Principles of Innovation

Innovation is the point at which viability, desirability & feasibility overlap. This will be explained but in simple terms, all of the following must work for your product to have a chance:

• Viability = Business focus (marketing, finance)
• Feasibility = Engineering focus (technologies, agile process, etc.)
• Desirability = Design focus (customers, aesthetics, etc.)

Technology constrains what is currently possible, and of course there are a number of patent, licensing, and standards issues that are associated with technology. Technology asks questions about what can be built, and how to build it.

Is the technology needed to power the design solution available or within reach?

Sometimes the goal is to create a new technology, but sometimes we need to work with what we’ve got. Determine what your goal is on this front early on.

How long will this take?

Of course most of us would like to have what we want yesterday, and I’m not advocating for unreasonable deadlines. But when a reasonable client request is to have a project up and running in two months, yet our solution is projected to take six months to complete, it’s not a feasible solution. There’s no need to extend the timeline simply to accommodate our own ideals to the detriment of a client’s deadline.

Can the organization actually make it happen?

During the ideation phase of a project, we have to ask ourselves if the solution can be managed by the existing team responsible for keeping our solutions alive long after we’ve wrapped up our side of the work. A solution only works when the team can actually make it work in the long run.

The people lens is all about what people want, what human value does it serve, how does it fit into our human lives, and does it share the values we do? There are many ways to study people inside of innovation, broadly they are quantitative and qualitative.

Designers and people who use user-centered design (UCD) tend to study people qualitatively. We value the lived experience of being in the field with those we are interested in, and if we’re not in the field ourselves we are close by helping to plan the study and we’re there first hand when the analysis of the study is done, participating and drawing our own conclusions about it.

For design-focused products, the focus might be on:

• context, culture, and goals
• customer goals and product experience
• design aesthetics and interactionsWill this solution fill a need?

A great place to start is by checking to see if the project is adding value to the world.

Will it fit into people’s lives?

Understanding the people using our solution tells us how they live and in what way our solution supports or conflicts with their lifestyle and use cases.

Will it appeal to them?

While it shouldn’t be the only consideration, we also don’t want to neglect the appeal factor altogether.

Will they actually want it?

There’s no point going through the trouble (and resources) designing and executing on a project that nobody wants in the first place.

Business concerns are many and varied. How can we product this at a price that makes it sellable to consumers with enough money left over to run the company? Where can we source the materials and distribute the product that will connect with the customer segment?

For business-oriented products, the focus might be on any of the following:

• “hot markets”
• making money
• funding potential
• distribution
• metrics

Will the design solution align with the business goals?

By understanding what the business wants to accomplish, we can focus our energy in the right direction.

Does this solution honor the client’s budget?

We all have to work within budgets, and even if you have the best idea in the world, if it’s outside of the client’s budget then the solution isn’t viable.

What will the return on the investment look like?

I’m not just talking about money. It’s helpful to measure the effort needed to execute on a solution with the potential payoff in terms of desired outcomes—whether they’re monetary or some other quantifiable measure. If the investment far outweighs the benefits, it may be worth focusing on a different solution.

Vocabulary

For Pawprint Coffee, complete the Principles of Innovation. Understand that some of the answers are more developed for us than others. For instance, the product for Pawprint is clearly defined. With minimal effort you should be able to provide a detailed analysis of the product and why it is so good. This is absolutely critical when selling coffee. Most consumers of coffee have a refined palate and notice the nuances between poor and good quality products. This will be hammered home when we visit the roastery in the upcoming month.

• Technology/Product - Feasibility
  • This is the details of the coffee, smoothie, frappe and food we are selling.
  • Is the environment a part of our product?
• Human Value - Desirability
  • How are we connecting our product to the consumer?
  • Can we add value to the product by crafting an experience that goes beyond purchasing coffee?
• Business - Viability
  • This is our Business Model Canvas.
  • What are the keys to our business model canvas that will enable us to be successful?