Brief Proposal

APANPS5800 - STORYTELLING WITH DATA Unit 1 Assignment 2: Brief Proposal: FINAL

This proposal is directed to, the SVP of Strategy (my new boss), the CTO, the new Director of Product, and the SVP of Finance and Operations. Others within the organization may read and review, but these 4 are the primary audience. is the independent music distribution arm of . I started at as the

. I have spent 1 week commencing with the onboarding process. I have updated this brief proposal with additional thoughts since being onboard.

Research Proposal Brief

Executive Summary

is faced with a unique opportunity. The new , is also a master’s candidate in the Columbia Applied Analytics program. As part of that

coursework, a comprehensive Research Proposal will be submitted.The purpose of this brief is to clearly identify the value of executing this required Research Proposal for , ensure privacy compliance related to proprietary data sources used in the Research Proposal, and seek formal approval for this initiative.

Opportunity

The topic selection for the Columbia Research Proposal will be focused on a real-world business question. During the interview process for the new , the following Management Dilemma1 was identified:

Which data feature(s) can be added or enhanced to the Workspace product to incent labels/musicians to choose for distribution?

Along with identifying an empirical means to approach this mission critical business question, an asset with a value of between $5-20K, the process of creating a research proposal has the added value of ensuring a comprehensive onboarding experience for the new .

1 Management Dilemma is the top most element in the management-research question hierarchy process of sequential question formulation. The Management Dilemma is defined as the problem or opportunity that requires a business decision. See figure 1 for further details.

The process of performing the Exploration2 stage of the management-research hierarchy (see figure 1.), will expose the new VP various internal information, data, and points-of-view integral to on-boarding.

Rationale

The Exploration process within the management-research hierarchy includes key activities to the on-boarding process. Exploration can take any of the following formats:

● Information Architecture review of the Workspace application ● Existing and potential data source audit ● Informal interviews with stakeholders and experts ● Brainstorming sessions ● Reviewing existing research studies ● Application use observation sessions ● Competitive research

The second phase of exploratory research could include the above and ● Focus groups ● Usability studies ● Surveys

All process and procedures for information security compliance will be followed throughout the Research Proposal process. This will ensure that the privacy of proprietary information will at the pinnacle of importance. Should a non-disclosure agreement or any other type of legal paperwork be required, these will be actualized.

The collection and analysis of these various data sources is both strategic for and aligned perfectly with the on-boarding experience. Helping to empirically determine the essential next step for product development at is a clear need and demand .

Cost/Benefit Analysis

The only cost incurred by is one that has already been agreed to - the time to thoroughly on-board the new . The benefit however, is two-fold.

1. By mid-August, will receive a Research Proposal with the market value of between $5,000 and $20,000. The variance is due to the fact that the fee for most Research Proposals is built into the cost of the full research project. Research projects can cost anywhere between $30,000 to over $200,000 and beyond. The professional leadership and talent at Columbia is outstanding, making the end result of the highest quality.

2. Upon receipt of the Research Proposal, will be in the position to commence with a comprehensive research study. All the details of the study including the variables

2 Exploration is the iterative practice of information gathering within the management-research question hierarchy. See figure 1 for further details.

and measures will be identified, making for a very straight-forward execution process. In addition to the Research Proposal identified in this brief, another requirement for the Master’s of Applied Analytics program is something called a Capstone Project. This is where six final semester master’s candidates form a group to solve a real-world business problem. The research project recommended in this research proposal could be executed from within a Capstone Project, again, at no cost to .

Assessment

Weekly status reports on the progress of the Research Proposal will be delivered to the SVP of Strategy and the Director of Product. Any and all information gathered during the Research Proposal process will be clearly recorded, documented and indexed for future use. A top-quality Research Proposal considering the Management Dilemma identified above will be delivered by mid-August, 2018.

Conclusion

The value of participating in the free Research Proposal process with the Columbia University Applied Analytics program is clear and considerable. The next step in moving forward with this proposal is a meeting to discuss any additional caveats not covered in this brief. Please provide available time-slots for this meeting and it will be scheduled within the next week.

FIGURE 1. Management-Research Question Hierarchy

Appendix A

APANPS5800 - STORYTELLING WITH DATA

Unit 1 Assignment 1: Memo

This memo is to my boss, the SVP of Strategy at . is the independent music distribution arm of . I start at on Monday, 11-June,

Let’s take the fullest advantage of our investment into my Columbia master’s program. My final deliverable this semester is an Analytics Research Proposal which we can focus on a business need of . In the interview process, both you and [the CEO] identified a classic research opportunity: which data feature can we add or enhance to incent labels/musicians to choose for distribution?

Focusing on this relevant, research worthy question will have the following benefits: ● Provide an asset of value to . Normally research proposals are billed

between $5-$20K. ● Expedite my onboarding experience. The process of gathering data for this research

proposal will requires a depth of focus integral to the onboarding process.

No data or proprietary information will be shared during the research proposal process. And by August, you will have a qualified research proposal, which is the framework to answer this challenging but critical business question.

Please confirm your approval in response to this email.