Clarification details
Updated December 2017. This clarification has been updated to address issues that have arisen from moderation.
Carry out
The activity should be ongoing over several months. This differentiates the activity from AS90842, which assesses a one-off activity, and AS90848, which requires students to carry out their activity on two separate occasions. A product should be taken to market over a period of time.
If there is a valid reason the product cannot be sold, receiving a written agreement for future sale of the product or the business model would suffice as taking to market.
Consultation
Consultation must be with advisors with expertise in the innovative or sustainable aspects of the business activity, or experts in the activity itself. Consultation should go beyond one-off feedback from presenting a business pitch. (A pitch is not a requirement of the standard.)
Innovation
Students are required to justify why their chosen activity can be regarded as innovative. They may choose to base this on originality, invention, or commercialisation of their product or service. Innovation could also be shown in processes, for example, the production process or the use of viral marketing or crowd fundraising.
Sustainability
Sustainability refers to meeting the quadruple bottom line of cultural (including ethical), social, environmental and economic outcomes. The focus on these must be apparent in the goal setting and other relevant sections of the business plan. Reviews must also involve measuring the performance of the business activity in relation to the sustainability outcomes stated in the plan.
Awarding grades
An important aspect of students’ reviews is reporting on progress towards SMART objectives, including sales/profit targets and sustainability outcomes. Reflections must be linked back to the plan. At Merit, students’ reviews will be in-depth, focusing on reasons behind the success or otherwise of their objectives and planning.
A plan at Excellence would have all/almost all sections explained in detail with integrated business knowledge. This would enable a comprehensive review, for example, 'Our decision to use relationship marketing was effective, as many school community members posted positive reviews of our product on the Facebook page. We rewarded this loyalty via our differential pricing strategy, where repeat customers were given a $2.50 discount'.
As reviews are inextricably linked to the planning of the activity, a plan at Achieved that lacks the planning detail and depth of business knowledge required at Merit is unlikely to be able to generate an in-depth review. Similarly, a Merit level plan is unlikely to be able to generate a comprehensive review.