Proposal Review: A/V Synthesizer

Hello all, today I will be reviewing a proposal set forth by Trent Small, a brilliant programmer in my software engineering class. You can find his proposal here.

Review of Proposal: “A/V Synthesizer”

Proposal author: Trent Small
Reviewer: Ronald Shaw (wraith55@gmail.com)

Part 1: Proposal restatement

The proposal is to create a synthesizer that incorporates both audio and visual components, as to streamline the process of creating a visual presentation for performers.

Part 2: Reviewer reaction

This is a seemingly great idea, though admittedly I know very little about the product's market and why this is necessary. I think what's really missing here is a better explanation of what the product is and why people would buy from a non-technical standpoint. Though the proposer does talk about current problems with the industry, it's very hard for me to understand these problems because I do not know much about how these synthesizers work in the first place. I'm assuming what the proposer is saying is that this synthesizer will automatically create a visual “show” based on the music that is played, but I'm honestly not sure.

Part 3: Quantitative scores

Format: 5

Extremely clean and professional looking. Everything is separated nicely and it has a table of contents for easy reference.

Writing: 4

The writing is very good, concise and to the point. That being said, some fields could be expanded and described a bit more in-depth.

Goals and tasks: 3

Obviously a lot of work has gone into the thoughts of this project, and the reviewer has the technical aspects of the product down quite well. However, a lot of questions remain to be asked. How will people here about the product? Why will people want to buy this beyond its technical superiority?

Scope: 2

I'm confused as to what the product does and does not do, so this area should be fleshed out more.

Plausibility: 4

This seems very realistic, though some of the hardware might be difficult to get a hold of or incorporate.

Novelty: 4

I'm not very sure of the current state of the industry, but this seems like a novel and useful concept.

Stakeholder identification: 4

The stakeholders are clearly identified, although I feel like there are other stakeholders not represented, like shareholders or investors.

Support and impact: 2

The proposer could go into more detail about how this will affect the music industry, and what kind of lasting support the product will offer.

Evidence: 4

The proposer provides evidence of similar products, and he is using realistic technology, so it seems that this product is plenty realistic.

Challenges and risks: 3

A lot of the technical challenges are addressed, but the risks of investing in hardware and marketing aren't addressed.