Can you tell me about your project in one minute or less?
Having a concise description will help you at all stages of the project.
- It clarifies what the project is about.
- It is a reference for making sure you do not go off track.
- You will know how to describe your accomplishment.
The elevator pitch answers four questions:
- What is the problem being solved?
- How are you solving it?
- What does it look like when you are finished?
- What is the theme?
Build your summary by answering the questions in reverse order.
What is theme of your project? Automation, improved customer service? A theme is not a thesis. Automation is a theme; Creating an interface with the bank is a solution. Improved customer service instead of creating a shopping cart for the web site. It’s the strategic objective of the project.
Work out what the result will look like, e.g. Bank transactions are imported with a single click. The customer can take a shopping cart to the checkout.
Tell how you are going to get there: Create an interface with the bank. Allow the customer to select multiple items and pay for them at the end.
And describe the problem you are trying to solve, for example: Bank statements need to be entered in by hand. The customer needs to select and pay for each item separately.
As you prepare, check that you are true to your theme.
Now when you put it together, you have a story: A challenge, the journey, the happy ending and a moral. “We are spending a lot of time entering bank statements into our system. We are going to setup an interface with the bank and our users will be able to import the transactions with a single click. This aligns with our strategy to automate our SG&A tasks.”
or,
- Manual entry of bank transactions.
- Setup interface with bank.
- Give user one click import.
- Part of Automation strategy.
You are now ready to pitch, describe and celebrate your project whenever needed.
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