Horns Hangouts: What's Next?
As we reach the end of our project here are some of the implementation steps we will be using going forward in order to ensure the future success of Horns Hangouts.
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Road Map to Success
The first step towards future success for Horns Hangouts is to gather all of our stakeholders (including students and Texas Athletics) to discuss what the next steps for our project are. In this meeting, we would gauge feedback from our stakeholders on all that we have accomplished so far and feedback on our future plans. The next step to roadmapping our success is to lay out a timeline and determine dates to aim for potential watch parties. We need to finalize the watch party days (in accordance with the 2024 Texas Football schedule) as well as nail down dates for the supplemental tasks that must be completed before the first party. Then, we will need to organize these tasks into ‘sprints’ and delegate the work for each sprint. Much like we have done up until this point, sprints will be important for staying on track with the project. Afterwards, we will need to envision what success looks like at the end of each sprint. Setting expectations will be crucial for determining the future success of Horns Hangouts. If we want an away game watch party as seen in our final prototype to come into fruition, we will need to be successful at each step along the way. To complete our road map to success, we would next need to assign a person to champion each line of work. For example, we would need someone to be in charge of marking, someone to find and organize our workers and volunteers, someone to serve as a point person for food and drink partners, a person to oversee communication with Texas Athletics, and someone to be in charge of finding sponsors.
Building Partnerships
Now that we have made it past the design thinking process of Horns Hangouts and have come up with a final prototype, it is now time for us to build partnerships. Partnerships will be valuable for us to ensure the success of an away game watch party. There are many factors for us to consider when figuring out which partners to approach. Since the location we have prototyped for is on The University of Texas’ campus, we will need to continue our partnership with Texas Athletics for future success. Food is also another important factor for us to consider when planning partnerships. We will need to find a partner that is affordable and can provide food for the large number of students that we expect to turn up at our event. Raising Canes was a possible partner that we had discussed on approaching, but it will be important to continue weighing our options going forward. Marketing our event will also be a crucial step in determining the turnout that we have at our watch parties. Partnering with various spirit groups around campus was one of the ways we are planning to engage a larger audience into our idea. By connecting with various spirit groups it will allow us to get our message and plans out to a large number of students effectively. There are still many factors to consider and partners that we will need along the way, but these are just a few of the crucial ones we have discussed so far.
Explore Scalability
Going forward it will be important for us to consider the scale that we are wanting for our watch parties. It is not plausible for us to try and throw a large watch party if only a select number of students are expected to attend. Meeting with our stakeholders to discuss the scalability of Horns Hangouts will be a crucial next step for us to take. For the initial watch party we want to plan accordingly and provide a fun and exciting atmosphere, while also making sure it is scaled to accommodate the amount of students we expect to attend. The survey that Longhorn athletics is sending out to Big Ticket holders will allow us to gauge interest in an away game watch party on a large scale. We will then use those responses and hold discussions with our stakeholders to plan our watch party so that it is fit to scale. If the first watch party is successful we will also need to be able to scale up for future ones depending on the turnout at the initial one. One of the main areas that will need to be optimized based on turnout is food and drinks. Food and drinks are costly and we will need to hold discussions on the correct amount to order so that we are able to provide a sufficient amount to attendees, while also not having an excessive amount left over.