SharkNinja and Boston University Launch AI & Analytics Lab: Practical Wins for Product Teams
SharkNinja and Boston University's Questrom School of Business have opened the SharkNinja AI & Analytics Lab, pairing Questrom faculty and graduate students with SharkNinja's product design and technology teams. The focus is simple: build AI-driven tools that improve decision-making, tighten operations, and speed up innovation across product lines. For product leaders, this is a direct line to models, dashboards, and frameworks that shorten the gap between idea and shipped value.
The lab runs as a structured, faculty-led program where graduate students work on real SharkNinja problems under expert guidance. Expect rapid experimentation, measurable outputs, and solutions that can be scaled across categories when they prove their worth.
Why this matters for product development
- Faster concept validation: use ML prototypes to test features, forecast demand, and model cost/quality trade-offs before committing heavy resources.
- Stronger portfolio decisions: prioritize roadmaps with predictive analytics, market signals, and usage data instead of gut instincts.
- Tighter build-measure-learn loops: pipe product telemetry and support data into models that surface UX friction, failure patterns, and upgrade opportunities.
- Operational precision: improve forecasting, inventory planning, and service workflows with machine learning and better data pipelines.
How the lab will operate
Questrom advisors will steer student teams through defined, outcome-focused projects with SharkNinja stakeholders. The lab doubles as a testbed for new analytic methods and a path to scale those that work.
- Engagement model: align on the business question, define success metrics, secure data access, and deliver in sprints.
- Artifacts: analytics dashboards, ML applications, decision frameworks, and deployment playbooks ready for internal adoption.
- Guardrails: emphasis on data governance, model validation, and clear ownership for sustainment after handoff.
Expected outputs you can plug into your roadmap
- Insight-generation frameworks that connect consumer signals, product telemetry, and market data to prioritization decisions.
- Machine learning applications for demand shaping, feature scoring, supply planning, and quality prediction.
- Templates for experimentation, A/B testing, and post-launch analytics that reduce cycle time between releases.
What product teams should do next
- Shortlist 2-3 high-impact use cases with clear ROI (e.g., returns reduction, feature adoption, forecast accuracy).
- Map the data: sources, owners, access, quality, and refresh cadence. Remove blockers early.
- Define success: target metrics, confidence thresholds, and go/no-go criteria for scaling a pilot.
- Plan for deployment: APIs, MLOps, change management, and training for the teams who will own the outcome.
Program ties into Questrom's action learning
The lab is linked with Questrom's Center for Action Learning and the Questrom Consulting Lab, giving students hands-on exposure while delivering measurable value to an industry partner. For SharkNinja, it's a way to move faster on AI adoption across product categories while keeping the work grounded in real operations.
Key quotes
Mark Barrocas, CEO of SharkNinja: "We're harnessing AI to unlock a new era of innovation at SharkNinja. We're thrilled to partner with Boston University's Questrom Consulting Lab to connect world-class academic insights with real-world business challenges. Together, we're deepening how we use data and analytics to make smarter decisions, operate with greater precision, and accelerate how we turn insights into action as we continue to push the boundaries of what's possible. As we scale AI across the organization, we're driving faster execution, stronger collaboration, and ultimately better outcomes for our consumers."
Professor Peter Howard, Executive Director of Action Learning and the Questrom Consulting Lab: "This partnership offers our students the opportunity to bring their academic insights into a vibrant industry environment. Working alongside SharkNinja's experts, our team is excited to deliver relevant and measurable value to support SharkNinja's growth."
Susan Fournier, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean of the Questrom School of Business: "Experiential learning is critical to ensuring that business students enter the world of work ready for success on day one. This is why we are truly excited and grateful for our collaboration with SharkNinja to provide our students with the opportunity to work at the leading edge of AI and enhance their learning experience while having real impact in real-time."
Learn more
Explore Boston University Questrom's programs and initiatives here: Questrom School of Business. For company context and product lines, visit SharkNinja.
If your team is building AI skills specific to product roles, see curated options by job function: AI courses by job.
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