While there is no substitute for face-to-face discussions with large printed worksheets and colored sticky-notes, the pandemic had actually taught us the value and benefits of working online: you can collaborate remotely, save your work and update it over time, and easily share it with stakeholders.

In this post, we present three different options for working digitally with the Market Opportunity Navigator, discuss the upsides and downsides of each possibility, and provide the basic guidelines for each.

 

1.The Market Opportunity Navigator Web-App

We are extremely proud of our newly revamped web-applications: a free tool dedicated to running Where to Play projects online.

Main Pros

  • The app is completely free, all you need to do is sign-up
  • You can create and run unlimited number of projects, which will be automatically saved on your account
  • Its collaborative: you can share a project with other team members and grant them the right to edit or view, add comments to easily communicate, and even work with your peers simultaneously
  • The process is automated: once you fill out the worksheets, your market opportunities will be automatically located on the Navigator’s main board
  • You can add notes when evaluating your market opportunities, to track your evidence and data sources ongoingly.

Main Cons

  • Basic onboarding is required. Take a moment to fully understand the functions and features of the app: look at the tutorial videos, the provided example, and the Q& A section if necessary
  • You will get the best experience by working on Chrome (for now), especially if you wish to download the project and save a PDF copy on your computer

How

To sign up, simply go to: https://app.wheretoplay.co/.

The tutorial video can be found here.

 

2. A collaborative platform, such as MIRO or MURAL

In these highly collaborative platforms, you can open a dedicated board, upload the Navigator and its worksheets, and start working. I usually use Miro, as it provides a free account for educators, but other platforms will work just as well.

Main Pros

  • The platform provides a great collaboration experience and any work you do on the board is immediately visible to everyone
  • Once you create a board, you can invite unlimited users to join the project without them having to sign-up
  • You can easily save an image of your work on your local desktop 

Main Cons

  • To enjoy the benefits of these platform, you will need a paid account
  • Basic onboarding is required, for creating the project and for peers you share your project with
  • A set up is required each time you wish to create a new Market Opportunity Navigator board

How

To save you time, we created a template board on Miro. Here is what you need to do if you wish to save the template on your own dashboard:
1) Open an account on Miro
2) Open the template board at: https://lnkd.in/ev2ciuu
3) Duplicate it to make it yours

That’s it! Now you can edit the board if you wish, work with your peers, print or download the work. It’s yours!

 

3. A Power Point template

If you are working with non-technical teams, or want to avoid the on-boarding effort, a simple Power Point template will do the job.

Main Pros

  • It’s simple: there is no learning curve and no need to spend time on sign-ups
  • Data is saved on your own computer – if you are extremely paranoid about data security

Main Cons

  • It’s very basic- with no unique features or functions
  • It’s not collaborative

How

Yes… we created a template for you 😊

If you wish to work on a PPT template, simply click here to download the slides.

 

So which one should you choose?

In my day by day work I use all three options, depending on the context and the situation. Before you make your decision, think about the size of your group, whether it’s a quick exercise or an ongoing project, and your overall time frame.

Good luck with your Where to Play projects!