Scalability and commercial development of an educational and inclusive mobile app for sustainable tourism

• Grant number: 21/06523-1
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: November 01, 2021
• End date: April 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Specific topics in Education
• Agreement: FINEP - PIPE/PAPPE Grant
• Principal Investigator: Mayla Willik Valenti Roese
• Grantee: Mayla Willik Valenti Roese
• Company: Fubá Educação Ambiental e Criatividade Ltda. - ME
• CNAE: Desenvolvimento de programas de computador sob encomenda ; Atividades profissionais, científicas e técnicas não especificadas anteriormente ; Atividades de ensino não especificadas anteriormente
• City: São Carlos
• Pesquisadores principais: Flávia Torreão Corrêa da Silva Thiemann
• Associated researchers: Andréia Nasser Figueiredo ; Ariane Di Tullio
• Associated research grant: 18/18694-2 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile APP with accessibility resources for places of learning, AP.PIPE

Abstract

The education and sustainable tourism markets have been identified by several sources as among the most promising in emerging economies, including Brazil. Despite having been one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic, sustainable tourism in contact with nature is cited as one of the main trends in the sector's recovery, as well as a key action for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Innovation for quality education is also one of the fastest growing investment sectors, due to its potential to promote social impact and generate business. The educational and inclusive mobile app developed by Fubá Educação Ambiental during phases 1 and 2 of PIPE is in line with global trends in valuing the outdoor experience, seeking quality of life, getting closer to nature and integrating the digital and physical universes. The solution includes innovative and gamified platforms, distance education, inclusion of people with disabilities and development of socioemotional skills. The main objective of this project is to research solutions that contribute to the commercial development and production scalability of the customizable mobile application with educational content accessible to different audiences, aimed at the educational market and sustainable tourism. The methodology to be used is based on the concept of Lean Startup, through which the company's interaction with the market occurs through constant experiments (tests, prototypes, etc.) that show the real behavior of the customer and not just your intention. This methodology has already been successfully applied in phases 1 and 2 of the project financed by PIPE/FAPESP and will be used to improve the solutions already developed, as well as to test new features. The business model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas and Costumer Development propose that prototype development and testing steps be based on customer feedback and that adaptations and adjustments are made as quickly as possible, to avoid wasting time and of resources. For the development of system and commercial improvements for the products, interaction between the Programming, UX Design, Commercial Management and Marketing Management fronts will be necessary. We will use the Scrum framework, applying concepts from the Agile methodology adapted to small and multidisciplinary teams. Fortnightly interactions will be defined involving everyone in the process in the preparation of backlog, specification, developments, tests, corrections and improvements. This methodology will also be directed towards research activities, so that research and development interactions can be interspersed, allowing change of direction, creation of by-products and/or complementary products within a predefined tolerance margin. The expected result is the implementation of incremental improvements in application customization systems developed previously, aiming at optimizing the application generation process, adequately meeting the needs of paying customers and users, and current legislation. In addition, it is intended to improve the processes of innovation management and insertion of the product in the national and international market. (AU)