My Innovation Journey

Need inspiration for innovation? Then take a trip to the hardware store.

I've discovered a great way to learn more about innovation and I thought I'd share it.  It doesn't matter what line of work you're in, if you Google search for software related to your field, you'll undoubtedly find an ample supply of products to choose from.

I've been thinking a lot lately about ways to create the "surface" for innovation at my company.  I've been brainstorming in my own head about the various roadblocks and challenges to implementing an innovation program.  I thought up a few roadblocks and how I might handle them but I still had a gut feeling that there were some pretty big unknowns that would lie ahead.

So, I decided to go shopping at the hardware store.  Well, sort of.

I made some calls into a couple of the leading software solution providers in the area of idea process management.  I made my intentions pretty clear to them when I called.  I told them I was just doing research and wasn't ready to buy but I did want to know, "What problems has your software solved?"  The people I spoke to at these companies were very helpful.  I took good notes as they explained their products and what problems they were solving for companies.  After a few follow up calls and online demonstrations, I had a great picture of several problems I knew I'd encounter in my own journey to implement a bonafide program at my company.  I compiled my notes and started formulating solutions to the problems I thought I might encounter at my own organization.

I liken this experience to walking through a hardware store ... especially the paint supply aisle - because I despise painting.  I'll bet if you think about the last time you walked through a hardware store, you'll remember a time when you saw a product and said to yourself, "Man, I wish I had known about this product 3 months ago when I did that one project!  It would've made my life a lot easier!"

That's kind of what I wanted to do when I called these software solution providers.  I thought it worked pretty well.

How well do your users understand their own problems?

It didn't start out that way, but I had a great conversation w/ some co-workers the other day regarding a project we're working on in 2010.  When the group started talking about features for the project I think I found myself continuing to circle back to the question of whether or not we were contemplating building the right things for them.  I kept challenging the meeting attendees hone their metacognitive skills by thinking about the way our users may be perceiving the problems (or pain points) that they have using our applications and reports.

Eventually, I think I made my point but what I think it boils down to is that while our users are the best at experiencing the problems that we (either purposely or inadvertently) create, they aren't always the best at understanding their own problems.

So, how well do your users understand their own problems with the software you develop?  I'm in the camp that believes there are some savvy users out there that are actively aware of how they are completing a task and can also articulate the potential pain of doing that task.  I think those users are few and far between though.

Here are a couple things one could try to really understand their user's problem(s).

• Find the right Innovation Game ® that meets your needs and facilitate an event.
• Read Steve Krug's book Rocket Surgery Made Easy : The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems and then conduct usability tests.  Try it on your own site first.  Then, maybe try it on your competitor's sites.

My favorite definition of innovation is "...understanding a problem well enough to solve it in a new and novel way." (Credit goes to Luke Hohmann).  This definition encapsulated what I was trying to convey to the meeting attendees.  The challenge going forward and the next steps was figuring out, what can we do to get to the root of the problem so that we at least have a chance to innovate and differentiate?  Some of the ideas above can get you there.

Creating a surface for innovation to grow

First of all, keep in mind that I work for an insurance company so some of my thoughts will be directly related to the experiences that I've had working there.

For my first post, I've decided to rattle off a few of the ideas that I will probably write more about at one point or another.  I've given each one of these concepts various levels of thought.  Some of them I know quite a bit about while others are just concepts that I heard about but want to explore.  Some of the ideas are my own original thoughts and some have been gleaned from others.

Potential Components of an Innovation Growth Surface

Innovation Games ® Anonymous Opinion Markets Usability Testing Idea Process Management User Environment Immersion Carrier Collaboration User Experience Measurement Screen casts Problem Repository Contests for Top Ideas

Visual Process Library Idea Repository Awards Employee Education User Stories Innovation Lab Conversations Process Redesign Thinking out Loud