Assignment 7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Assignment 7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1. Opportunity: I believe there is an opportunity to solve the issue of a lack of seating in University lecture halls across the country. 

2.The who: Students attending lectures in crowded lecture halls. 

   The what: Students are unable to find available seats in lecture halls.

   The why: The challenge in finding seating arises because more students are signed up for the lecture than           there are seats in the lecture hall.

3. Testing the who: University students are not the only people who have the need for available seating. Individuals waiting in very long lines for a concert or amusement park ride, for example, require seating where it is not available. I believe that everyone in my current “who” shares this need.

Testing the what: The boundary of the need is that seating is not always an issue in certain courses. In non-core courses where the class size is limited to the amount of seating available in the lecture hall the problem does not exist. Additionally, some students may not mind sitting on the floor during lectures and some may never sign up for a course where finding available seating is a problem. 

Testing the why: The “why” I have identified does not hold true for everyone. Some students have courses that only accept as many students as the lecture hall can fit and as a result will it have this problem. While some students will see the need rooted in the structure of a course, others will blame the large number of students who attend lectures or the university for choosing a lecture hall that could not accommodate the number of students enrolled. 

4. Attached below are the results from my interviews as well as a summary of my findings.

Interviewee 1:

1. Do you ever have a problem finding seating in lecture halls? Yes 

2. Have you ever had to sit on the floor because seating was not available? Yes, and it was really uncomfortable. 

3. What percentage of University students do you think experience this? 30-40%

4. Do you ever find the need for available seating outside of lecture halls? Yes

5. How often do you experience the need for seating? Once every two weeks.

6. How often do you observe the need for available seating? Very often both inside and outside of the classroom.

8. Why do you think there is a problem with available seating in lecture halls? It is a problem because they don’t have enough seats available, but if a student really wanted a seat they could arrive early. Lecture halls are small for a reason. 

9. Would you be interested in a product or service that provides a solution to the problem of a lack of available seating? Yes 

Interviewee 2:

1. Do you ever have a problem finding seating in lecture halls? Yes, this happens sometimes.

2. Have you ever had to sit on the floor because seating was not available? Yes, most often in finance and marketing.

3. What percentage of University students do you think experience this? 35%

4. Do you ever find the need for available seating outside of lecture halls? Yes, but it doesn’t happen too often.

5. How often do you experience the need for seating? Sometimes 

6. How often do you observe the need for available seating? Sometimes 

8. Why do you think there is a problem with available seating in lecture halls? *Interviewee did not provide an answer 

9. Would you be interested in a product or service that provides a solution to the problem of a lack of available seating? Yes 

Interviewee 3:

1. Do you ever have a problem finding seating in lecture halls? Yes, even when I arrive to class on time.

2. Have you ever had to sit on the floor because seating was not available? Yes, this happens twice a week.

3. What percentage of University students do you think experience this?  20%

4. Do you ever find the need for available seating outside of lecture halls? Yes, it would be nice to have a seat when I read outside.  

5. How often do you experience the need for seating? Frequently in class and infrequently outside of class. 

6. How often do you observe the need for available seating?  Frequently in the finance and marketing courses.

8. Why do you think there is a problem with available seating in lecture halls? The interviewee was uncertain 

9. Would you be interested in a product or service that provides a solution to the problem of a lack of available seating? Of course

Interviewee 4:

1. Do you ever have a problem finding seating in lecture halls? Yes, during two classes a week where there are not enough seats.

2. Have you ever had to sit on the floor because seating was not available? No, but I have had to leave class to grab a chair from the hallway because there where no available seats. It made me miss some of the class.

3. What percentage of University students do you think experience this? 10%

4. Do you ever find the need for available seating outside of lecture halls? Yes, in the library.

5. How often do you experience the need for seating? Everyday in the library where it takes me 30 minuets to find a seat.

6. How often do you observe the need for available seating? Daily 

8. Why do you think there is a problem with available seating in lecture halls? Understaffing by the university

9. Would you be interested in a product or service that provides a solution to the problem of a lack of available seating? Yes 

Interviewee 5:

1. Do you ever have a problem finding seating in lecture halls?  Yes, it is always a problem in one class per semester. This is a problem 2-3 times per week.

2. Have you ever had to sit on the floor because seating was not available? No

3. What percentage of University students do you think experience this? 5%

4. Do you ever find the need for available seating outside of lecture halls? Yes, while waiting in line for advising and while at the DMV.

5. How often do you experience the need for seating? Outside of class a couple of times a week, and in the library when seating isn’t available. This happens a few times a week.

6. How often do you observe the need for available seating? Every week 

8. Why do you think there is a problem with available seating in lecture halls? The school underestimates the number of motivated students who will attend lecture. It is a barrier to class attendance because students will sometimes leave or stop attending class if there is no seating available.

9. Would you be interested in a product or service that provides a solution to the problem of a lack of available seating? Yes 

Summary of findings:

One thing I found particularly interesting after looking at the results of my interviews is where people need seating outside of class. Two of my interviewees listed the library. I would have never thought that finding a seat in the library would be a problem. Thinking back, I remember someone listing this as an annoyance on their bug list. I also found one of the interviewees’ answers as to why the problem exists interesting. They said the reason was understaffing. I would not have thought about that myself. Additionally, every person I interviewed has had difficultly finding a seat in a lecture hall in the past and would be interested in a product or service that solves this problem. 

5. What do I know about the opportunity that I didn’t know before?

What I know about my opportunity that I didn’t know before are the places people desired available seating. Places such as the library, DMV, and advising office surprised me. Interviewees also estimated the percentage of university students who experience the problem to be low at about a 21% average. I was expecting them to provide a higher estimate. Additionally, I was surprised to learn that two out of the five people I interviewed have not had to sit in the floor of a lecture hall. I expected every student to have experienced this. After investigating my opportunity, I do believe that it still exists and that I can provide a solution to the problem being faced.