Chapter 7
Creating Ideas
© David O’Sullivan
7-1
Reflections
 Describe the creativity process
 Understand the various sources of ideas
used in innovation
 Apply a number of idea generation tools
 Identify core aspects of project
management
 Explain the product development process
 Understand how to capture critical data for
innovation projects
 Explain the process of project portfolio
management
7-2
Activities
[Discussion of selected student
‘Activities’ from previous chapter]
7-3
Learning Targets
 Explain creativity
 Explore a number of tools that can be used
for generating ideas
 Understand where many ideas come from
 Explain activity modeling
 Understand some problem-solving
techniques
 Detail a simple form for capturing critical
data for an idea
 Explain the importance of lead users in
generating new ideas
7-4
Innovation at IDEO
7-5
Action Pathway
7-6
Problem Solving
1. Identify and select the product, process, or service to
be improved.
2. Ensure that the right resources are available and
objectives set.
3. Identify problems, prioritize, and select specific
problems to analyze.
4. Identify and verify the key causes of a problem.
5. Identify and verify alternative solutions to key causes.
6. Select and check potential solutions.
7. Implement the identified solution.
8. Review the success of the solution implementation.
9. Follow up on failures and identify improvements.
7-7
Creativity
 Amabile (1998)
 Expertise
 Creative thinking
 Motivation
 Goffin and Mitchell (2005)
 Normative
 Exploratory
 Serendipitous
7-8
Creativity
CreativeThinking
Skills
Expertise
Creativity
Motivation
7-9
Diversity
 Diversity creates creative friction between
individuals that can spark new ideas.
 Diversity is a safeguard against
groupthink, in which a group of people
allow their thinking to converge over time.
 Diversity creates an environment in which
different perspectives are developed and
good ideas can be identified, tested, and
supported.
7-10
Enhancing Creativity
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naïveté versus experience
autonomy versus discipline
fun versus professionalism
improvisation versus planning
7-11
Encouraging Creativity
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Providing good strategic direction
Benchmarking and access to external stimuli
Providing a diverse information service
Employing staff with diverse interests
Having a supportive management style
Creating a climate for innovation
Allowing failures to be tolerated
Allowing people to pursue their own ideas
Rewarding success
Interacting with the customer
Collaborating with other organizations and lead users
Encouraging cross-pollination of ideas
Providing idea suggestion programs
7-12
Sources of Ideas
7-13
Sources of Ideas
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New Knowledge
Ideas of Customers
Lead Users
Empathetic Design
Invention Factories
Open Market Innovation
7-14
New Knowledge
 Books, journals, conferences
 Competitors
 Benchmarking
7-15
New Knowledge Ideas
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application of technology
engagement of employees
improved customer interaction
benign environmental impact
cost reduction
7-16
Ideas of Customers
 Weaknesses of current products/services
 Problem solvers
 Market research
 Focus on customer desires
Beware:
•They often don’t
understand
possibilities
•They often defend
their purchases
7-17
Lead Users
 Customers whose needs are far
ahead of normal market
 Great source of ideas
7-18
Empathetic Design
 Observe how customers use
products/services
 Observe, capture, reflect, analyse,
brainstorm, develop
7-19
Invention Factories (Skunkworks)
 Corporate level R&D centres
 Prototyping and Test labs
 HP Labs, Bell Labs, etc.
 University Research Institutes
 Collaboration
 EU Projects!
7-20
Open Market Innovation
 If you can’t make – buy it!
 Advantages
 Multiply the building blocks of innovation
within an organisation
7-21
Open Innovation
GOALS
ACTIONS
RESULTS
COMMUNITIES
TEAMS
7-22
Hydrogen Car
• Open innovation
• $10 license fee per car
7-23
Collecting User Knowledge
7-24
Sources of Innovation
7-25
Idea Portfolio
7-26
Activities
7-27
Activities
7-28
Ideation Tools
activity networks, affinity diagrams, bar charts,
brainstorming, cause–effect diagrams, checklists,
control charts, decision trees, design of experiments,
fault tree analyses, failure mode effects analyses,
flowcharts, flow process charts, force field diagrams,
Gantt charts, histograms, line charts, matrix
diagrams, matrix, data analysis charts, nominal group
techniques, Pareto diagrams, prioritization, matrices,
process capability diagrams, process decision program
charts, relationship diagrams, scatter diagrams, string
diagrams, surveys, tables, tree diagrams, value
analyses, voting, …
7-29
Cause-Effect Diagram
7-30
Mind Map
7-31
Microsoft Visio
7-32
Activity Diagram
7-33
Activity Diagram - hierarchy
www.IDEF.com
7-34
Activity List
7-35
Physical Space
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Casual meeting areas
Customer contact areas
Libraries (e.g., with books, reports, magazines)
Quiet space
Communication tools (e.g., whiteboards, flipcharts,
intranets)
Project rooms (e.g., with permanent wall charts,
whiteboards)
Notice boards
Laboratories and prototype rooms
Weekly networking meeting
Mobile computing (e.g., home office, hotel office)
7-36
Summary
 Explain creativity
 Explore a number of tools that can be used
for generating ideas
 Understand where many ideas come from
 Explain activity modeling
 Understand some problem-solving
techniques
 Detail a simple form for capturing critical
data for an idea
 Explain the importance of lead users in
generating new ideas
7-37
Activities
7-38
Search Online
 http://mitworld.mit.edu/
 Innovation Management at Siemens AG
(Dr. Claus Weyrich)
 Innovation: Are You A Predator or Are
You Prey? (James M. Utterback)
7-39