Innovation can be described in many terms; by its outcomes or results, by the mindset or behaviors of successful innovators, or by the processes and methods used. Another way to think of innovation is through the artifacts generated that include and reflect all of those dimensions. The artifacts of innovation are the tangible deliverables that can be managed, measured and evaluated along the innovation life cycle.
There are many well-known examples of innovation artifacts and most of them are shared with general business disciplines like strategy & business planning, research & development, sales and marketing, operations and workflow management.
Here are some examples of innovations artifacts:
- Problem Statements
- Solution Hypotheses
- Value Proposition Statements
- Customer or User Personas
- Value Chain or Value Networks
- Business & Financial Models
- Numerous Business and Innovation “Canvases”
- Competitive Analysis
- Research and Experiment Design & Results
How do the Artifacts help with Innovation?
The artifacts are the output of work innovators do to apply creative thinking and association with or connecting the dots to either a previously unrecognized or unfulfilled need or a specific business objective. These artifacts and the tools and methods used to create them serve several important purposes:
Structured Thinking and Analysis
One of the most valuable things that these artifacts provide are frameworks for structured thinking and analysis. The variables and options to consider when trying to apply innovation to a problem or need are virtually infinite. It can be overwhelming to even the most experienced, intelligent and creative people. The tools and methods and the artifacts themselves provide a structure for focus and constraints to operate within that help break the infinite down into manageable chunks. They can also help compensate for natural biases and help practitioners to think about and analyze aspects or perspectives that they may be likely to miss or avoid. When used properly they can also provide a good forcing function to solidify a vague notion or 'handy-wavy' concept into a specific choices or concrete assumptions.
Communication with Stakeholders
Another very important role these artifacts play is communicating new concepts and ideas to other stakeholders. The artifacts are a lens through which others can see the innovator's thinking and ideas. In many cases the artifacts help translate the ideas into the language or context relevant to a specific stakeholder. For example, a business leader or financial controller making a decision to fund or invest in an innovation concept may be most concerned with the financial assumptions and their implications to the risk and potential for financial return. The business and financial model artifacts help translate the innovators ideas or hypothesis into terms that they care about and understand. We also believe that one of the best ways to understand something, is to try and communicate it to someone else. The artifacts help do that.
Cataloging Key Assumptions
Finally, and perhaps most importantly and unique to the artifacts in the context of innovation, is the role they play in helping to expose and catalog the assumptions and unknowns inherent in the innovation concept or idea. This is a critical difference in how innovation projects should be managed differently than typical business projects. More radical or transformative innovations tend to have a far greater number of unknowns and uncertainties than well established and mature lines of business or business operations. The cumulative risk of all the uncertainties involved with a major innovation may prevent an organization from pursuing it all if considered through the typical established business lens. However, if the focus of the innovation effort is the identification and reduction of the uncertainties by testing and validating or disproving the key assumptions and investing incrementally as confidence in the outcome increases with more and more data, then companies can limit their risk exposure and scale their investment with increased confidence in the return. The assumptions and uncertainties exposed and cataloged in the artifacts are essential to enabling that approach.
There are many great tools and best practices available that cover myriad dimensions of business and innovation available from academia and a growing number of industry groups and consultants supporting innovation. However, there are still challenges with the tools and methods for generating them as they exist today. We are attempting to address many of them with our Applied Innovation Management Software Suite, currently under development. Sign up for our mailing list to find out more.
