Innovation Leadership Training Day Four Idea Capture and Collaboration February 20, 2009 All materials © NetCentrics 2008 unless otherwise noted

Welcome In this section of the innovation process training we’ll examine the steps necessary to capture an idea and encourage collaboration around the idea

What We Want to Accomplish

Goals for this section Our goal this section – How to capture and manage ideas once they are generated – How to encourage collaboration and investigation of the ideas – How to build on an existing idea

Key Points Once ideas are generated and selected for further investigation, we need to capture them and manage them – A computer system and a data model are necessary for this Generally we want to encourage discussion and collaboration on ideas and ensure broad visibility of the ideas – This ensures the idea is exposed early to a lot of feedback and attempts to reduce duplication

“Working” the idea Whether you are working independently on an idea or with a distributed team, a defined working process helps guide and simplify your work, your decisions and your outputs With a defined process, each idea receives the same evaluation and each individual or team has the same requirements

Your existing process?

Innovation Process We believe the entire innovation process looks something like this: In the next few segments we’ll look more closely at the “downstream” process steps Trend Spotting Idea Generation Capture & Collaborate EvaluatePilot

Mapping the process It’s important to understand how ideas will be managed and how they’ll be considered after the idea generation Preferably you’ll create or leverage an existing process rather than create one on the fly A process will identify the appropriate criteria for evaluation, who should review an idea and what the logical next steps are for an idea

Tools In our work with clients, we use a process definition tool commonly called a “swim chart” which helps define the process step and consider the attributes of the process – What data is created? – Who is involved? – What decisions are made? – What additional information is necessary? – What metrics can/should be captured? – What are the appropriate outcomes and next steps?

“Swim Chart”

Benefits A defined process helps the idea submitter and the team or individual responsible for managing the idea understand what data is required, what evaluations are necessary, who owns the responsibility and who can assist. It defines standard formats and minimum requirements so the idea is complete when presented

Process Definition We don’t expect each of you to develop a process and a swim chart But we do expect you to participate in the process in various roles, so once the process is defined you’ll need to understand how the process works Also, we expect that you’ll be able to communicate the workings and the value of the process to others.

Capture and Collaborate In this phase, we’ll look at the identification of an idea and the best means to ensure a broad review of the idea and collaboration around the idea Trend Spotting Idea Generation Capture & Collaborate EvaluatePilot

Idea Capture Once the ideas are generated in any ideation form – brainstorm, campaign, in the shower – we need to capture them in some system This capture mechanism may require specific information – Idea title – Idea description – Problem solved – Appropriate business unit

Idea Capture People need to understand where to place an idea, and where to find an idea or set of ideas once they’ve been generated They also need the ability to search for existing ideas, to determine if an idea already exists or to add more detail to an existing idea As you can see, defining the steps of the process also defines the data model and to some extent the requirements of a database

Collaboration Once ideas are captured, we can determine which ideas should remain “public” and available for consideration and review by the general population Also, which ideas should be locked down or private to a small group Where possible, ideas should be made available for consideration in the broad audience

Benefits of collaboration When an idea is first captured, it generally exists in a embryonic state We call this process “Incubation” because the idea can grow and take new shape as individuals consider the idea and add new details By making the idea visible, we can also gain new perspectives or discover other ideas already under consideration that are similar, thus avoiding duplication

Goals of Collaboration Surface challenges or weaknesses in the idea to improve them Identify other ideas that are similar to eliminate duplication Identify new uses or applications of the idea to make the idea more relevant Identify individuals or business units who may have more information or complementary capabilities

Selection for further evaluation At the end of this phase, the teams must decide which ideas to select for further investigation There are several issues to consider: – Limited resources for additional investigation – The methods to select the ideas – The need to carry forward a significant number of ideas We’ll look at evaluation in the next segment

Selection Methods In this phase you can deploy a number of different selection methods: – Crowd input: Ranking Voting Popularity – Innovation Team input: Established criteria Ranking/Voting Portfolio Analysis

Responsibilities In this phase it is important to: – Capture the idea – Add value to the idea to mature it – Encourage collaboration across a broader audience – Identify which ideas should move forward for more detailed evaluation

Key Takeaways If possible, map your innovation work to existing innovation processes Capture the ideas and encourage collaboration and review of the ideas to strengthen them Establish the selection mechanism to move the chosen ideas into further evaluation

Questions?

Exercise