Stages of the innovation process: types, characteristics and stages

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Stages of the innovation process: types, characteristics and stages
Stages of the innovation process: types, characteristics and stages
Anonim

What is the stage of the innovation process? First of all, some action that precedes the result. Many believe that the creation of new ideas is its beginning, but in fact it is not. An idea arises in the middle of a disciplined innovation process, which will be discussed in this article. While the goal of all innovation is to "simply" create value for the business (just in quotation marks, because it's obviously not that easy to do), innovation itself can take many forms. As noted above, this can be the incremental improvement of existing products, the creation of breakthroughs such as entirely new products and services, cost reductions, efficiency gains, new business models, new ventures, and many other forms. This article will list the main stages of the innovation process.

Cultivating an Idea
Cultivating an Idea

Methodology

The method of innovation is to find, create and develop ideas, turn them into useful forms and use them to obtainprofits, efficiency gains and/or cost reductions.

In the pursuit of innovation, it is obvious that many ideas in this stage and the innovation process stage become a few realized, useful innovations in the output stage, so people readily imagine the sequence of innovations as a funnel: many ideas come in the wide end from the left, and a few off-the-shelf innovations enter the market from the narrow edge on the right. The trick is to make it work, you need to know what needs to happen inside the funnel.

The value of ideas

Ideas are indeed the seeds of innovation, just as ore mined from the earth is the raw material for steel, or wheat is the raw material for bread. But it takes a lot of work to mine raw ore and turn it into metal, or prepare fields for growing grain long before it becomes bread. It's the same with innovation; we don't start collecting raw ideas. Instead, we know that innovation is a key element of our organizations' strategy, so we must begin the very act of innovation with strategic thinking to ensure results are fully in line with our strategic intent.

Further in this article, all stages of the innovation process and their characteristics will be described.

Idea preparation
Idea preparation

Strategic Thinking

Step 1 is strategic thinking. This is one of the main stages of the innovation process. It starts with the goal of creating a strategic advantage in the market, so at this stageinnovation we specifically think about how it will add value to your strategic goals and target areas where innovation has the greatest potential to deliver strategic advantage.

Management

Step 2 - managing "portfolios". Management is often mismanaged, which is a stage in the innovation process that can be detrimental to the outcome. By definition, we are trying to do something new and continue to work, while in fact there is often no confidence in the success of the upcoming actions. We have confidence that in the end the planned result will be achieved, but already at the initial stage there is an understanding that there will be many wrong turns and many attempts that will never be realized. As such, we proactively manage portfolios of innovation to balance the inherent risks of the unknown with targeted rewards for success, and balance our pursuit of excellence with the realities of learning, risk, failure to ultimately succeed.

Steps 1 and 2 together provide a platform and context for everything that follows, and so they make up the entry steps of the sequence. Therefore, actions in the subsequent stages of the innovation process have the best chance of achieving maximum results.

Research

Step 3 - research. The result of stage 2 of the innovation process is the creation of an ideal "portfolio", which, in our opinion, represents the right one for today.mixture of short and long term projects for all four types of innovations. Once we understand the ideal, we can compare our current knowledge and identify gaps. Filling these gaps is therefore the aim of the study. Through them, we will tackle a wide range of unknowns, including new technologies, societal changes and customer values, and in the process, we will provide significant new opportunities for innovation.

Thinking strategically explains how the world is changing and what our clients can value, which in turn stimulates new questions that research answers. Their results generate a large number of new ideas on a wide range of internal and external topics. It is an abundant raw material, and it already automatically aligns with our strategic intent because it is the result of a direct link between strategy, portfolio design, and research. Some experts are convinced that original managerial decisions are a stage of the innovation process, which is not true

valuable idea
valuable idea

Insight

Step 4 - epiphany. In the course of our research, the "light bulb" lights up from time to time, and we use the best ways to solve future problems. Eureka! The innovation and its purpose are mutually clarified; we understand what is the right offer for the right client. For the rest, the sequence of stages of the innovation process helps us.

Many people take this moment of understanding as the beginning of a creative act. In the same timeit becomes clear that in a managed effort to implement innovations, we expect understanding that will arise as a result of previous actions, and not at random. Therefore, the innovation process described here is specifically contrasted with the generation of random ideas; the emergence of a new one is the result of a purposeful process of study and development. This is not because someone had a good idea in their hearts, but because individuals and groups have been looking for it diligently and persistently.

Development

Step 5 is development, design, prototyping and testing, resulting in a finished product, service and business design. Production, distribution, branding, marketing and sales are also developed at this stage of the innovation process.

Market Development

Step 6 - “market development”, a universal act of business planning that starts with brand identification and development, continues through preparing customers to understand and choose this innovation, which leads to a rapid increase in sales.

Sale

Step 7 is the sale where the real return is achieved. We now generate financial returns by successfully selling new products and services. In the case of process improvement innovations, we are now benefiting from improved efficiency and productivity.

Managing activities of this magnitude and complexity is of course a challenge for all organizations, but there are some global companies that do it extremely well. The knowledge that some achieve significant success, andthat it is possible to be an exemplary innovative company that can generate exceptional returns should be a powerful source of motivation to develop and apply your own master plan.

Mechanism of innovation
Mechanism of innovation

Idea Generation

New ideas are created in the generation process. Mobilization occurs when she moves to another physical or logical location, such as an outside firm or department.

Inspiration for an idea can come from improving an existing idea or from scratch. An issue of Atlantic magazine tells how Apple waited three years for MP3 players to arrive. And only then the iPod was created, which was attractive, intuitive and offered a capacity of up to 1,000 songs. Conversely, the invention of duct tape was a completely new idea.

Human factor

As a result of the work ethic, smart employers give employees time (15% of their work day) to explore and come up with new ideas outside of their job assignments. It is desirable for employees to know all stages of the innovation process. Other organizations have followed this model, and trusted communities generally provide employees with time and resources to innovate. According to the book Innovation: Management, Policy, and Practice, managers should pay due attention to innovation: “reassessing needs will lead to some employees leaving for more stable jobs,” and “underemphasizing them will reduce urgency and the generation of ideas across the board.” "".

Not all ideas deserve implementation. Advocacy and screening help evaluate an idea and measure its potential benefits and challenges. From there, a decision can be made about the future of the idea.

One of the biggest benefits to joint protection and screening processes is rework. If an idea has potential, discussions and arguments help to strengthen it. A number of white papers mention how an idea for senior management is prepared at this stage, which may require a different approach. Since idea generators do not always have the skills to defend their ideas, managers working with an idea generator can help, encourage and support a person.

Corporate culture

Companies looking to build a strong culture can offer some best practices for this step. First, employees should have plenty of opportunities to receive support and feedback. Second, organizations must understand the difficulties involved in evaluating truly innovative ideas. Third, companies need to create transparent evaluation and review protocols.

The Experimental stage tests the idea, for example with a prototype or pilot test. Researchers in Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice carefully note that "experimentation does not test the objective merit [of an idea], but suitability for a particular organization at a particular time." Some ideas “may be ahead of their time or beyond the company’s current capabilities… [they] may later be spun off into an idea bank or library for development.”"".

Mechanism of Ideas
Mechanism of Ideas

Experimenting

Experimentation can be continuous or bursty as proponents and testers rethink the idea. Sometimes the implementation in practice leads to the emergence of new ones due to the information that is collected from the results and the overall feasibility of the original idea. Time is critical in this process; people should have enough time to experiment. As refinements and evaluations take place, they should be given enough time to think about practical applications.

Many businesses are experimenting with new products and services, such as grocery stores. One of the innovations came in 2007, when Amazon tested its grocery delivery service in some Seattle suburbs. After this successful experiment, Amazon Fresh expanded to Los Angeles, San Diego and New York.

Commercialization

Commercialization aims to create market value for an idea by focusing on its potential impact. This step makes the idea attractive to the audience, for example by pairing the idea with others, figuring out how and when it can be used, and using data or prototypes from experiments to demonstrate the benefits.

An important part of commercialization is establishing the specifications for any given idea. The promises and potentialities of the early stages of innovation must be discarded so that the real benefits of new technologies can be perceived and communicated.innovations. This is a pretty important thought. Many researchers write about this in their articles. Once an idea is fine-tuned, it can be targeted accordingly and meet the needs of the audience.

Commercialization is the stage in the innovation process where the focus shifts from development to persuasion. Once the idea is clarified and the business plan is created, it will be ready to be shared and implemented. Implementation into reality depends on its content and the stages of the innovation process.

Distribution and introduction

"Distribution and implementation are two sides of the same coin," as experienced professionals say. Introduction is the adoption of a new idea by a company, and implementation creates everything necessary for the development, use or production of new products. But before that, experts must establish the sequence of stages of the innovation process.

Diffusion occurs at all levels of an organization. It often involves professionals who effectively present innovations using their knowledge of "specific content and application into which an idea, product, or service can be inserted." All this, however, has little effect on the stages of development of the innovation process.

Use and application

The use or application of innovations must be demonstrated by the end of this phase along with their acceptance. Successful innovation will require adequate resources, a marketing plan for customers, and an open culture with strong advocacy. Also important for dissemination and implementation is the opportunity for futureideas; this last step allows the organization to identify the next set of customer needs. Getting feedback and a set of various benchmarks allows the company to once again stimulate the innovation process.

Problems

Any innovation also creates problems. If a step periodically has problems, which indicates a lack of thoughtfulness, or the company lacks a systematic act of adopting and developing innovative ideas, the organization will rely on chance. But with the right approach, mindset and resources, an enterprise can reap the benefits of strategic growth.

Idea and innovation
Idea and innovation

Managers can help create a culture of innovation. An open and supportive environment can lead to organizational success as well as the recognition and professional growth of employees who offer contributions. In addition to creating a new culture, managers can help the company and its employees in other areas. At Rivier University, the online MBA program allows students to expand their knowledge of core business concepts - such as project management, organizational dynamics, accounting and more - to better understand the industry and how to succeed.

Goals

Why is the implementation of the stages of the innovation process? The holistic process aims to achieve goals and thus creates a clear structure that structures and systematically implements the development of new products, services and business models. However, before this happens,be clear what is meant by innovation within the company. This is also true for the stages of the innovation process in education, which are not too different from the model adopted in the business world.

Meaning

The act of innovating is the heart of idea management, so it makes sense to understand goals as sub-components.

Innovation is the introduction of a new product or improvement in its quality, method of production, market, source of supply and/or organization in an industry. It also refers to improving an existing concept or idea using a step-by-step process to create a commercially viable product.

Innovation is stereotypically seen as the wheelhouse of small and start-up companies as it tends to be very dynamic, but as we shall see, it is also a vital and viable aspect in large companies.

The most useful thing about them is the ability to turn an idea into a successful concept. To do this, you need to go a long and difficult path. To realize your plans, you must understand this well and have the necessary support. This is what separates a successful process from an unsuccessful one. These are the features of labor at the stages of the innovation process. All this is worth considering.

Creativity and innovation
Creativity and innovation

Conclusion

Innovation is the process of improving the service of a product from its current state. The peculiarities of labor at the stages of transformation, however, can be temporarily depressing. Already by definition, you can say that innovation is not limited to business size orthe business entity you are dealing with.

Therefore, innovation is open to all. They add value to the company's services or products, so management should strive to innovate in their business. And thanks to this article, you have learned what is the stage of the innovation process.

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