New Concept Ideation
New Concept Ideation
1
An Integrated Strategic Technology Planning
and Development Environment
New
Concept
Ideation
Technology
Roadmapping
Voice
of the
Customer
Stage Gate
Technology
Development
and Review
Intellectual
Property
Generation
New Concept Ideation
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Where Ideation fits
in the Big Picture
Lean
Systems
Project
Management
Convert best projects into
high impact products
Idea
Prioritization
Ideation
Voice of the
Customer
Profitable
Growth
Convert best ideas into
high impact projects
Generate high impact ideas
for high-impact problems/opportunities
Identify high impact
problems/opportunities
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Input Ideas:
• Many
• Crazy
• Stupid
• Bad
• Random
Transform
Inputs to
Outputs
Output Ideas:
• Few
• New
• Different
• Good
• Out-of-the-box
Ideation
Ideation is a
formal,
structured
process
New Concept Ideation
What is
Ideation?
Project
Management
Output ideas
ready to start
development
projects.
4
Four Goals of an Ideation Process:
To stimulate large improvements in -
1. Quality and volume of new ideas,
- More good ideas per minute.
Need systematic idea
generation and
prioritization processes.
2. Idea-to-project hit-rate,
- More good ideas end up in products.
3. Cross-linking of ideas to create new opportunities,
- Generate many new ideas in parallel – feed off each other.
4. Visibility of plans, activities, results, and methods,
- People can see that you are making good progress!
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WARNING!
• Ideation process is FUN!
• Work = Fun
• But it can look like you are NOT working.
• Fun = Work
• But this really works.
• We will try to prove this in this course.
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New Concept Ideation Process:
• Purpose
~ Generate breakthrough solutions (stimulates research).
~ Generate/discover new customer needs (stimulates markets).
• Desired Strengths
~ Improves effectiveness of “brainstorming” (good ideas per minute).
~ Liberates inventors from artificial/inappropriate constraints.
~ Inclusive - provides equal opportunity for all ideas/inventors.
• Potential Weaknesses
~ Can lack focus (afraid to miss cool ideas).
~ Can miss the customer value proposition (cool but useless ideas).
~ Needs a destination for ideas (good ideas can drift off into space).
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New Concept Ideation Process:
Purpose
•
Generate breakthrough solutions:
•
•
•
•
•
Not interested in incremental (small) changes,
•
Looking for totally unexpected solutions,
•
Drives research into new technology areas
(what must we work on?).
Crazy
Stupid
Bad
Random
•Generate/discover new customer needs:
•Not just directed at known/existing customer needs,
•Discover = Find things that no-one has recognized as a need.
•Generate = Invent new needs, reveal new possibilities.
•Stimulates creation of new markets.
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New Concept Ideation Process:
Desired Strengths
•
Improves effectiveness of unstructured “brainstorming”:
•
More good ideas per minute per person,
•
Captures what was said by who (for IP protection).
•Liberates inventors from artificial/inappropriate constraints:
•Eliminates assumptions about what’s “in the box”,
•Gives participants permission to think “outside the box”
•Inclusive - provides equal opportunity for all ideas/inventors:
•No person can dominate idea generation,
•No person can dominate idea selection.
•Highly democratic.
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New Concept Ideation Process:
Potential Weaknesses
•
Can lack focus:
• Can get way out of the box, or into some totally different box,
• Tendency is to want to capture everything,
• “Lottery ticked innovation” – you may be a winner!
•Can miss the customer value proposition:
•Great idea, but who cares,
•Why are we doing this ideation session? For who?
•Can we really make money on this?
•Needs a destination for ideas:
•File cabinets full of posters.
•What do we do now?
•Where did I put that idea?
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Later we will show more about how:
•
Weaknesses of Ideation are eliminated by other processes,
• Ideation eliminates weaknesses of other processes.
New
Concept
Ideation
Technology
Roadmapping
Voice
of the
Customer
Stage Gate
Technology
Development
and Review
Intellectual
Property
Generation
New Concept Ideation
11
What Actually IS “Ideation”?
•
Event (like a meeting):
•
Defined start and stop points,
•
1 hour to 3 days,
•
5 to 100 people.
•
•
•
•
Crazy
Stupid
Bad
Random
•
Purpose: Discover radically new problems and/or
invent new solutions.
•
Objective: Efficiency - Increase rate of viable concepts per minute
vs. non-structured (brainstorming) approaches.
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What Actually IS “Ideation”?
Process: Systematic sequence of actions (vs. brainstorming).
- Clearly-defined event goals (Why are we doing this?),
- Measurable event objectives (What will we walk away with?),
- Specific event inputs and outputs (Document deliverables),
- “Standard” process actions, inputs, and outputs are adaptable to
accommodate different or changing event goals and objectives.
Implementation:
- Employs well-defined boundary conditions to keep event focused,
- Utilizes appropriate tools to enhance quality and productivity of
event,
- Typically employs well-trained, experienced facilitator,
- Typically employs multidisciplinary participants.
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High-Level View of Ideation Process
How will we
conduct event?
1. Planning
Who is doing
what with what?
2. Preparation
Do it!
Make outputs
“actionable”
Turn ideas
into reality
We usually focus
on the Ideation
Event,
3. Ideation Event
And forget
about planning
and followthrough
4. Post-Processing
Project Proposals
Stage Gate Processes
New Concept Ideation
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Who are the Primary Ideation Process “Stakeholders”?
• Sponsor: The individual requesting the generation of new concepts
using the ideation process. Can be the person with the problem that
needs to be solved.
• Customer: The people responsible for planning and executing
projects that result from the ideation process.
• Ideators: The individuals that participate in the ideation event.
• Organizer: The person responsible for insuring that all steps in the
ideation process are executed in an appropriate manner.
• Facilitator: The person responsible for guiding the ideation
event.
Note: A particular individual may play more than one role in this process.
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An Ideation Framework:
Stakeholder
Activity
Sponsor Organizer Customer Facilitator
1. Plan
1.1 Sponsor comes forward
Hi
1.2 ID problem/solution domain
Hi
1.3 ID organizer
Hi
Hi
1.4 ID customer
Hi
Lo
Hi
1.5 Define focus/theme
Lo
Hi
Hi
1.6 Define outputs
Lo
Hi
Hi
1.7 ID facilitator
Hi
Hi
Hi
2. Prepare 2.1 Determine approach
Hi
Lo
Hi
2.2 ID ideators
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.3 Determine venue
Hi
Hi
Lo
2.4 Select tools/techniques
Lo
Hi
2.5 Prepare materials
Hi
Hi
Hi
2.6 Review materials
3. Event
Generate ideas
Hi
Hi
Hi
4. Process 4.1 Group/consolidate ideas
Hi
Hi
Optional
4.2 ID/prioritize "winners"
Hi
Hi
Optional
4.3 Select projects
Optional
Lo
Hi
Optional
4.4 Define projects
Hi
4.5 Hand-off to PROLaunch
Hi
New Concept Ideation
Ideators
Hi
Hi
Optional
Optional
Optional
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Steps in the Ideation Event
1. Facilitator introduces:
A. Goal – Specific needs/problems we will be addressing,
B. Objectives – What we expect out of the event,
C. Support information – Support goals and objectives.
D. Participants – Participants introduce themselves.
2. Facilitator applies various techniques:
A. Facilitator describes technique to be applied in the session.
B. Participants generate ideas.
C. Ideas are summarized.
D. Ideas are grouped/consolidated.
E. Participants “vote” on ideas.
3. After all sessions have been run:
A. Ideas from all sessions are grouped/consolidated,
B. Participants “vote” to select top ideas to propose as projects.
C. Individuals that will prepare the projects.
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Here’s a good book that describes various ideation techniques:
99% Inspiration:
Tips, Tales & Techniques for Liberating Your Business Creativity
by Bryan W. Mattimore
Unfortunately, the book is out of print, but used copies are available.
We will use several of Bryan’s techniques in this class.
You can find a summary of Bryan’s techniques here.
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Short-Term Benefits of an Ideation Event:
•
Discover/invent new, distinguishable and potentially
sustainable solutions to customer problems.
•
Discover/invent unrecognized or new customer needs.
•
Spread and confirm ideas generated elsewhere.
•
Generate enthusiasm -> buy-in -> ownership of new
ideas.
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Long-Term Benefits of an Ideation Event
•
Enhance networking among technologists.
•
Establish a pan-organization (vs. location-centric)
technical community (in large companies).
•
Improve employee satisfaction:
•
•
Involvement (having an impact on the Big Picture),
•
Security (focus beyond current problems).
Get low-value ideas off the list once-and-for-all!
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