Assessment Type 2: Business Model (30%)

Students complete one business model.

Students develop their business model within one context:

• designing business
• sustaining business
• transforming business. 

They demonstrate their learning across all four learning strands.

The business model has two parts:

• business model development
• business model evaluation.

Students may work individually or collaboratively to develop a viable business model and individually evaluate the business model and their contribution to its development.

Students may choose to develop their business model based on a customer problem or need identified through their learning or in Assessment Type 1: Business Skills. Alternatively, students may identify and explore a new customer problem or need to develop the business model. The business model is conceptual and there is no requirement for students to create the product or service identified.

Business model development

A business model is an explanation of how a business will deliver value to its customers at an appropriate price. It identifies the customer, the customer needs or problems, and the proposed solutions. It examines the cost structure and identifies sustainable revenue streams. There are several key elements of a business model:

• Customer segments and value proposition: Who are the customers? What is the need being addressed and the value delivered?
• Customer and stakeholder engagement and retention: What physical and digital strategies does the business use to build and maintain relationships with customers and stakeholders?
• Distribution channels: How does the product or service reach the customer?
• Revenue streams: How does the business earn money from delivering the value proposition?
• Key stakeholders: Who are the most important partners that can provide resources and perform key activities? 
• Key resources: What resources are needed to create and deliver the value proposition?
• Key activities: What are the core activities performed to create and deliver the value proposition?

Students may work individually or collaboratively to develop a business model that represents core aspects of a new or existing business. The development of the business model is an iterative process. Students generate and use a range of qualitative and quantitative information to inform the decision to pivot or sustain aspects of the business development strategy. Students gather this information through engagement with customers and other key stakeholders.

During the development of the business model, students maintain an individual portfolio of evidence of decision-making, collaboration with peers and stakeholders, and their individual contribution to the development of the business model. The portfolio includes evidence of: 

• application of decision-making and project management tools and strategies
• the iterative development of the business model
• collaboration
• the creation of business intelligence and its application in the development of the business model.

This portfolio is not directly assessed but should be used to inform the evaluation of the individual business model .

Business model evaluation

Each student presents an individual evaluation of the business model. This evaluation should incorporate evidence of the development of the business model, such as photographs, movie clips, and reflective podcasts, and provide commentary on:

• the effectiveness of the decision-making and project management tools and strategies used to develop the business model
• risks and opportunities, including those posed by digital technologies, and recommendations to improve the business model 
• the student’s individual contribution to the development of the business model
• the creation of business intelligence
• how the student applied business intelligence to inform the development of the business model through each pivot or iteration.

The business model evaluation may be presented in written, oral, or multimodal form. It should be to a maximum of 2000 words if written, 12 minutes if oral, or the equivalent if multimodal.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• contextual application
• analysis and evaluation.