There are many interviewing and observational techniques that help inventors and teams learn about the customer environment. These techniques provide the structure to discover hidden problems ripe for innovation. The excitement of finding real hidden problems or unmet needs can entice the innovator or team to skip an important step in the innovation process: reflect before you innovate.
The conceptual and complex nature of early discovery work requires a communication approach that is repetitive, iterative and crosses departmental boundaries. This rather time consuming approach may seem less efficient however, it has the benefit of producing higher quality product and service concepts.
Asking customers the right questions and involving them at the right time can go a long way in building confidence in your new product or service concept. We encourage you to leverage three “virtual” rooms when involving customers in a concept review process:
The process of divergent thinking is more successful in a playful and open environment. The exploration and creation of new concepts that address unmet needs can bring many novel alternatives to the table. However filtering through all this newly generated brain food requires a more focused and serious environment.
I started this note as a letter to our youngest daughter.
We had just finished an errand to fix her car. What a good feeling to check off one of our weekend to dos. A friend recently told her about a new coffee trailer nearby. We drove over to check it out. The parking lot with the trailer had a number of other “food carts” in it. They work like this. You park your car, walk up to order at one of the trailers and then your order will be delivered to your car. This order and delivery system combines Portland’s food cart chic with drive-in like service.
