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Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

Faculty of Business Administration and Economics

"Innovative process analysis"

Business Environment Administration


Professional Masters Study Programme
Course: Innovative management systems
1st Year Student
Naila Aghayeva

Valmiera
2015

CONTENTS
Introduction.............................................................................................................. 3
How to manage innovation (novelty and aim)......................................................... 4
Innovative process (step by step) ............................................................................

New innovative idea CES 2015................................................................................ 12


Innovative product.................................................................................................... 15
Conclusion................................................................................................................ 18
Sources.....................................................................................................................

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Introduction
Ideas have many beginnings and often start as inklings and insights by
people who think of creative solutions to their day-to-day challenges. Some of
these are truly breakthrough ideas but are not yet fully formed. Others may be
good ideas but they dont fit the needs of the organization.
Innovation process management (IPM) refers to the management of
processes used to spur product and organizational innovation. The purpose of
innovation process management is to trigger the creative capabilities of employees,
create an environment that encourages innovation and develop repeatable
processes that make innovation an integral part of the workplace.
An important aspect of keeping innovation, especially IT innovation, alive
within a company is cultivating and maintaining an innovative culture.
Over the last 50 years there have been many studies of the innovation
process, looking at many different angles. And it is clear that there are no easy
answers and that innovation varies enormously - by scale, type, sector etc.
Innovation is more than simply coming up with good ideas; it is the process
of growing them into practical use. And it is important to understand the whole
process or else it is likely that the behaviours in managing easily get only partially
helpful.
Each firm has to find its own
solutions and develop this in
its own context.

Innovation as a business process

Scanning the environment for changes

Deciding which signals to respond to

Obtaining the resources to enable the


response

Implementing
effectively

the

project

to

respond

HOW TO MANAGE INNOVATION?

Success in innovation depends upon two key ingredients;

Technical resources - people, equipment, knowledge, money etc.

The capabilities in the organization to manage them

Routines - 'the way we do things around here'; the 'personality' of the firm.
Each firm has to develop its own set of routines of innovation management, it has
to be learned, and will not work just by copy them from a successful firm.
Routines are not always positive for the firm. It is important, from the standpoint
of innovation management, not only to build routines but also to recognize when
and how to destroy them and allow new ones to emerge. Successful innovation
management is primarily about building and improving effective routines.
Successful innovation and successful innovators
What is success?

Need to measure the overall process rather than its constituent parts

Have to consider the time perspective

'Success relates to the overall innovation process and its ability to contribute
consistently to growth.'
BLUEPRINTS FOR SUCCESS

From various studies there has been possible to construct a checklist and a crude
blueprint for effective innovation management. These blueprints are divided into
the following phases:
Scanning phase:
Involves detecting signals in the environment about potential change; as example
need for change pulling through innovation or push from new opportunities. It is
important to have well-developed mechanisms for identifying, processing and
selecting information from the environment.
Strategy phase:
The purpose of this phase is to resolve the inputs into an innovation concept which
can be progressed further through the development organization. There are three
inputs; the flow of signals about possible technological and market opportunities
available to the enterprise; the current technological base of the firm, competence;
the fit with the overall business.
Strategic advantage comes when a firm can mobilize a set of internal and external4
competencies which make it difficult for others to copy or enter the market. This
could also be by producing lock-in effects, which locks the market into your

The innovation process.

The innovation process was first laid out by a researcher named Gabriel
Tarde in 1903 (Tarde, 1903). There are multiple processes that have been laid out
by researchers in the last century, however Tardes is often viewed as superior
because it carries a macro approach to innovation.
Rather than laying out a step-by-step guide Tardes process takes a
managers perspective. With this top-down view were better able to see how
enabling innovation impacts a firm. His process is as follows:
Knowledge
Before companies are able to dive straight into innovation they need
knowledge. This is where your firm should pool together both internal and external
knowledge.
Internal knowledge consists of your firms financial well-being, capabilities,
limitations, and strengths. By knowing exactly what your firm has you stand in the
best position possible to build an innovation that your firm can not only use
strategically but actually ship.
Its also important that firms take the time to gather external knowledge of
the market and competitors. Of course, be sure to gather competitor knowledge
legally there is never a justification for corporate espionage.
Youll want to pay special attention to where the market is headed and what
your competitors are doing. Dont forget the age old innovation saying: Its up to
you to figure out not what your customers want but what they actually desire. At
the turn of the 20th century people wanted a faster horse. Ford built them a car.
Forming An Attitude
No surprise here, innovative firms require a certain attitude. This is why
weve seen so much focus on corporate culture of late and you can read multiple
books on the subject.
Before a firm can really leap ahead they need to actually be able to innovate.
This requires building a culture that (a) believes innovation can happen (b) is a
learning organization (Fasnact, 2009).
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Not all corporations have these two elements in their culture indeed it is a
bit of a rarity. None the less, developing them is not challenging.
Its simply a matter of encouraging innovation and heralding successes while
ensuring that red tape is reduced (empowering employees). Learning
organizations discourage doing things because its the way we do it and instead
allow employees to learn and make changes.
The Decision To Adopt Or Reject
Once an innovative concept has been proposed the decision to either utilize
or scrap the idea must occur. This is often a difficult process after all, if youre
looking at ten good ideas how do you possibly choose the best one from that list?
Multiple articles across the website go into much more depth on the subject
but ultimately the decision boils down to strategic fit and how the innovation
aligns to your capabilities and the market place. Youll want to pay attention to
return on investment, the overall difficulty of implementation, and whether the
innovation correlates to your firms long term interests.
If your firm has access to game theorists they can play a powerful role in
deciding which decision should be implemented.
Implementation And Use
Now that youve got the idea its time to implement it. Sitting on the idea
wont do anything and this is why its so important to empower employees and
eliminate red tape: To do otherwise slows this part of the process down
considerably.
Implementation can be easy or challenging. If the innovation is a cost
reduction often times it can be implemented without much difficulty. Then again,
full scale brand extensions can take months to roll out.
The most important part of the innovative process is actually shipping. Seth
Godin discusses this on nearly a weekly basis on his blog and its by far the most
important part its why you bothered to innovate in the first place.
Confirmation Of The Decision
No business venture would be complete without the use of feedback loops
and concluding analysis. A feedback loop is a method of looking at what happened,
what went wrong, and how it can be fixed for next time.
The concluding analysis must include financial viability of the project, an
overview of project management and implementation, and a subsequent analysis
should be completed six months after launch to ensure profitability and success is
maintained.
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This is the innovation process from a managers perspective. Its a valuable


model which applies to every firm looking to innovate. Be sure to apply it as you
move forward.
The innovation process, in the business context, is a structured action that is
remarkably easy to implement. It begins with a problem and ends with profit. As
such, it is the ideal business process. So it is remarkable that so few businesses
have actually implemented this structured innovation process. Fortunately, all you
have to do is read this and implement it in your firm!

Step by Step
1. Begin with a problem
The innovation process starts with a problem or possibly a goal. However,
the fact that the business has not already achieved the goal might be considered a
problem. So, we can safely say the process begins with a problem. All businesses
have problems. Sales could be better, products could be better, processes could be
more efficient, costs could be reduced and so on.
2. Convert the problem into a challenge
Once a problem has been identified, it needs to be converted into a
challenge. A challenge is a short, terse question that invites creative solutions.
Example challenges include: "In what ways might we improve product X?" and
"How might we reduce wastage in our manufacturing process?" A challenge may
also be in the form of a call to action: "Sketch design ideas for product X" or "Use
building blocks to demonstrate ways in which we might combine processes in
manufacturing." Formulating a good challenge that addresses your problem is
critical to the innovation process. If your challenge does not properly address the
underlying problem, you may get a lot of ideas -- but they won't solve your
problem and therefore are unlikely to become innovations!
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3. Challenge colleagues to suggest creative solutions


Once you have a terrific innovation challenge, you need to communicate it
to colleagues or others such as business partners, customers or even the public so
that they can generate ideas. How you communicate depends on the method of idea
generation you will use for each instance of the innovation process.
4. Collaborative idea generation
Idea generation might be in the form of a brainstorming activity, through the
use of real idea management software (one like our Jenni, which uses ideas
campaigns based around innovation challenges) or a team may be assigned to
devise and develop ideas. You could even generate ideas yourself, but as a general
rule, diverse teams generate more creative (both in terms of quantity and quality)
than individuals -- at least in the right circumstances.
Whatever method of idea generation you use, it should ideally be in a
collaborative environment in which people can work together to develop ideas.
Ideally, there should be no criticism, censorship or destruction of ideas during this
phase. You want to encourage people to think creatively and be unafraid to suggest
ideas. Early criticism of any kind will only make people reluctant to share ideas,
especially their most outlandishly creative ideas (in other words, the best ideas),
for fear of also being criticised.
Note: lots of people think that idea generation is the most important element
of the innovation process. It's not. A great idea, unimplemented, is worthless to
business. Nevertheless, you do need ideas to keep the process going and creating
an environment for generating creative ideas means that the resulting innovations
will be more.. innovative!
5. Combine and evaluate ideas
With lots of ideas in the pot, the next step is to combine similar ideas into
idea clusters or big ideas. Each idea cluster can be processed as a single idea, thus
making the next steps of the process more efficient.
This done, you can then evaluate ideas with an evaluation matrix in which
promising ideas are compared to relevant business criteria. The better the idea
meets each criterion, the higher its score. In the end, those ideas with the highest
evaluation scores are taken to the next step.
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Note: evaluators tend to be overly critical of ideas. Hence it is important to


ask them not only what does not work with an idea, but also to ask them how these
problems might be dealt with in order to improve the idea.
6. Develop ideas
How you develop ideas depends on the innovation challenge and the kind of
ideas generated. New product ideas might be developed into prototypes. Process
efficiency ideas may be modeled. Marketing ideas may be evaluated in consumer
surveys and so on. The purpose of developing ideas is to test them in the business
environment and, if no insoluble problems are discovered, prepare them for
implementation.
In the case of highly creative ideas, it is usually best to create a prototype if
at all possible. A prototype makes it easier to sell a radical idea to managers,
committees and other dingalings who will be tempted to kill it off.
7. Implement ideas
Finally, you are now ready to manufacture your new product, restructure
your processes or do whatever is necessary to turn the evaluated and developed
ideas into implementations that generate value for the organisation. It is at this step
that creative ideas grow up and become innovations.
If ideas are radically different to business as usual or if they require
substantial investment, it is wise to implement them with a series of milestones
along the way. This enables you to review the implementation of the idea in order
to ensure it is either delivering value or retains the potential to deliver value at a
future milestone. Although many organisations today make it difficult to
implement radical ideas, once those ideas are launched as projects, the responsible
teams are often remarkably reluctant to stop the implementation for fear of
reprisals, losses or other consequences. You need to minimise those consequences
so under-performing ideas can be killed and resources can rapidly be reinvested in
promising new ideas.
A Scalable, Repeatable and Effective Process
There are three terrific qualities of the innovation process. Firstly, it is
scalable. An individual freelancer can use it to innovate in her business, small
teams can use it for innovative projects, business units and even entire companies
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can use it. Although, with large groups, specialised idea management software is
needed to capture and facilitate the processing of the ideas efficiently.
Secondly, the process is repeatable. A company can have numerous instances
of the innovation process in action at all times. A team leader can launch new
challenges once the ideas from old challenges have been implemented (or even
sooner in some instances).
Thirdly, the process is effective. It is based on a combination of Creative
Problem Solving (CPS) and standard business processes. It has been proven again
and again. Indeed, it should be clear that the innovation process enables you to
align innovation with strategy, focus creative thinking on current business needs
and combine multiple ideas in order to develop comprehensive solutions to all
kinds of business problems.
And, as we stated in the beginning, it is a simple process; one that can
readily be implemented in most companies. Although, you will also need to have
something of a culture of innovation in place in your firm in order for the process
to work. If new ideas are routinely criticised from conception and committees are
so risk adverse they are afraid to cross the street (as is typically the case without a
culture of innovation), there is little hope for the innovation process.
On the other hand, if new ideas are always welcome, the CEO really
believes in innovation (rather than just makes bland statements about it) and the
company is willing to invest resources not only in innovation, but also the
implementation of radical ideas, the innovation process will perform wonderfully!

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The New Innovative Idea CES 2015


DASH WIRELESS SMART IN EAR HEADPHONES BY
BRAGI ON KICKSTARTER

The Bragi Dash Wireless Smart Headphones are quintessentially CES in this
regard. After an immensely successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $3.3
million spread across 15,998 backers, the project pushed forwardslowly.
The industry had good reason to be excited, both then and now. The Bragi
Dash headphones (or "hearables," as the company calls them) are the first of their
kind: equal parts headphones and wearables, they're wireless, Bluetooth-enabled
earbuds that also track your vitals, monitor your performance, and manage your
fitness goals.
WEARABLE TE CHNOLOGY DONE RIGHT
These wireless smart in ear headphones by Bragi look set to beat the
crowdfunding record set by the Pebble smartwatch and for good reason. With 39
days left to go on their Kickstarter campaign, the Dash headphones have already
raised over $2,000,000 of a $260,000 goal. Not only are these some of the first
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individual wireless in ear headphones, theyre also the first headphones with smart
capabilities and boast internal storage as well as being 1m water resistant!
DASH FI TNES S TRACKING
The Dash is a discrete device that delivers clear sound without blocking out
what is going on around us. The Dashs ability to tell us how long we have
exercised for, how far we have travelled and how fast we are moving, whilst also
delivering heart rate readings and oxygen saturation level, suddenly puts this
device as one of the most innovative, yet necessary pieces of audio technology in
modern times. Helle Frederiksen, Triathlete
The target audiences for the Dash wireless in ear headphones are
undoubtedly fitness fanatics as opposed to audiophiles and the devices have
amazing capabilities for extreme sports. These include earbone mics for
communicating with companions, accelerometers, GPS tracking (with paired
smartphone), and even non-invasive heart rate and oxygen saturation sensors so
you can keep track of your workouts. When these features are coupled with the
4GB of internal storage, Bluetooth LE connectivity, reachargeable batteries and
external touch controls, it seems unbelievable.
D A S H AU D I O Q U A L I T Y
Bragi claim that the headphones will offer incredible sound but I find it
hard to believe they will be able to match a top brand such as Sennheiser with
Dashs post-Kickstarter price of just $299. I suppose hearing is believing so theres
no point speculating but the sound quality isnt really even the point with the kinds
of revolutionary wearable technology features being incorporated into Dash.

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B ATT E RY L I F E
Another potential drawback for some will be the battery life of Bragi Dash
headphones. While it is very impressive that 100mAh batteries have been fitted
into such small in ear headphones, 3 hours of playback will likely be disappointing
to people hoping to use them throughout the day. However 3 hours would likely be
an ample session time for those participating in sports activities such as snow
boarding, cycling or running.
able that this can all be fit into such small earbuds.
SECURE FI T
Dash in ear headphones claim to be able to offer a secure fit with three
contact points around the opening of the ear canal. They tested the fit extensively
with hundreds of ears and also give different sized silicone sleeves with the
headphones. There are no cables pulling on the headphones so falling out shouldnt
be an issue but obviously itd be easy to lose them due to their size if this was to
occur.
NOISE ISOL ATI ON AND AUDIO TRANSPARENCY
Essentially the headphones have such a good fit that by default they block
out all surrounding sound. This is a great if youre on an aeroplane but dangerous
if youre cycling on a busy road. To combat this Dash incorporated adjustable
audio transparency which uses an ambient microphone on the outside of the device
and feeds the peripheral noises through your music so that you can hear that truck
approaching or your non-Dash equipped friend talking to you.
VI TAL S RE ADI NG
The most incredible aspect in my opinion is their water resistivity which will
allow you to swim while listening to music! Theyre only rated to 1m in water
depth but the information offered in the FAQ of the Kickstarter page looks
promising. It also details how the Dash headphones will record your heart beat and
oxygen saturation levels with two LEDs emitting light into the capillaries of the
ear and using the optical reflection to determine the red and white blood cell
counts.
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DASH S MART HEADP HONES APP DE VELOPMENT SDK


Dash are really keen to get developers on board to write apps for the
headphones and are offering an SDK. Potential applications could include an SOS
signal app if the accelerometer detects a sudden altitude change or if the heart rate
monitor detects a heart attack. Bragi are also making their own iOS and Android
apps for the device and will accommodate a Windows phone app as a stretchgoal if
the funding reaches $2,500,052. Previously reached stretchgoals include this
carrying case with an integrated reserve battery which can carry 5 full charges for a
pair of Dash headphones.
KI CKS TARTE R CROWDFUNDI NG
As mentioned the Bragi Dash smart wireless in ear headphones have already
beaten their initial Kickstarter campaign target by over ten times with 39 days left
to go but you can still order yours here. There are a limited quantity of 16,000 still
available at $199 and the Kickstarter price will then increase to $239. PostKickstarter prices are expected to be $299 so youre saving quite a lot of money by
getting in early. I for one am really interested to see how future generations of
Dash in ear headphones will evolve to offer even more features with app
development, better sound quality, and perhaps higher water resistivity ratings.
This video from the Kickstarter page includes the Youtube clip embedded above as
well as a backstory by Bragi founder Nikolaj Hviid, a review of the user
experience from triathlete Helle Frederiksen and details of the development from
designer Arne Loermann.

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Innovative product - Folding table for working standing.

There are problems that modern man has to sit too much, and new idea came
encourage manufacturers to create computer desks for standing (there were in the
market for western options , but too expensive for our people). But recently
founded an even easier (and cheaper) version of this table.
It is not a separate table, which is to replace our traditional desktop, a small
folding-sofa-table, which can be placed over an existing table.

That is not necessary to change the existing furniture and throw out your old
desk. Enough to buy a add-on application to it and use it as needed (when you
want to - put, tired - cleaned). As home fitness equipment that can be put forward
in the center of the room for the lessons, and can be removed for a cabinet when
they are not needed.
I would have these tables are not only put in the offices, but also in schools
and institutions (that our children are not in pain, sitting in one position for several
hours).
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The idea - not only more convenient and cheaper solutions for the stiff joints
and backs. And how gracefully you can find solutions for problems. This is an
elegant solution allows more than one version of the work (standing), but the two
options (sitting and standing). This design is very light and easy to manage. I do
not know, however, how much it costs. But the thing is clearly a useful and
practical.

Conclusion.
What makes The Dash Wareless headphones incredible is how everything
can be controlled by a simple gesture control on the headphones, or using the app
that comes with the headphones. They also come with built in 4GB of memory so
you can store music straight onto the headphones rather than having to use your
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smart phone, tablet or any music device. What these nifty things, the technical side
and fitness side of The Dash is incredible for what it is.
Some of the technical and fitness things you get in The Dash are things like:
A fitness tracker, ear bone microphone, passive noise isolation and audio
transparency. They also provide both earphones with three different sized silicone
sleeves so you can get the perfect fit so you can exercise and listen to your music
in the best comfort you can get.
So in conclusion, Im completely won over with The Dash purely for the
fact of how easy it is to use them and the technology that is inside two little
amazing things.
And about the desk. This is essentially the same unit we had from the first
impressions, but the dual monitors are a much nicer setup and in our opinion at a
better level than the notebook and LCD combo. There are still cord management
hurdles, but there are zip ties included to help with that.
If your workplace wont buy one for you, we suggest looking into getting
one on your own. Because this bolts to any desk, you can add it yourself and take it
with you if you leave.
For the money, this desk is the best standing desk on the market. We use ours
every day, and couldnt imagine going back to a sitting desk.

Sources.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G49JUm2GacM
2. http://www.creativejeffrey.com/index.php
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3.http://homeli.co.uk/dash-wireless-smart-in-ear-headphones-by-bragi-onkickstarter/
4. http://creativity-online.com/
5. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0048733386900120
6. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225348
7. www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_88.htm
8. innovationmanagement.se/2013/08/08/how-to-innovate-the-innovation-process/

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