Innovation Series (Part 4 of 5): Process Model Examples
This post talks about two popular process models to add to your 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
- Next Post: Measuring Business Innovation: Metrics & KPIs
Innovation Meets Product Development
Ever dream of innovation process models to help 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 everyone LOVES it, and it’s profitable?
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, 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 great 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 instead 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) 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, let’s look at Fig. 10.1, an example of the stage-gate approach (Tidd & Bessant, 2014, p. 182).
The stage-gate approach builds upon each stage that 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 in new product development processes. However, they provide a good starting point to help us visualize and imagine the components that go into making the products we use every day (and in the future).
?What other product development models have you heard of or used?
In part five, I discuss ways to measure business innovation for tracking innovation investment success.
Main Source:
Tidd, J. & Bessant, J. R. (2014). Strategic innovation management. Wiley.
