SET factors

From ThesisWiki

Analysis of SET factors (Social trends (S), Economic forces (E), and Technological advances (T)) is one way of discovering product opportunity gaps and establishing a context for new product development. While there is a lower need to justify this project on a market basis I am striving to realistically justify all my design decisions.

Social

• 25-50% of college students are involved in a long-distance romantic relationship at any given point (Stafford 40)
• Increase in dual-career marriages
• Increased in unmarried committed relationships
• Number of married personal in the armed forces has increased dramatically in the past few decades (Stafford 41)
• Globalization makes it easier to explore opportunities in far away places
• Increasingly higher educational requirements for career advancement
• Growth and popularity of social networking software

Economic

• Phones with advanced features offered for free with service contract
• Decreasing cost of text and multimedia messaging plans

Technological

• Widespread availability and use of cellular phones
• Pervasive access to high-speed internet access in urban areas
• Increased accuracy of GPS and cellular triangulation
• Maturation and mainstream acceptance of GIS systems
• Standard phone platforms beginning to emerge (symbian (S60) / Windows Mobile / J2ME)

References

• S60 smartphone platform (built on top of symbian)
• Identifying New Ideas for Breakthrough Products By Jonathan Cagan, Craig M. Vogel
• Stafford, Laura. Romantic and Parent-Child Relationships at a Distance. Communication Yearbook 2004, Vol. 28, No. 1, Pages 37-85