Innovation Series (Part 4 of 5): Process Model Examples
This post discusses two popular process models to add to your technology and innovation project toolbox!
Links to the previous posts:
- First post: Business innovation: its many forms, and why it matters
- Part 2: What is Innovation Leadership?
- Part 3: Public Sector Innovation Roadblocks
Innovation Meets Product Development
Ever dream of innovation process models that help you seamlessly innovate your way through new product development and toward a product/service that is so in demand that it’s not only timeless but also loved by everyone?
Like being the lead creator/developer/”Imagineer” (thank Disney for the term) of the laptop or smartphone you’re on right now.
Or… have the flawless capacity to develop the next wave of sharing economy services and compete with Uber or Airbnb.
Big dreams, of course. However, it is NOT impossible because they, well, already exist.
So how do all of those castle-in-the-air ideas go direct-to-consumer?
➡️Most don’t, and those who do have a combo of significant and extensive marketing.
➡️And luck.
➡️Sometimes, a lot of luck.
So the question remains — how do products go from concept to reality?
Innovation Process Models!
To spare you from another definition, let’s hone in on what goes into new product development to help us better understand (two of) the behind-the-scenes processes/development models.
As a side note, there are numerous development models, and any one of them can range from three to thirteen stages (Tidd & Bessant, 2014, p. 183).
The ones in this post will max out at two-ish.
Development Funnel
First, meet the “development funnel for new product development.” As a reminder, Fig. 10.2 is one variation. Still, it helps us visualize the reduction of uncertainty and different resource constraints that project managers might encounter (and need to consider – like defining roles and responsibilities, having enough human resources, financials, risk management, etc.) throughout new product development (Tidd & Bessant, 2014, pp. 182-83). In other words, it’s a big-picture view of the entire process.
Stage-Gate Approach
For a more detailed visualization of product development processes, see Fig. 10.1, an example of the stage-gate approach (Tidd & Bessant, 2014, p. 182).
The stage-gate approach builds upon each stage we saw in Fig. 10.2. However, it also incorporates checks and balances between each stage to aid decision-making, risk assessment, monitoring, and more.
Summing Up
Of course, these models only touch the surface of what needs to be considered. For example, are you familiar with citizen development (read about my journey here) or digital transformation? Either way, Innovation Process Models provide a good starting point to help us visualize and imagine the components that go into making the products we use daily (and in the future)!
The following post (Part 5) discusses ways to measure business innovation to track innovation investment success.
What other product development models have you heard of or used?
Want to learn about digital transformation and innovation? Check out these posts:
Main Source:
Tidd, J. & Bessant, J. R. (2014). Strategic innovation management. Wiley.