Pitfalls to Writing an Effective Business Capstone Project

A capstone project, also known as a capstone thesis, is a culmination of a project and the final presentation. If you have a research, thesis, or dissertation project, the capstone project is the culmination of all of that work.

For those of you who don’t know, a capstone project is a senior project that you undertake in your final year of university. A capstone is a project you’ve been involved in all your life. It is the culmination of your experiences up until this point.

Capstones are projects that are often the most interesting and also use the skills you’ve learned during your course; for example, they could be your final year of industrial design. The difference between a capstone project and a regular senior project is that the skills you’ve learned throughout the year and the course are applied to a project and contributed in some way.

What is a Business Capstone Project?

A business capstone project is usually done as a requirement in undergraduate programs. It is meant to give the students a unique, real-world experience. It is usually a project-based course. In the end, it is a class in itself. Students will work in teams and create their own business or business model that will be then turned in to their professors or a business school. This is done so that the student can learn about the real world.

While writing a capstone project is no easy job. When creating a business project, you want to avoid the following problems.

Simplistic Research

The business capstone’s capacity to think strategically and use investigative and specialised knowledge are two words used to characterise it. These words allude to the project’s intricacy. For instance, it is not a good idea to create a project that just summarises what occurred at a certain business. For instance, although discussing how Qantas survived the GFC may be fascinating, this alone is insufficient for the business capstone project.

Occasionally, projects are oversimplified because the student attempts to take the ‘bare minimum approach.’ The student may attempt to accomplish just what is necessary to pass. That mindset is incompatible with how a business capstone project should be approached. The business capstone project is more about putting in the most amount of work possible than it is about putting in the least amount of effort feasible.

Lack of Application of Theory to Practice

Because you have advanced through business courses, it is anticipated that you will bring a great deal of theoretical knowledge to the business capstone. You should be able to apply your theoretical knowledge to practical problems by completing the business capstone. Without this, the criteria for the business capstone are not met.

Inadequate application of ideas occurs at two extremes. At one extreme, the idea is entirely theoretical with no applicability. On the other hand, the description of experience without using theory to examine that practice is extreme. Steer clear of both extremes.

Shallow Analysis

As previously said, analysis is dissecting a problem into its constituent pieces to comprehend it. As a result, a superficial analysis does not go deeply enough into the subject. For instance, many variables influence financial success. If you only analyse the income statement, your analysis may be insufficient.

It is important to distinguish between critical and descriptive analysis. Critical analysis is needed for the Business Capstone.

Poor Recommendations

Recommendations are critical. Because the business capstone project is real-world in nature, the assumption is that it will result in real-world implementable suggestions.

Remember that suggestions must flow naturally from the analysis and be justified within the context of your results. For instance, until you discover that a company’s board of directors lacks the necessary abilities to manage the business successfully, it is unlikely that you would suddenly suggest expanding the board’s skill set. While it seems like an excellent suggestion, it is unjustifiable in light of the results.

Additionally, bear in mind that suggestions should be particular, not broad. For instance, if you suggest that the business adopt a competitive strategy, you have accomplished nothing. That is something that every business must accomplish. Rather than that, suggest a method or leave it out entirely.