Approaching high uncertainty innovation opportunities as if they are business as usual is a major trap. Here's how you can explore disruptive or transformational ideas with confidence.
Validate
Substantiate ideas' potential
Experiment
Create a culture of discovery
Learn
Capture learnings and build knowledge
Look before you leap
In most cases, the next step after selecting an idea isn't to start implementing it. Equip teams with simple and effective tools to deal with uncertainty.
Assemble a discovery team
Provide tools that guide teams to find out if ideas can deliver the envisioned value. Here's what they get:
A systematic way of exploring ideas with a high degree of uncertainty
A shared workspace to manage their idea development work
Modern tools that won't get in your team's way
Start with the end in mind
Make sure that the mission is clear for everyone! Who is the idea for? What is it for? What value is it going to create?
Establish the purpose and value proposition of the idea from the outset
Agree on the key constraints, objectives and key results
Model the targetted qualitative and quantitative impacts
Map the underlying assumptions
Each idea is based on assumptions that must be clear and discussed.
Help teams focus on what needs to be true for the idea to work
Prioritize assumption validation based on certainty and impact
Validate that the initial vision is still showing promise or if the idea was flawed
Run relevant experiments
Experiments can be MVPs, prototypes, customer interviews, etc, and will help find out if the idea is worth it. At the end of each experiment, the team will let you know what was learned, what was surprising, and the proposed way forward.
Get a structured approach to testing critical idea assumptions
Identify and address key gaps and potential problems
Ensure ideas create value and meet their audience's needs
Lower risk
There's no risk-free approach to innovation. But your teams can keep an eye on what can go wrong and devise a plan to address the risks.
Prioritize the risks depending on their impact and likelihood
Create a response for the risks that can endanger the project
Assign people to each risk to ensure that it will be addressed
All information in one place
Avoid fragmented discussions and files scattered throughout emails and links. All progress is tracked in a workspace for team collaboration.
Centralized discussion for the team
Keep all relevant files together with the project
Document the results of experimentation and learning activities
Inspiring methodologies
Discovery-driven planning
Systematically convert assumptions into knowledge.
Business Model Generation
Address all the elements necessary to success.
Lean Startup
Rapidly discover if an idea is viable.
Jobs to be Done
Focus the effort on a crisp and clear purpose and objectives.
Customer Development
Enable experimentation with rigour and flexibility.
Value Proposition Design
Ensure that value is created for all stakeholders.
