Contents

Welcome 04 Part Four - Complimentary Processes & Tools 31

The Need For Innovation 05 Introduction to Processes & Tools 32
Stage-Gate Process 33
Part One - Understanding Innovation 07
Project Management 35
Defining Innovation 08
Types of Research 37
Areas of Opportunity 09
Desirability Tool 38
Three Lenses of Innovation 11
Feasibility Tool 39
Innovation Mindset 14
Viability Tool 40
Part Two - Strategic Innovation 15 Business Model Canvas 41

Aligning Innovation with Strategy 16 Conclusion 43

Assess Innovation Capabilities 17
Types of Innovation Strategies 18 Bibliography 45
Key Components of an Innovation Strategy 19

Part Three - Applying Innovation 21

Applying Innovation 22
Idea 24
Stage One 25
Stage Two 26
Stage Three 27
Stage Four 28
Impact 29

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Types of Innovation Strategies 4

There is no one size fits all approach When developing your innovation strategy, you common type of innovations. Typically, you will
to innovation, so your strategy might benefit from visually mapping out the have a well-defined idea and the skill set to
ideas you want to focus on to determine what solve it resulting in a ‘do better’ innovation for
needs to reflect the iterative nature type of innovation it is. A helpful tool to use for your company (Bessant, n.d).
of this discipline and the different this is exercise is the Innovation Matrix (Sattell,
needs of each innovation project. 2017). It will allow you to understand what type Breakthrough Innovation refers to
of innovation strategy you might need as it innovations that take a leap forward with
relates to each individual innovation project. a challenge5 that is hard to solve. Typically,
there is a well-defined idea, but your company
Two key questions you need to ask: do not currently have the skillset or domain
Well defined

knowledge in-house to bring it to life. By

BREAKTHROUGH SUSTAINING How well defined is your idea? exploring diverse domains and skill sets
INNOVATION INNOVATION external to your company, you may discover
PROBLEM

How well defined is the skillset & domain a new perspective as well as expand your
knowledge within your company to bring capabilities to solve it.
this idea to life?
Not well defined

Disruptive Innovations refers to innovations

Basic Research is needed when nothing is well
BASIC DISRUPTIVE that are created with fewer resources and that
defined. This exploratory research will reveal successfully challenge established incumbent
RESEARCH INNOVATION new ideas for your company as well as identify businesses. Disruptive innovations tend to get
the skill sets required to bring those ideas to life. started in low-end or new -market footholds
(Christensen, Raynor, & McDonald, 2015).
Not well defined Well defined Sustaining Innovation refers to innovations Typically, disruptive innovations mean that your
that improve and expand upon what is
DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE currently in existence. These are the most
team have a well-defined skillset and you are
looking for a problem to solve (Satell, 2017).

4 HBR- The Four Types of Innovation and the Problems they Solve

5 Within the innovation discipline, you will often hear the term ‘challenge’ being used. This term is often used to refer to
the idea, to the problem or, the opportunity you want to understand and explore.

18 | An Bord Iascaigh Mhara

Project Management

Project management is a process There are many different project management methodologies for you to choose from. Given that
that supports teams in achieving innovation is built on change, whatever methodology you choose, must allow ‘flex’ in the project
plan. You can adopt key aspects from several methodologies to create a customised project
their goals within the given management approach that will suit your specific project needs.
constraints of any project
(Phillips, 2004). At BIM, our project management approach takes inspiration from multiple methods. There is a
structured framework as well as a dedicated project manager to oversee each project. This helps
ensure that the project runs as smoothly as possible whilst identifying and minimising risks as
they appear on the project horizon.

Here are the key points you need to consider for any project:

1. DEFINE:
It is important before commencing any project that you identify key roles and responsibilities
within your team, identify who the key stakeholders are and level the of information they need
to have, what the project deliverables are and agree on your project timelines.

2. PLAN:
To enable flexibility within the project, it should be broken up into smaller phases to allow
for changes to be made as new information is discovered.

3. EXECUTE:
Communicate often with your project team on project deliverables and adjust the plan as
needed.

4. CLOSE:
Reflect with the team on what worked across the project, what did not work and how
you might approach the next project differently. This type of retrospective is critical for
continuous improvement.

BIM Innovation Guide | 35

Bibliography

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