: Service Blueprint Group Project

Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to MGA-301. Today, Lecture 56, is the Service Blueprint Group Project session — the first half of our field project presentations. [0–10 minutes: Introduction] This is the session you have been working towards all semester. Your field project is the culmination of everything you have learned in MGA-301. It is your demonstration that you can take the theoretical frameworks from this course and apply them to a real service business challenge with the rigour, insight, and practicality of a professional service marketing analyst. I want to set the tone for today's presentations. These are not classroom exercises — they are professional presentations. I will be evaluating them with the same standards I would use if you were presenting to a client or to a senior management team. That means: clear structure, rigorous framework application, honest diagnosis, and specific, actionable recommendations. I also expect you to be excellent audience members for each other — respectful, attentive, and prepared to ask thoughtful questions. Today we will hear from the first half of the groups — approximately four to five presentations depending on class size. The remaining groups will present in Lecture 57. [10–40 minutes: Group Presentations] Each group has ten minutes to present, followed by five minutes of questions and feedback. The presentation should cover: the service business profile, the key frameworks applied (including the service blueprint), the top three issues diagnosed, and the specific recommendations. [Run presentations. After each presentation, the lecturer provides structured feedback covering the following.] Feedback framework for each presentation. Assessment 1: Quality of the service blueprint. Is the blueprint complete — all eight elements present? Are the fail points accurately identified? Is the blueprint based on actual observation rather than assumption? Assessment 2: Rigour of the framework application. Are frameworks applied correctly? Are they genuinely relevant to the issues identified, or are frameworks being applied because they need to be rather than because they illuminate the problem? Assessment 3: Quality of the diagnosis. Is the diagnosis specific and evidence-based? Does it identify root causes rather than symptoms? Does it use the appropriate diagnostic framework (Gaps Model for quality issues, positioning framework for competitive issues, demand-capacity framework for operational issues)? Assessment 4: Quality and feasibility of recommendations. Are the recommendations specific enough to be implemented? Are they realistic for the scale and resources of the business? Is there a clear implementation plan? Are the recommendations grounded in the diagnosis? Assessment 5: Presentation quality. Is the presentation clear, structured, and professional? Are the visuals effective? Does the group demonstrate mastery of the material in their presentation manner? [40–55 minutes: Cross-cutting Discussion] After the presentations, facilitate a brief class discussion on cross-cutting themes across the businesses presented. What common themes emerged across the businesses presented today? [Take responses from class.] Common themes typically include: service quality gaps in the reliability and empathy dimensions; insufficient CRM capability; poor demand management in seasonal businesses; inadequate service blueprint thinking — processes not designed systematically; and weak competitive positioning. What was the most surprising finding across all the businesses? [Take responses.] What was the recommendation you found most creative, insightful, or impactful? [Take responses. Celebrate excellent analytical work from students.] [55–60 minutes: Summary and Assignment] Excellent presentations today. The depth of analysis you have produced is a genuine demonstration of learning. Some of you have done work that would compare well with what you would see from a first-year MBA student — I say that sincerely. For groups presenting in Lecture 57 — learn from what you saw today. Specifically: make sure your blueprint is complete and observation-based; make sure your recommendations are specific enough to be implementable; and make sure you can defend your diagnosis under questioning from the class. For groups who presented today — your written reports are due one week from the final presentation session. Incorporate the feedback you received today into your written analysis. The written report must go beyond the presentation — it should include the full framework analysis, not just the highlights. Next lecture — Lecture 57 — we complete the field project presentations. See you then. Thank you.