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Semester Project
Opportunities
What is an Opportunity?
z An idea for a new product
z A newly sensed need
z A rough match between a need and a possible solution
z A hypothesis about how value might be created
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Types of Opportunities
z Two dimensions:
z The extent to which the team is familiar with the solution
The extent to which the team is familiar with the solution
likely to be used The extent to which the team is familiar with the need the z The extent to which the team is familiar with the need
solution addresses
Opportunity Horizons
improvements extensions z Horizon 1 opportunities –
Horizon 1 opportunities – improvements, extensions, variants, or cost reductions of existing products (low level of uncertainty)
z Horizon 2 opportunities Horizon 2 opportunities –– push out into less known territory with solution and/or need knowledge
z Horizon 3 opportunities –
Horizon 3 opportunities – attempts to exploit things that are new to the world (high level of uncertainty)
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Opportunity Identification Strategies
(“Tournaments”)
z Generate a large number of opportunities (Bound to find something good. Law of Large Numbers
something good. Law of Large Numbers
z Seek high quality of opportunities generated Seek high quality of opportunities generated –– use better methods for generating and mining. Dive deeper into methods for generating and mining. Dive deeper into fewer
z Create high variance in the quality of opportunities Create high variance in the quality of opportunities –
C
t hi h i
i th lit f t iti –
“wacky” ideas and “wild “notions increases. IDEO “wacky” ideas and “wild “notions increases. IDEO Approach
Opportunity Identification
Process
1 Establish a charter
1.
2. Generate and sense many opportunities
3. Screen opportunities
4. Develop promising opportunities
5. Select exceptional opportunities
6. Reflect on the results and the process
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1. Establish a Charter
z Innovation charter articulates the goals and boundary conditions for an g
y
innovation effort
z Resolves the tension between leaving the problem unconstrained and specifying possible solution directions
“Create a physical product in the cat toy category that we can launch to the market within about a year through our existing retail sales channel”
market within about a year through our existing retail sales channel”
Emphasis:
‐physical good (not software or service), ‐focus on cat toy category, ‐time constraints, and
‐use existing relationships
2. Generate and Sense Many Opportunities (10)
z Techniques
z Follow a personal passion Follow a personal passion –– Identify unmet needs; how might emerging technologies impact those passion areas?
z Compile Bug Lists Compile Bug Lists –– List and photograph every annoyance or frustration you encounter frustration you encounter –– any problem is an opportunity
z Pull Opportunities from Capabilities –
Pull Opportunities from Capabilities – Exploit Exploit unique resources
unique resources which are valuable, rare, not easily imitated, not easy to find a substitute
z Study Customers Study Customers –– anthropology (
anthropology (indentify latent needs
indentify latent needs) or consumer ) or consumer ethnography (identify behaviors
ethnography (
identify behaviors))
z Consider Implications of Trends Consider Implications of Trends –– changes in technology, demography, social norms (Ubiquitous mobile phones
social norms (
Ubiquitous mobile phones))
z Imitate, but Better Imitate, but Better –– exploit others opportunities by offer alternative solutions
z Mine your sources Mine your sources –– social networks, university, web, etc.
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3. Screen Opportunities
z The goal is to eliminate those that will not create value
z Methods
z Web
Web‐‐based surveys
z Canvassing surveys
z Internal Internal multivoting
multivoting – “post
“post‐‐it notes”
4. Develop Promising Opportunities (3)
z Invest modest resources in developing a few opportunities
z Purpose: resolve the greatest uncertainty
z Methods:
z Customer interviews, testing existing products, quick prototypes, estimate market size, cursory patent prototypes, estimate market size, cursory patent searchs
searchs, , etc.
t
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5. Select Exceptional Opportunities (1)
z Which opportunities warrant significant investment Which opportunities warrant significant investment ––
time, money, etc.
z Possible approach:
z Real
Real‐‐Win
Win‐‐Worth
Worth‐‐it (RWW) Method it (RWW) Method –– 3M
Three main questions:
pp
y
(
)
1. Is the opportunity real? (Is there a market?)
2. Can you win with this opportunity? (Can you gain a competitive edge?)
3. Is the opportunity worth it financially? (Are the resources available?)
6. Reflect on the Results and the Process
z How many of the opportunities identifies came from internal sources versus external sources?
z Did we consider dozens or hundreds of opportunities?
z Was the innovation charter too narrowly focused?
z Were our filtering criteria biased
Were our filtering criteria biased, or largely based on the or largely based on the best possible estimates of eventual product success?
z Are the resulting opportunities exciting to the team?
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Your Team Opportunities
z You need to make it clear that there is a big, important problem (current or emerging) that you are going to solve, or opportunity you are going to exploit
z That you understand the market dynamics surrounding the opportunity—why does this situation exist and persist, and why is it opportunity—
only now that it can be addressed? z Show that you really understand the very particular market segment you are targeting, and frame your market analysis according to the i
df
k
l i
di
h
specific problem and solution you are laying out. z
In some cases, the problem you are attacking is so obvious and clear that you can drop this part altogether. You do not have to tell investors that there are a lot of cell phones out there or that teenagers like to socialize. Save yourself, and them, the pain of the obvious. Writing the Pitch
A “bumper sticker” length title that sums the project in 2
z A bumper sticker length title that sums the project in 2‐
length title that sums the project in 2‐
12 words
z Short statement of the idea and what need it fulfills (Charter –– 25 to 50 words)
(Charter z One One powerpoint
powerpoint slide to demonstrate the need
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Notes
.
z Most products are really not very well designed. z We are continually amazed at the seemingly poor quality of common products (utility knives, garlic presses, and ice cream scoops, for example). z Our experience is that if you pick almost any product satisfying our project guidelines, you will be able to develop a product that is superior to everything currently on the market
Friday –– September 16th
Friday z Be ready to ‘pitch’ your 10 opportunities to the IEE faculty.
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