Innovation in Practice

The LAB: Innovating the GPS with Attribute Dependency (January 2012)

GPS technology is great at getting you from Point A to Point B.   What if you had a system that alerted you to risk of crime, weather, points of interest, and cost savings tips along the way?  Microsoft seems headed this way in light of its newly-awarded patent that ties GPS location to useful information for pedestrians.  Here is a description:

"As a pedestrian travels, various difficulties can be encountered, such as traveling through an unsafe neighborhood or being in an open area that is subject to harsh temperatures. A route can be developed for a person taking into account factors that specifically affect a pedestrian. Moreover, the route can alter as a situation of a user changes; for instance, if a user wants to add a stop along a route."

This is a classic example of the Attribute Dependency Technique, one of five in Systematic Inventive Thinking.  It creates a correlation (dependency) between a person's location and the type of information that is sent to the device.  Microsoft's new concept gathers data, analyzes the data and user requirements, then generates suggested routes.  It considers the user's preferences such as avoiding neighborhoods that exceed a certain threshold of violent crime statistics. The system might direct you to "take the subway" rather than walk if bad weather looms. It even considers cost factors such as parking, extra traffic, and other situations that might make you vary your path.

For this month's LAB, let's see if we can extend Microsoft's concept by a systematic use of the Attribute Dependency Technique.   Attribute Dependency differs from the other templates in that it uses attributes (variables) of the situation rather than components.  Start with an attribute list, then construct a matrix of these, pairing each against the others.  Each cell represents a potential dependency (or potential break in an existing dependency) that forms a Virtual Product.  Using Function Follows Form, we work backwards and envision a potential benefit or problem that this hypothetical solution solves. 

Here are new ideas in the same vein as the Microsoft patent using Attribute Dependency:

1.  Type of Insurance vs. Route:  The GPS unit recommends a travel route based on the type of insurance the person has.  Perhaps the insurance company stores preferred routes based on risk of loss.  Taking this further, perhaps the person using the GPS and complying with these recommended routes earns a "safe pedestrian" discount.

2.  Health Status vs. Route:  The GPS unit calculates a forecast of calories to be burned along a route.  Depending on the person's health status and exercise habits, the unit makes recommendations based on difficulty and degree of exercise (light, medium, and hard exertion).

3.  Social Status vs. Route:  The GPS unit pulls in information from the person's social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on) and makes route recommendations based on various factors.  Such factors could include location of friends, recommended restaurants by friends, places of work, etc.  Any information conveyed by a member of your social networks is integrated to your route of travel to give you richer context about it.  A site called Dopplr is approaching this now.

 4.  Time of Day vs. Type of Output:  When using Attribute Dependency, it is almost always a good idea to include "time" as an external variable.  Many aspects of our lives are time-dependent, and the tool can yield valuable innovations to account for time.  In this example, imagine the output of the GPS unit varies by time of day.  Perhaps it switches between the LCD on the unit and other display options such as a smartphone or TV.  Perhaps it tracks the users calendar and relays time of arrival via SMS text.  The essence of this idea is to match the way information is delivered to the user in context of what else is happening.

The LAB: Innovation for Couch Potatoes (December 2011)

This month's LAB features a former student of mine, Ryan Rosensweig.  Ryan is the first business-design hybrid from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. He earned his master’s degree in design after completing his bachelor’s degree in marketing, sustainable urban engineering, and interdisciplinary design innovation. As the graduate assistant for Associate Dean Craig M. Vogel, of DAAP’s Center for Design Research and Innovation, Ryan researched educational models for interdisciplinary innovation, the interaction between design methodologies and business strategy. 

Take a look at his portfolio here.

I had the pleasure of teaching Ryan how to use Systematic Inventive Thinking when he attended my Innovation Tools graduate course.  The final exam required students to correctly apply all five techniques of S.I.T. to an item assigned to them randomly.  

Let's look at Ryan's final exam - innovating a couch!

1.  SUBTRACTION: Removing an essential component

• Virtual Product:  The frame of the hide-away couch is subtracted.
• Concept:  The hide-away mattress supported by the arm rests that swing down as the mattress is pulled out (see sketch).
• Potential Benefits:  Easier to convert to a bed for busy people on the go or people with disabilities.

2.  MULTIPLICATION: Making a copy of a component but changing it in some way

• Virtual Product:  A couch with two sets of legs; the second set is located on the back of the couch.
• Concept:  The Lazy Sofa - a couch that rotates forward and backward. As it rotates backward, the legs on the back of the couch support it.
• Potential Benefits:  Now the couch can face two directions easily.  It does not have to be anchored against a wall.  It is a simple solution that allows more flexibility in large rooms.

3.  TASK UNIFICATION:  Assigning an additional task to an existing resource

• Virtual Product:  The family pet has the additional task of pulling out the hide-away mattress.
• Concept:  A pet-friendly couch that has a small mat underneath that the dog can pull out and lay on.
• Potential Benefits:  Avoids having the dog sit on the main part of the couch, eliminating dog hair and odor.

4.  DIVISION:  Dividing a product or component either physically, functionally, or preserving (maintaining characteristics of the whole)

• Virtual Product:  The arm rests physically split in two
• Concept:  Armrests that automatically open up when the hideaway mattress is pulled out to reveal amenities like a reading light, alarm clock, and so on.
• Potential Benefits:  Space-saving, convenient, guest-friendly

5.  ATTRIBUTE DEPENDENCY:  Creating (or breaking) dependencies between two internal attributes or an internal and external attribute.

• Virtual Product:  The older the person sitting, the softer the couch becomes.
• Concept:  Smart Couch - a sofa that adjusts automatically to the preferences of the person sitting on it.
• Potential Benefits:  Comfort.

The LAB: Innovating the Pricing Process (November 2011)

Setting prices on new products and services is one of the most challenging roles in marketing. Pricing mistakes are costly, yet it's one of the most tempting tools to use when trying to generate revenues.  Fortunately, methods like Value Based Pricing and frameworks like The Big Picture make the job easier. 

What if you wanted to explore more innovative ways to set prices?  Applying the SIT innovation patterns would create new insights and options. The SIT patterns help break fixedness - the tendency to limit the way we see things to what we know.  These patterns are innate to all of us.  We just need to "extract" them from within and deploy them in a systematic way.  

For this month's LAB, we will apply SIT to pricing.  While there are many methods and schools of thought around pricing, the SIT templates should apply to any of them. I would do the following. 

The LAB: Innovating the Light Switch (October 2011)

How do you know which SIT tool to use on your product?  That is one of the most common questions from my students and workshop participants.  One way to decide is to analyze the current products in the category.  You look for SIT patterns that tend to dominate how the product emerged and evolved over the years.  I look at recent innovations in the category to spot trends.  I also try to identify where the industry might have some "fixedness" about the products and how they are used.  The type of fixedness (functional, structural, or relational) can lend insight about which SIT tool to start with.

Take light switches, for example.  The first light switch was invented in 1884.  The dominant design since then continues to be the "up" or "down" toggle switch. In North America, the "up" position switches the appliance to "on," whereas in other countries such as the UK, the reverse is true.  In Japan, switches are positioned sideways to prevent the switch from inadvertently being turned on or off by falling objects during an earthquake. 

Many innovations have emerged over the years including dimmer switches, rockers, multi-way, and touch pad. Recent innovations reveal the use of several SIT patterns including Task Unification and Division.  Yet the most dominant theme in control switching seems to be "variability."  The dimmer switch and the motion sensor switch are the most obvious examples.  If you wanted to create more innovations along this theme, Attribute Dependency is the tool to use. 

To use Attribute Dependency, make two lists.  The first is a list of internal attributes.  The second is a list of external attributes - those factors that are not under your control, but that vary in the context of how the product is used.  Then create a matrix with the internal and external attributes on one axis, and the internal attributes only on the other axis.  The matrix creates combinations of internal-to-internal and internal-to-external attributes that we will use to innovate.  We take these virtual combinations and vidualize them in two ways.  If no dependency exists between the attributes, we create one.  If a dependency exists, we break it.  Using Function Follows Form, we envision what the benefit or potential value might be from the new (or broken) dependency between the two attributes.

For example:

Internal Attributes:

1. Type
2. Number of switches
3. Size
4. What is controls
5. Color
6. Voltage
7. State (on/off)

External Attributes:

1. User
2. Location
3. Time
4. Price
5. Temperature
6. Other appliances
7. Room factors

Imagine creating a dependency between Internal Attribute 4 (what the switch controls) and External Attribute 3 (Time).  The Virtual Product becomes a switch that controls different lights depending on the time of day (or time of year).  For example, from midnight to noon, the switch controls a set of lights, but from noon to midnight, the switch changes and controls a different set of lights.  Why would that be useful?  Perhaps in situations where the person using the switch has no way of knowing what lights will come on, the switch determines it for them based on time of day.  This idea breaks the functional fixedness around one switch controlling one appliance.

The LAB: Innovating a New Product Launch Campaign (September 2011)

Innovation methods are not just for inventing new products.  Savvy marketers apply innovation methods to the “big event” – the product launch campaign. Companies spend millions of dollars to get a product off to the right start.  The launch of a new product can make or break it.

Some companies excel at this.  Memorable campaigns include Apple's launch of the iPhone, Microsoft's launch of Windows 95, and my all time favorite - Tickle Me Elmo - by Fisher Price.  But a lot can go wrong with product launch, so marketers need ways to stand out from the crowd.  Whether you have a big budget or small one, structured innovation methods take your dollars further and may be the difference between success and failure.

For this month’s LAB, we will demonstrate the use of Systematic Inventive Thinking to this critical aspect of marketing: the product launch.

The method works by applying one of five innovation patterns to components within the product launch process.  The pattern morphs the component into something that unrecognizable or ambiguous.  We take that "virtual product" and work backwards to uncover potential benefits, a process called "Function Follows Form."

We start by listing the components of the launch:

The LAB: Innovating Software Applications with S.I.T. (August 2011)

Software runs much of our lives.  It runs everyday items like computers, automobiles, banking, telephones, and even kitchen appliances.  Software will affect more of our daily routines in the future. According to market researcher DataMonitor, the global software market will grow to $457 billion, an increase of 50.5% since 2008.

The problem with software is you cannot see it.  The term was coined originally as a prank to contrast the term, "hardware." Unlike hardware, software is intangible - it cannot be touched.  So how do you innovate software especially with a corporate innovation method like S.I.T.?  This method uses the components of the product or service as the starting point.  Companies sometimes struggle creating new applications because software seems too abstract.

The secret to using S.I.T. on software is this.  Don't innovate the software code; rather, use the innovation method on what the software does.  Apply the method to the products and processes that the software affects.  This will create new-to-the-world innovations.  Then, write the software code that implements these new applications. 

Here is an example with the software program, Quicken.  We start with a component list of a routine process within the software - creating an invoice.

The LAB: Innovating a Corporate Training Program (July 2011)

Corporate training is a $60 billion dollar industry and growing as the economy recovers.  As with any industry, significant changes are occurring.  Companies spend less on fixed internal resources and are outsourcing more.  Learners are changing in the way they learn, perhaps due to the generational shift.  And of course, technology has made the social side of learning more available and effective. Training executives, those who manage company training resources and programs, must continue to innovate to address these changes to stay relevant. 

For this month's LAB, we will apply the corporate innovation method, S.I.T., to a training program.  Our goal is to find new-to-the-world concepts that improve a company's training efforts.  The method works by applying one of five innovation patterns to components within the training environment.  The pattern has the effect of morphing the component into something that seems unrecognizable or ambiguous.  We take that "virtual product" and work backwards to uncover potential benefits or markets served, a process called "Function Follows Form."

Begin by listing the major components of a corporate training program:

1. Trainees
2. Faculty
3. Classrooms
4. Curriculum
5. Lesson Plans
6. Technology
7. Customers (of the firm)
8. Products (services) of the firm
9. Learning management system (keeps track of courses, enrollments, etc)

Here are five ideas, each using one of the five S.I.T. innovation patterns:

The LAB: Innovating Pharmaceuticals with S.I.T. (June 2011)

PharmaBrand Summit 2011 kicks off in Montreux, Switzerland this week.  It will bring together senior executives and brand marketers from Europe’s largest pharmaceutical organizations.  This year's theme is: "The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow." 

That is certainly an appropriate theme for many industries including pharmaceuticals.  These companies are in transition as many aspects of their business models are changing.  Of particular concern is the shrinking product pipeline.  The days of the billion-dollar blockbuster drugs seem to be gone.  So how will they create a new pipeline beyond traditional approaches and research methods? 

Yoni Stern and Amnon Levav of S.I.T.  describe a unique approach using their innovation method to create new pharmaceuticals¹.  The method is based on five patterns inherent in the majority of innovative products and services.  These patterns are like the DNA of products that can be extracted and applied systematically to create new products, including pharmaceuticals.  For this month's LAB, here are two examples of their approach.

1.  Task Unification:  This technique takes one of the product’s components (or some object in the product’s immediate vicinity) and gives it an additional task without losing its original one.  Imagine you wanted to improve breast cancer testing.  One of the components in the vicinity of the problem is fatty acids.  Tumor cells accumulate fatty acids much more than noncancerous cells do.  To take advantage of this, a new drug product is conceived by chemically linking paclitaxel, a widely used anticancer agent, to DHA, a natural fatty acid present in breast milk.  The fatty acid is given the additional "job" of delivering the cancer fighting agent.  This approach delivers a more therapeutic concentration in tumor cells for longer periods of time than would be possible without the fatty acid. As often happens when using the task unification pattern, the same factor that was formerly assisting the cancer to proliferate is now contributing to its destruction.

2.  Division:  The Division technique works by dividing a product in one of three ways: physical, functional, or preserving (where each part preserves the characteristics of the whole).  Rochester, N.Y.-based Vaccinex developed a technology based on this technique.  They separated immunoglobulin heavy-chain genes from light-chain genes during the drug discovery process.  As the recombinant vector particles replicate, the chains are assembled into membrane antibody receptors. The antigen is then added to the culture and binds to the matching antibody receptors of a particular cell. The cell is selected, and the recombinant vector is extracted. This division approach of separating heavy chains from light chains allows researchers to rearrange them to produce new combinations.

How do you begin using the SIT method in a clinical environment?  Start by listing the components of a current drug or diagnostic used in a disease of interest.  Also list the surrounding clinical structures and components in the vicinity.  For example, a company that develops products to treat dermatological diseases such as acne might begin with a list of the current product’s ingredients: benzoyl peroxide, alcohol, glycerin, etc., as well its immediate environment (e.g., the acne): sebum, Propionibacterium acnes, porphyrins, hair, and skin.  Next, apply one of the SIT thinking tool such Task Unification and look for non-obvious combinations of tasks and components to create hypothetical drug "solutions."  Work backwards from these solutions to identify any real or potential benefits that it might deliver in the clinical care or drug discovery process. 

 

¹Stern, Yoni, and Amnon Levav. "The DNA of Ideas". BIO-IT WORLD April 2005: 56-57.

The LAB: Innovating the Treadmill with S.I.T. (May 2011)

In 1817, Sir William Cubitt innovated the treadmill as a method of reforming prison convicts who got out of line.  Today, that "torture" continues.  According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, fifty million Americans use a treadmill.  Sales of treadmills are $1 billion annually of the total $4 billion fitness equipment industry.  For this month's LAB, we will use the corporate innovation method, S.I.T., to create new-to-the-world concepts for the ubiquitous treadmill. 

S.I.T. works by taking one of five patterns (subtraction, task unification, division, multiplication, and attribute dependency) and applying it to an existing product or service.  This morphs it into a "virtual product," which is an abstract, ambiguous notion with no clear purpose.  We then work backwards (Function Follows Form) to find new and useful benefits or markets for the virtual product.

Here are four innovations created by students at the University of Cincinnati as part of the innovation tools course.  They articulated these ideas in a dream catalog, a hypothetical, futuristic catalog that merges marketing insight with innovative design.  You can download it here.

1.  Extreme Runner:  The Extreme Runner provides the ultimate workout for the  athlete or experienced runner who loves a challenge. This special treadmill can provide an intense and unique training session or it can be used for extreme competitions.

• Alternating Elevation Width Belt- instead of the tread staying the same width throughout the course of a workout, this treadmill challenges the walker or runner by correlating the width of the tread to the height of the treadmill. By starting out wide when flat, then getting smaller when the user decides to elevate the machine, this treadmill gives the feel of a rock climb or mountain hike in a matter of minutes. 
• SIT Tools Used: Attribute Dependency - creating a dependency between the width of the belt and the elevation of the machine; the belt speed and the price of the machine; and the time on the track and the position of the runner on the machine.

The LAB: Innovating Cosmetics with S.I.T. (April 2011)

The cosmetic industry thrives on innovation and fashion design especially in the areas of product development and retail merchandising.  It generates nearly US$200 billion worldwide and is growing. For this month's LAB, we will use the corporate innovation method, S.I.T., to create new innovations for lipstick, a product that dates back to the ancient Egyptians. 

S.I.T. works by taking one of the five patterns (subtraction, task unification, division, multiplication, and attribute dependency) and applying it to an existing product or service.  This morphs it into a "virtual product," which is an abstract, ambiguous notion with no clear purpose.  We then work backwards (Function Follows Form) to find new and useful benefits or markets for the virtual product.

Here are five innovations created by *students at the University of Cincinnati as part of the innovation tools course.

1.  TASK UNIFICATION:  The lipstick package has the additional task of carrying lip finishers in addition to the main stick.  The color-filled lipstick sits in the center with the three finishes surrounding it in different slots. Benefits: many potential color and finish combinations; multiple uses- lipstick, blush and eye color; combined in a single unit for convenience; refillable

2.  SUBTRACTION:  The lipstick cap is removed.  Instead, it has a slide the mechanism that moves up or down to move the lipstick in place.   Benefits: allows for convenient one-handed operation which saves time; one-handed operation allows for more convenient application; capless design prevents cap and stick accidents.

3.  MULTIPLICATION:  The tube contains many different smaller sticks of different colors.  One lipstick provides a range of colors to suit any occasion. Benefits: eliminates the need for multiple lipsticks; saves space in your purse or cabinet; many potential color and finish combinations; easy to use; refillable.

  4. ATTRIBUTE DEPENDENCY:  The color changes over time.  One application provides a sleek, neutral color, perfect for all-day wear. But, with one or two smacks, lips become sexy and vibrant. This lipstick is ready for any occasion and can go anywhere. Benefits: eliminates the need for multiple lipsticks; saves space in your purse or cabinet; many potential color and finish combinations; easy to use.

5. DIVISION:  The stick is divided into many smaller versions (preserving the characteristics of the whole).  These become small, one to two-time use sachets rather than the traditional tube.  Color is applied by finger.  Benefits: small sachets allow for one time usage without having to purchase an entire lipstick; price is set at a level to become more affordable to a broader target audience.

 

*Students:  Elizabeth John, Julie Maines, Ronald Meyers, Ina-Maija Tillmanns, and Maria Zumdick

The LAB: Innovating Facebook with Attribute Dependency (March 2011)

Facebook innovated to become the dominate social network with 600 million users in just six years.  What will it do for an encore?  More importantly, how will it continue to innovate?  For this month's LAB, we will apply the Attribute Dependency tool to demonstrate how Facebook might continue re-inventing itself.

To use Attribute Dependency, make two lists.  The first is a list of internal attributes.  The second is a list of external attributes - those factors that are not under your control, but that vary in the context of how the product or service is used.  Then create a matrix with the internal and external attributes on one axis, and the internal attributes only on the other axis.  The matrix creates combinations of internal-to-internal and internal-to-external attributes that we will use to innovate.  We take these virtual combinations and envision them in two ways.  If no dependency exists between the attributes, we create one.  If a dependency exists, we break it.  Using Function Follows Form, we envision what the benefit or potential value might be from the new (or broken) dependency between the two attributes.

Here are attributes of the Facebook experience:

The LAB: Innovating Inflight Services with S.I.T. (February 2011)

Airline service innovation seems like an oxymoron considering the industry's reputation for low quality.  But the industry is fighting back to improve its image.  Companies that specialize in inflight entertainment as well as airframe manufacturers are accelerating the use of new technologies to deliver more value in the air.  That's good news for an industry that has focused way too long on cost-cutting.  The next battle for supremacy will be won by airlines and aviation companies that innovate services across the experiential "journey" in a sustained way.  For this month's LAB, we will create new-to-the-world concepts for the inflight service experience using the S.I.T. tool set.

We begin by creating a list of the components of the product or service.  We select a component and we further break it down to its sub-components or attributes that we can focus on.  We then apply a tool to that component to change it in some way.  This creates the Virtual Product.  Working backwards ("Function Follows Form"), we envision potential benefits of the modified service to both the customer and the company.

Here is a list of components:

The LAB: Innovating the Book with S.I.T. (January 2011)

Book publishing faces turbulent times.  While the market is growing, key parts of the business model are coming apart at the seams.  Market segments are fragmenting, price points are changing, channel power is shifting, and barriers to entry are lowering.  Even the definition of "a book" is in question.  Is it the medium (printed pages between two pieces of cardboard, electronic, online)?  Or is it the message (the story, the characters, the themes)?  When an industry faces turmoil, there is only one thing to do - innovate! 

For this month's LAB, lets innovate the plain old, everyday book, an idea that goes back 5000 years.  We will use the corporate innovation method, S.I.T..  It is based on five patterns.  We use the patterns to create hypothetical, abstract "solutions." Then we work backwards from the solution to try and identify potential problems that it solves.  The term for it is called Function Follows Form.

We start by listing the components:

1. cover
2. table of contents
3. preface
4. introduction
5. chapters
6. pages
7. words
8. page numbers
9. spine
10. appendix
11. endorsements
12. author
13. title
14. jacket
15. bibliography

We apply one pattern at a time to a few of the components.  Applying a pattern morphs what we once new as a book into something strange and ambiguous.  The secret to being successful with the S.I.T. method is to be comfortable with the abstract concept even when it assaults your sense and sensibilities.  The templates help you automate the creation of these abstractions - you don't need any special talents to use them.  But then you have to push through your discomfort to imagine the abstraction having benefits and potential users. 

Here are five innovations for the book industry, one for each pattern.

1.  SUBTRACTION:  Remove the author.  What are the benefits of a book with no author?  Perhaps it is a way to create marketing buzz as it did with Primary Colors by that famous author, Anonymous.  It is not a new idea, so let's push further. Here is how it might work.  The author's name is left off the book until it has sold a certain number of copies.  Once it reaches the threshold, the publisher prints a new run with the author's name.  This would motivate authors, especially well established ones, to write great stuff.

2.  MULTIPLICATION:  Make copies of the words.  To use this pattern correctly, you need to make the copy but change it in some way.  The key is to change it some way without first figuring out why it would be beneficial.  In this example, I would make copies of the words, but change color of the copied words.  Perhaps the copied words (different color) are placed at the bottom of the page.  Maybe this is for people who just want to skim the book or a chapter.  The colored words are the same as what is in the original book, but the page also has those few key words that help the reader skim through it quicker.  This is like having a "Cliffsnotes" version already within the book.  It would help publishers compete with those publishers who print summarized versions of their books.

3.  TASK UNIFICATION:  The page has an additional job of making you more efficient. Reading is hard work, but enjoyable for many, so it would be beneficial if there was a way to help readers enjoy the book more while being more efficient.  For example, what if a page in the book could tell readers when to take a break.  Or perhaps that page alerts the reader NOT to take a break because something ahead is really important.  Perhaps the page has a role in conveying the emotion of what readers feel while reading the words on that page - perhaps it is a certain color or type of paper related to the story.  Or, perhaps the page alerts you when you should go back to a certain page and re-read it to make sure you understand what is happening on that page.

4.  DIVISION:  The introduction is divided out physically and put somewhere else in the book.  This is a clever idea because we typically think of "introduction" as being at the front a book.  We all have "fixedness" about where introductions should be located.  In this example, perhaps we put the introduction in the middle of the book, after the reader has had a chance to get through some of it.  Now the person who is "introducing" the book can write it with a different tone and message.  "Hey, now that you've read half the book, let me tell you my thoughts."  This would make the role of introductions much more interesting and useful.

5.  ATTRIBUTE DEPENDENCY:  To use this pattern correctly, we do not use components of a book, but rather use the attributes (characteristics) of the book.  We create correlations between attributes - when one changes, so does the other.  I created a correlation between the "type of endorsement" and the "message of the book."  Here is how it would work.  A book is digitally scanned and analyzed for things like word count, readability, tone, and style.  Then it is compared to a database to identify other books that are similar.  The publisher offers this as a service to readers so they have better information about the book they are considering buying.  The "endorsement" is not from a person, but rather from other books that are most similar.

The LAB: Innovating Athletic Shoes with S.I.T. (December 2010)

The athletic footwear market is maturing, so it will need sustained innovation to keep growing.  "Performance footwear" emerged with the ancient Greeks and has since grown to a $50 billion global industry.  Innovations such as vulcanized rubber, high tops, arch support, specialized functions, endorsements, and branding have kept the industry vibrant and growing, especially for the dominant three players: Nike, Adidas, and Reebok.  Now it's crunch time!

For this month's LAB, we will use the corporate innovation method, S.I.T., to create new athletic shoe concepts.  The method works by taking one of the five patterns (subtraction, task unification, division, multiplication, and attribute dependency) and applying it to an existing product or service.  This morphs it into a "virtual product," which is an abstract, ambiguous notion with no clear purpose.  We then work backwards (Function Follows Form) to find new and useful benefits or markets for the virtual product.

Here are five innovations created by graduate students at the University of Cincinnati as part of their graded requirements in the innovation tools course.

1.  FEET HEAT:  Insole of the shoe heats up and keeps the feet of the athlete warm even in extreme conditions. A battery in the sole provides power to a metal plate-heater. Shoe can be connected to regular power-outlets and recharged within minutes.  (SIT TOOL: task unification - assigning an additional job to an existing resource)

2.  COLOR EX: The color of the fabric changes according to the physiological signs of the athlete (heart rate, lactic acid level).  Different colors are designated to different levels of exertion/intensity that the athlete's body has been enduring.  Benefits: allows athletes to see whether they need to work harder or slower.  Helps athletes train within a specific performance range.  Also alerts coaches, trainers, and teammates as to how hard the athlete is really working. (SIT TOOL:  attribute dependency - one  feature of the product changes as another feature of the product or the environment changes)

3.  SMART SOLE:  The surface of the sole adjusts to the type or conditions of the ground to improve performance.  As ground conditions change (example:  hard wood floor, gravel, wet cement, rocky terrain, grass), the thickness, stickiness, and durometer of the sole adjusts to optimal configurations for that surface.  Benefit:  allows athletes in sports that cross over different surfaces to perform better.  (SIT TOOL: attribute dependency - one feature of the product changes as another feature of the product or the environment changes)

4.  STRENGTH PRO:  Holes in the soles allow athletes to add various sized weights to the shoe. Weights can be exchanged or completely removed.  Training device to increase stamina, speed, endurance, strength, and vertical leaps. Weight is easily removed so that the shoe can be used regularly (same shoe for practice and competition). Weights can be quickly increased or decreased based on workout purpose and individual needs.  (SIT TOOL: task unification - assigning an additional job to an existing resource)

5.  INVERTED SPIKES:  The spikes of the shoe are inverted into the bottom into the athletes foot.  The spikes are softned and dulled so as to provide a message therapy as the athlete moves.  Benefit:  improves foot circulation, endurance, and comfort.  (SIT TOOL:  multiplication - copying a component and changing it in some way such as size, location, etc)

The LAB: Innovating the Blackberry with S.I.T. (November 2010)

Blackberry is taking a shellacking from iPhone and Android.  It's market share has declined 4% in four months.  Why?  The company drifted from a strategy built around its core competency and is frantically chasing its app-crazed competitors. Though Blackberry defined the smart phone category, it will lose its lead unless it changes.

Blackberry needs innovation.  This month's LAB outlines an approach for using the corporate innovation method, S.I.T., to Blackberry.  The focus is how to disrupt iPhone and Droid and re-assert dominance in the smart phone category. 

The first step is to pick the core benefit that Blackberry can lead with.  Using the Big Picture marketing framework, we need to identify a "dynamic variable" that is tied directly to RIM's core competency - secure communications.  Blackberry uses powerful codes to encrypt messages as they travel between a BlackBerry server and the BlackBerry device.  All BlackBerry traffic runs through RIM data centers and servers which encrypt and unscramble messages.  The iPhone and Droid communicate directly with ordinary email servers - unsecured.

My recommendation is to compete on privacy (NOT security which is more of the "how," not the "why").  Blackberry cannot compete with iPhone and Droid on functionality (apps) and design.  Instead, it needs to raise the Importance and Perception of privacy in the minds of the market.  Privacy is highly desired by people and organizations, and Blackberry is the only technology that can do many functions securely.  The trick is to extend the idea of privacy management beyond just emailing.  Blackberry wants to convince the market that privacy is more important than apps and desgin.

The LAB: Innovating Baseball with Attribute Dependency (October 2010)

Baseball has a density problem.  The ratio of "minutes of action" over "total minutes played" is low.  Consider for example, the "no-hitter" pitched by Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Not a single opposing player was able to reach first base because of his performance.  Baseball is essentially a duel between pitcher and batter.   If there was a way to trade out some of the pitching duel for more field play, baseball would be less boring.   

For this month's LAB, let's apply the corporate innovation method, SIT, to find potential improvements to the game of baseball.  The method is based on five patterns inherent in many innovative products.  By extracting and applying those patterns, we can innovate anything.  For baseball, we will apply Attribute Dependency tool.  Here is how it works.

We start with a list of attributes (variables) of the game of baseball.  Then we create combinations of those attributes with an eye towards creating a correlation between them.  As one attribute changes, so does the other.  This becomes our hypothetical solution to which we work backwards to see if it solves a problem or adds value.  In the case where there is already a dependency between attributes, we artificially break it and see what benefit it might deliver.  For example, there is no dependency between runs scored and the inning played.  We would change this by creating a new dependency where the value of a run changes as the inning changes.  For example, a team earns two runs for crossing home plate instead of one, but only in the ninth inning.

Here are several ideas that make the game “dense” with more action and make it faster.  These ideas are based on breaking and as well as forming dependencies between attributes.

The LAB: Innovating Retail Selling with Task Unification (September 2010)

Task Unification is a great tool when you have a general idea of the direction you want to go or business challenge you are dealing with.  It is one of five templates in the Systematic Inventive Thinking method.  Like all the templates, it helps regulate and channel the ideation process while creating unique and useful innovation possibilities.  It works by taking a component list of the product, process, or service, and then assigning an additional "job" to that component.  It helps break "fixedness" in how we see components and their traditional role, thus opening up potential growth opportunities.  For this month's LAB, we will use this template to innovate new ways of in-store retailing.

Retailers already do a lot of creative things to improve sales.  There are the traditional tactics like putting the milk and eggs in the back of the store.  But newer approaches are emerging as retailers learn from their online experience and migrate these ideas to in-store selling practices.  Search optimization, for example, applies to a brick and mortar store every bit as much as the online store.  Let's imagine ourselves in the retail sales business such as a grocery story or department store.  Further imagine we are planning for an upcoming seasonal selling opportunity such as Halloween.  According to the National Retail Federation, the value of all retail sales in the seasonal Halloween category (pumpkins, candy, costumes, decorations) is about $5 billion in the U.S..  While impressive, stores need to constantly think of ways to innovate and grow the top line sales and bottom line profits.

 Let's use Task Unification to create some retail selling innovations.   Here is our component list for a retail store (such as Target, a large U.S. chain):

1. shopping carts
2. cash registers
3. scanners
4. shopping bags
5. aisles
6. shelves
7. customer service
8. sales staff
9. products
10. customers
11. store lighting
12. departments
    

The challenge that we want to address is: 

"How do we increase sales in the Halloween category?" 

To use Task Unification, we take a component from the list above and give it this "job."  For example:  "The aisles have the job of increasing sales of Halloween products."  Now we work backwards to imagine the benefits of this, how it would work, what problems and issues does it present.  In other words, we innovate a new way for the aisles of a department store to create stronger sales.  The trick is to use each component productively, not just to be different.  For example, if we suggested that the lighting in the store would now be orange in color to promote a Halloween theme, this would not pass the test.  The lighting in the store actually has to "sell" something or otherwise drive some positive business result.

Even better is when you can fold in the advertising concept called "fusion."  This is when we take a specific message such as a brand theme and incorporate it into the new "job" to be taken on by the component.  We fuse the component, its new job, and the message.  For example, let's consider the brand theme of Target:  smart consumers seeking value and design..."cheap chic."  Now the store lighting not only illuminates the store, but also has to do it in a way that conveys or reinforces this brand message. 

The LAB: Innovating Website Design with Attribute Dependency (August 2010)

Imagine a website that changes depending on the visitor.  Researchers at M.I.T. describe such a website that learns a person's thinking style based on preliminary clicks so it can present information in an optimal way.  Purchase intentions increased 20%!

This is an example of the Attribute Dependency tool of the corporate innovation method, S.I.T..   It's great for creating "smart" products and services - those that adapt to user preferences or environmental conditions.  For this month's LAB, let's apply Attribute Dependency to other aspects of websites to create new, innovative designs or features.

To use Attribute Dependency, make two lists.  The first is a list of internal attributes of a website.  The second is a list of external attributes - those factors that are not under your control, but that vary in the context of how the product or service is used.  Then create a matrix with the internal and external attributes on one axis, and the internal attributes only on the other axis.  The matrix creates combinations of internal-to-internal and internal-to-external attributes that we will use to innovate.  We take these virtual combinations and envision them in two ways.  If no dependency exists between the attributes, we create one.  If a dependency exists, we break it.  Using Function Follows Form, we envision what the benefit or potential value might be from the new (or broken) dependency between the two attributes.

Here are the variables that I put into the matrix (which you can download here).

The LAB: Innovating a Service Delivery Model with S.I.T. (July 2010)

A common question about structured innovation is can it be used on services.  The answer is yes.  A service is the same as a product in many ways, and the approach to using an innovation method like S.I.T. is the same.  Let's consider a service example for this month's LAB.  Imagine your company was a leading uniform and apparel rental service.  You own a fleet of trucks and drivers as well as uniform design and fitting services.  Your company delivers custom fitted uniforms to the client's location, picks up worn uniforms for cleaning, inspection, and repair, and returns them on schedule.  In this highly competitive industry, the key to survival is to exceed customer expectations.  The key to growth, on the other hand, is innovation.  Let's use the Subtraction tool on this service to create new opportunities.

We start by listing the internal components of the service line:

1. uniforms (inventory)
2. fitting service
3. design service
4. fabric
5. trucks
6. drivers
7. billing
8. pick-up
9. delivery
10. cleaning
11. inspection
12. repair
13. tracking
14. contract
15. sales representative

We remove a component but keep all the others intact.  Working backwards from this hypothetical solution, we consider what benefits it delivers or potential problems it solves.  We try to consider possible benefits of the "virtual service" as is, without replacing the component with something else.  Here are some examples:

The LAB: Innovating the Lego with S.I.T. (June 2010)

I just had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Soren Lund present at the PharmaBrand Summit in Monaco.  He is the Senior Marketing Director of Product and Marketing Development at the Lego Group.  He told the amazing story about how Lego markets their product and leverages the power of their user community to create innovation and growth.  It prompted me to search the blogosphere for other stories about Lego, and I can see that the company is quite popular.  Blogging Innovation, Endless Innovation, Stefan Lindgard, and various others have written useful blog posts about Lego..

Rather than talk about Lego and its innovation, I decided to apply the corporate innovation method, S.I.T., to the basic Lego product – the 2x4 brick.  I created these new embodiments during the two hour break following Seren’s presentation.  With a bit of research, I learned there are some 24,000 SKU’s.  While I have some general knowledge about the product (having purchased it for my son), I must admit I do not know a great deal.  So it would not surprise me to find that I created ideas that already exist.

I start with a component list to use the first four of the S.I.T. tools:

1.    Base
2.    Posts (the little round stumps on top of the base)
3.    Tubes (the little open tubular structures inside the base

Using this list, I manipulate the product by applying a tool.  This turns it into a “virtual product.”   I use “Function-Follows-Form” to work backwards and think of potential uses and benefits for the “weird” form created by the tool.  Here are some ideas generated very quickly with S.I.T.: