How to Manage Risk in Innovation

Innovation is a risky activity. There are many examples of technologies or products which failed in the market. Also there are many examples of innovative companies which failed or went bankrupt. So the question is what can be done to minimize risk in the innovation process? This blog discusses the concept of risk, how to

Engaging Stakeholders for Success

When you manage your innovation project, it is important to engage your stakeholders. Stakeholders are persons who are able to influence the outcome of your project or are impacted by the outcome. When you neglect your stakholders, it can mean that some stakeholders will oppose your project, resulting in less effectiveness or even complete failure. This blog presents

Re-think your design with Design Thinking

Sometimes products run out of traction in the market, because all products look the same and hardly any innovation takes place. In this situation it can be beneficial to re-design a product in order to create a new impact in the market. Design Thinking is an effective approach to help you doing this. The result can

How to deliver good Quality in Digital Innovation

Good quality is an important attribute of products. When products do not meet the quality expectations of customers, customers will start to complain and do not buy those products in the future. Traditional quality management methods, like Total Quality Management and Six Sigma, have proven to be very successful for traditional hardware products in stable

Creating an Advantage with Modularity

When creating a new product or service, it is frequently unclear how the exact market for such a product or service looks like. This is especially the case for disruptive products, for which there is no market yet. In this case it could be beneficial to create a modular product, which is flexible enough to

How to use Design to Differentiate your Product

Design is one of the attributes of a product. The importance of design depends on the expectations of the customers in a specific market. In many markets, like household appliances, clothing or cars, design is an important attribute to compete in that market. Without an attractive design, it is harder to sell products. But how

How to use a Business Case to Optimize your Value Proposition

Many companies treat value proposition development and product justification as separate domains, which are managed by different experts. First, a value proposition is developed by the marketeers and product managers. Afterwards, a financial business case is written by financial managers to justify expenditures. In some cases marketeers and product managers do not even care about

Using Advanced Technologies to create Better Products

In many start-ups and innovative businesses risky new technologies are developed in the product development process. This frequently results in unwanted delays and cost overruns. In this blog, an alternative way of working is proposed. This proposal is based on the different nature of technology development and product development. Product versus technologies There are many

Creating Requirements which Count

Requirements play a central role in the development process.  Requirements define both what must be build, and what has been built. But writing good requirements is a skill, which few organizations master. What are the essential elements to write good requirements? How do you write requirements which make a difference? This blog discusses 4 essential

Design around the Customer with the Voice of the Customer Tree

A question which frequently comes up in innovation is how to create products or services which are really liked by customers. The Voice of the Customer Tree is a very powerful tool to define the key requirements of a product or service to ensure that the value of a proposition is delivered. The Voice of