Discovery Projects

Discover new ways of thinking about customers and leadership, and gain a deeper understanding about how you think and present. Learn Yale’s proprietary Insights Discovery Process, which builds on the latest theories in behavioral science. There’s also a healthy dose of self-discovery as faculty push you to challenge the intellectual rigor of your thinking.

Rigorous critical thinking skills and the ability to translate learnings from data into strategic recommendations are valued in leaders across industries and sectors. Whether you’re going into consulting, strategy, design or marketing, you will benefit from learning how to more effectively and succinctly present your ideas in team meetings, oral presentations, and written PowerPoint slides.

Methods and Theories Frequently Used:

• Behavioral Economics / Behavioral Science
• Beliefs-Goals-Choices  Framework
• Nudges
• Habits
• 4 P’s Framework
• Decision Making / Decision Science
• Yale Insights Discovery Process
• Design Thinking / Innovation Through Customer Empathy
• Big Data Analytics
• Concept Testing
• Survey Creation & Experimentation
• In-Depth Behavioral Interviews
• Ethnography
• Social Media Scraping

Click here to learn more about experiential learning through Discovery Projects.

These are highly selective projects that are very time intensive and require a great deal of flexibility with scheduling.  You will earn six (6) credits upon successful completion of this course.  

Student Responsibilities:

• Attend mandatory Discovery Project kickoff meetings, midterm and final presentations, and weekly meetings with faculty advisors/student team throughout the semester (dates/times TBD by team).
• Attend five mandatory lectures and other project events most Wednesday evenings throughout the semester.
• Plan to spend approximately 12-14 hours per week on this course, and potentially 16+ hours during midterm and final presentation prep. 
• Conduct interviews among consumers, generate insights, test insights, and provide recommendations to affiliate companies. 

Deliverables:

• Final team presentation to the affiliate with midterm check-in.
• 7-10 page white paper summarizing findings.

Advisors:

Ravi Dhar, George Rogers Clark Professor of Management & Marketing, Yale SOM;  Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology, Yale University; Director, YCCI

Nathan Novemsky, Professor of Marketing, Yale SOM; Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology, Yale University

Treeny Ahmed, Executive Director, YCCI; Lecturer in the Practice of Management, Yale SOM