Practice Module for Digital Product Strategy and Inception

Objectives

The objective of the practice module is twofold:

1. Firstly, to expose participants to real world problems so that they may practice the use of the knowledge and skills they have learned during the component courses in a coherent manner.
2. Secondly, to enable participants to demonstrate their proficiency across all of the skills and practical knowledge that they have learned in the courses.

Intended Audience

Prerequisites

Participants must have successfully completed all three component courses before undertaking the Practice Module:

• Service Design (SID)
• Digital Product Strategy (DPS)
• Managing Digital Products (MDP)

Components

The Practice Module has two parts: a team-based practice project and individual assessments.

Part 1: Practice Project

Participants work in teams of 3–4 to conceive, design, and develop a digital product or service strategy for a real-world problem or opportunity. The project must demonstrate the skills taught across all three modular courses — Service Design, Managing Digital Products, and Digital Product Strategy — spanning user research and service design, product management practice, and product strategy including vision, business model, and go-to-market thinking.

Each team member is expected to contribute approximately 10 days of effort. These days are not contiguous and stretch over several weeks.

Teams may work on a problem from within their own organisation, draw on an external context, or define their own product or service challenge. NUS-ISS will provide guidance on project suitability before work commences. Teams must receive approval before starting project work.

Project milestones

1. Project Proposal — Teams identify a problem or market opportunity, gather initial evidence of user need, and draft interview questions. The proposal is submitted and presented to faculty for approval.
2. Research and Problem Definition — Teams conduct user interviews, synthesise findings into insights, personas, and user journeys, and define the specific problem they will address.
3. Solution Design and Strategy — Teams develop a solution concept, validate the value proposition through agile iterations, define the business model and go-to-market approach, and identify cost factors, risks, and investment considerations.
4. Mid-point Review — Teams present progress to faculty for feedback.
5. Final Presentation — Teams present the complete project to a panel of faculty. Each team has 20 minutes. All team members are expected to present. The contribution of each team member must be explicitly stated. A copy of presentation materials must be submitted to NUS-ISS.
6. Final Report — Teams submit a comprehensive written report covering the full project — problem framing, research methodology and findings, solution design, strategy, and outcomes — with detailed justification of approaches taken and honest assessment of what was validated and what remains uncertain.

Note: NUS-ISS reserves the right to change the requirements of the practice project as deemed appropriate and necessary.

Part 2: Individual Assessments

Individual Test

Each participant sits an in-person written test on a stipulated date and time. The test presents a product case study and asks participants to apply concepts from Service Design, Managing Digital Products, and Digital Product Strategy in short-essay format.

Individual Submission

Each participant submits an individual written essay of approximately 1,000 words covering: original thinking on how to improve the team's project outcomes; personal contribution to the project and how the participant drew on learning from the three courses; and application of those concepts to their own organisation and its impact.

Overall Grade

Participants must attain a minimum overall score of 50% to pass the Practice Module. A minimum score of 60% is required to stack toward the NUS-ISS Master of Science in Enterprise Digital Technology Management. Entry into the MSc programme is not assured by attaining this score and remains at the discretion of NUS-ISS.

Note: NUS-ISS reserves the right to change the requirements of the Practice Module as deemed appropriate and necessary.

Application (For Stackable Students)

• Learners are only allowed to take the practice module after completing all courses in the Grad Cert.
• Learners who miss the application window will have to apply for the practice module in the next semester (depending on available schedule of run).
• Learners must attend the compulsory briefing in order to join a project group.