Scrum

What is WAGILE?

Posted on 01.28.21

WAGILE is an emerging approach to product innovation. You might ask, “Why do we need yet another, new approach to managing product development?” The answer is that every system has advantages and that over time, we can recognize process improvements. A secondary answer is more data-based. Studies indicate that revamping and revitalizing your new product development (NPD) process can not only enhance participation but yield improved results, such as creative solutions, time-to-market, and profitability.

Traditional NPD Processes

Organizations implement NPD processes to manage risk. Risk in innovation is more loosely defined than in traditional project management. Innovation professionals encounter risk from two perspectives: understanding the product or project requirements and developing the required technology. These are identified as “requirements uncertainty” and “technical uncertainty” in the figure.

A traditional NPD process, such as the staged-and-gated process, is designed primarily to manage investment risk. Each stage of work involves more resources but as the project advances through the various stages, technical risks are addressed. Each subsequent stage of work encounters less uncertainty. In this way, financial risk is minimized because there is little investment for small-scale experiments during initial stages and as more knowledge is gained, the investments will grow but with reduced uncertainty in the outcomes. Sometimes these processes are called “waterfall” since each step flows to the next; however, there is no easy way to go “backward” in the system.

To counter the bureaucracy that many large companies incorporate alongside traditional NPD processes, the Agile methodology intentionally leaves the overall requirements uncertain. Theoretically, the customer provides feedback after each incremental development step (called a “sprint”) so that the requirements uncertainty is reduced. A drawback of Agile is that real customers are often not included in the process. Further, it is difficult to determine when a project is “done” in terms of meeting market requirements.

What is WAGILE?

WAGILE is a hybrid process that blends the best of the traditional waterfall systems with Agile philosophy (“W” + “Agile”). The rigor of a staged-and-gated project management approach is coupled with required customer feedback in each phase. Incremental and iterative work within a stage allows innovation teams to adequately address design and development needs. Yet repeating a phase of work is done only when necessary. The WAGILE philosophy incorporates key ideas from these innovation approaches.

Move fast
Practice discipline
Understand risks
Engage customers
Provide autonomy

You can read more about the WAGILE Philosophy here.

WAGILE Roles

Roles and responsibilities are defined clearly for Agile processes, such as Scrum, as well as in traditional project management. Many of these roles are similar to those utilized in WAGILE. Some key roles and responsibilities for WAGILE are described below. You can read more about the WAGILE Roles here.

Project Leader: Somewhat like a traditional brand manager, the Project Leader in WAGILE is responsible for the overall product life cycle and drives product innovation.
Customer Representative: In Scrum, the product owner represents the voice of the customer. In WAGILE, the Customer Representative carries out this responsibility and helps to translate or articulate customer needs for the innovation team.
Team Leader: In many ways, the team leader in WAGILE is similar to a traditional project manager with tactical and operational responsibility for the execution of the project. Team leaders are servant leaders yet maintain autonomy for project decisions within the scope of the project.
Cross-Functional Team: Like all new product development teams, successful innovation under a WAGILE approach requires participation from all relevant departments and functions. Team members are generalist-specialists, as in an Agile approach and the core team maintains continuity throughout the project effort.

Some WAGILE Tools

WAGILE tools are based primarily on Design Thinking to incorporate customer feedback at each stage of development. Each individual WAGILE project will use several complementary tools to complete the work of a given phase. Depending on the scale, scope, and breadth of the innovation work, several tools are used at multiple points during development. A fundamental decision point in selecting feedback techniques is to use the data gathering, testing, and experimentation tools that provide the highest density of customer information. Read more about WAGILE Tools here – a list of some of my favorite tools follows.

Customer empathy map
Customer journey map
Affinity diagrams
Product Portfolio Management
Scrum board
Business model canvas
Paper prototypes

Benefits of WAGILE

Again, you might be asking, “Why do I need a new system to manage product development?” Often the NPD process becomes stale and the links to customer feedback become broken. You need WAGILE if you find your innovation teams bogged down in idea generation stages or if recent product launches are met with “ho-hum” market responses. The biggest benefit of WAGILE is that it is a flexible, risk-based process to get new products into competitive markets. We measure success of product innovation in WAGILE via market success: customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability.

What’s Next?

If you’d like to learn more about WAGILE, please join our WAGILE class on 18 and 19 February. We will dig deeper into each of these concepts. Your homework during the course allows you to begin transitioning to a more flexible and adaptable approach to innovation within the governance of a risk-adjusted process. For personalized problem-solving or customized training, contact me at info@globalnpsolutions.com for innovation consulting.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching. I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith. It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders. Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making. My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator. Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Unless otherwise indicated, images used under Creative Commons.

Wagile Leadership

Posted on 10.29.20

I became interested in leadership when I was first appointed to a supervisory position. My first exposure to leading a team was negative – from my perspective – but my management saw a different view. I thought that being a manager meant I was not smart enough to continue on the technical ladder. Little did I know that most technical answers are easy compared to motivating a team toward a common goal.

Innovation leadership takes many forms. In all cases, there must be a follower for a leader to exist. Leaders engender willing followers. We want to learn from others who have been successful. We want to take direction from someone who has demonstrated skill at problem-solving. We want to mimic the behaviors of inspiring people.

What is a Wagile Leader?

Before we discuss Wagile leadership, I want to take a quick detour to define Wagile. Wagile is a product innovation process to create and launch groundbreaking new products and services. The word Wagile comes from a combination of the terms “waterfall” and “agile”. Waterfall approaches to project management use upfront planning while agile project management acts on an evolving scope of work.

The Wagile philosophy thus integrates the best of both project management approaches.

Move fast
Practice discipline
Understand risk
Engaged customers
Provide autonomy

Wagile Roles in Leadership

Each Wagile role serves as a leader. Being non-hierarchical and flexible, Wagile does not specify one person, one role, or one organization as a primary decision-maker. Rather, all roles act as leaders to ensure customer satisfaction with new product development (NPD). As described in detail here, the Wagile roles include:

Project leader,
Customer representative,
Team leader, and
Cross-functional team.

Wagile leadership characteristics focus on engaging customers to deliver high-quality products and services that meet market needs while generating profit for the firm. Servant leadership traits of putting the team before self are important as are elements of Emotional Intelligence (such as self-awareness and self-control). I have observed that the most successful teams are mission-oriented to create a common good rather than egocentric to promote a manager’s self-interest.

In my practice of innovation teaching and coaching, I often used work style assessments to drive the leadership conversation. An important starting point for product innovation teams is the Innovation Health Assessment™ to benchmark your organization’s NPD maturity against industry standards. (Take your complimentary Innovation Health Assessment here.)

Another work style assessment I use is called the Team Dimensions Profile. As a DiSC-certified management facilitator, I prefer the language of Team Dimensions for innovation team growth. We identify individual working preferences as Creator, Advancer, Refiner, or Executer. Note that these are not the same as ingrained personality because each of us can stretch to different work roles as needed to accomplish the project goals. (Learn more about Team Dimensions here where I spoke with the Everyday Innovator podcast.)

In fact, it is the capability of team members on a Wagile project to stretch and serve as generalist-specialists that make each of us leaders. Generalist-specialists are people who have a deep knowledge and expertise in one arena (specialist) but also a desire to learn and help across the board (generalist).

Learn More

If you want to know more about Wagile and how to apply it in your own organization, join me for a short seminar on 10 November 2020 (2-4 pm CST). Upon completion of this course, you will be equipped with a set of tools to speed product to market for innovation success. Register here. To investigate and expand your personal development style, please join me for the Life Design Master Mind Q&A on 11 November 2020 at 11 am CST (free), followed by subsequent in-depth workshops over the next six months. Register here for the free webinar. Contact me at info@Simple-PDH.com with questions about these workshops.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

About Me

Wagile Tools

Posted on 09.24.20

For several weeks, we have been posting about the Wagile innovation process.

Wagile is a hybrid new product development (NPD) process that brings together the best of waterfall (“w‑”)project management systems with Agile systems used for software development (“‑agile”). The outcome is an innovation process that has a deep focus on customer needs while managing risk (investment) through a disciplined approach.

Product Innovation Tools

Most innovation processes include checklists of what has to be done and when. In a traditional staged-and-gated process, the business case must be completed in order to pass a certain gate. Market testing must be completed before going to market with a new product, etc. (Read more about product innovation tools here.)

Likewise, Scrum specifies a checklist of features (known as the “product backlog”) to complete during a sprint. Sprints are short periods of time in which the project team works on the list of tasks provided by the business. Tasks that are not finished in the prescribed two- to four-week period are added to the “sprint backlog” and rollover to the next sprint – akin to a never ending “To Do” list.

What’s missing in both the traditional waterfall and Agile processes is the “How To.” Of course, every project is unique and different. The fun and beauty of working in innovation is the variety and diversity of tasks, activities, and projects. Yet, each time we encounter a new situation, we can (and should) follow a given process to understand the situation (such as risk analysis) and to design solutions. In Wagile, we deploy a set of innovation tools to tackle the “how to” of each stage of work.

Wagile Stages and Gates

Wagile Stages and Wagile Gates are designed to involve the customer. After all, no innovation is valuable unless it meets a need in the marketplace and is saleable. Wagile tools use Design Thinking methods to gather customer insights and couple those inputs with measurable decision and performance standards. As a reminder the Wagile Stages and Gates are indicated here.

1: Opportunity Identification (Idea Gate)
2: Business Case (Functional Gate)
3: Technology Development (Technology Gate)
4: Scale-Up (Constructability Gate)
5: Production (Launch Gate)

Design Thinking Tools

To learn more about Design Thinking tools, read our previous post Tools for Product Innovation based on the work of Carlos Rodriguez (Delaware State University). Design Thinking is a customer-focused methodology to creatively and collaboratively solve customer problems. We involve the customer in defining problems and in creating solutions. We work collaboratively with cross-functional teams, both internally and externally. We ask questions and we listen.

Early in the Wagile product innovation process, we use observation and interviewing to gather customer insights. The Design Thinking tools of customer empathy map and customer journey map are deployed in Stage 1 (Opportunity Identification) to discover and define the customer problem. Download information on these tools here. An important outcome of the tools and activities in this stage is to determine if the gain for the customer is greater than the pain of acquiring and learning a new product.

An Example

I try to maintain a high level of fitness. I swim, bike, and lift weights. Recently, my husband got me a new Fitbit that allows me to track all exercises instead of just counting steps. It’s very convenient as I only have to select the correct icon, push start, and then press finish for each activity. And if I forget, the device automatically senses that I am cycling instead of running and tracks the calories burned.

However, I do not wear my new Fitbit when I go swimming. The pain is greater than the gain. Since swimming is still under the arbitrary restrictions of corona-panic, the pool is only open for 45 minutes at a time. My existing swim tracker records the number of laps, strokes per lap, efficiency, and calories burned. I would incur a transaction cost (lost time in the water) to calibrate my swim watch with the Fitbit. Right now, I view that cost as higher than the benefit (one device for all activities). Your customers will also weigh costs and benefits as they consider purchasing a new or updated upgraded product.

Design Tools in Wagile

Each stage in Wagile is defined to include specific tools to evaluate cost/benefit of an innovation. Design Thinking tools take the perspective of the customer. Later stages in Wagile use financial assessment tools (coupled with customer satisfaction measures) to determine cost/benefit from the company’s perspective. Remember organizations are in business to make money and deliver value to shareholders. Join me on 11 November for a Wagile tutorial and learn to apply Design Thinking tools in your innovation process! Register here.

Learn More

Check out where I’m speaking next (click here) and book me for your next event.
Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book available at Amazon (now available on Kindle).
Vote on the cover of my next book, The Innovation QUESTION Book here.
Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
Get your NPDP Certification! Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2^nd edition PDMA Body of Knowledge. REGISTER HERE!

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and speaking at great professional events. I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith. It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders. Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making. My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator. Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Wagile Gates

Posted on 09.03.20

Have you ever jumped ahead of yourself just to realize later that you missed a step? Have you ever launched a new product to find out that consumers didn’t actually like the feature configuration? Have you ever made a mistake and then realized it was dejá vu all over again?

All of us make mistakes. We learn from making errors and we learn by knowing what not to do. In product innovation, learning from failure is an important trait for organizations to succeed over the long run. In fact, learning is at the heart of the Wagile Philosophy (read more here). However, making the same mistake twice – or three times or four times – is not learning. Repeated errors demonstrate the lack of quality systems and an absence of a directing process.

What is Wagile?

Fragile is a hybrid new product development (NPD) process. Wagile balances the structure of a traditional, waterfall system with the iterative and customer-focused nature of an Agile development process (like Scrum). The Wagile philosophy emphasizes moving fast while practicing discipline and understanding risks. Wagile uses both stages of work and gates as checkpoints for product innovation.

Wagile Gates

Gate reviews in NPD are predominant in traditional waterfall processes, like Bob Cooper’s Stage-Gate™ system. Gate reviews serve as checkpoints to gauge completion of work-to-date and a plan for future project work. In practice, there should be no surprises at a gate review and the cross-functional team that approves the go-forward plan should understand the scope, schedule, and budget well before the formal meeting.

Gate reviews are important elements in any NPD process. In Scrum, we call this review a “retrospective” (read more about Scrum here). The purpose of a gate or retrospective is the same: Do customers want the product as we are designing it? Can we make a profit? Is this new product aligned with our strategic goals and objectives?

Entry and Exit Gates

Entry gates are a pet peeve of mine. The entry gate is approved simply by showing that work on the previous stage is complete. That’s a great accomplishment for the team, but what matters more for innovation is whether the go-forward plan makes sense.

In contrast, an exit gate evaluates both the prior work and approves the product design for future work. The multi-disciplinary management team approving the project at an exit gate must have appropriate budgetary authority for the next stage of work. In this way, risk and strategic alignment are addressed throughout the life of the project.

The Wagile Gate Sequence

Wagile gates are designed as exit gates, to ensure go-forward work will advance product innovation and the overall product portfolio. The following lists the Wagile gates and the expected outcome of each decision.

1-Opportunity Gate. The Opportunity Gate validates that the product idea and concept meet a target market need. Enough testing has been done to demonstrate customer wants and needs for the new product. Importantly, decision-makers approve the concept is having a potential profit and fit with the organization’s strategic growth goals. Passing the Opportunity Gate means a project team is authorized to investigate the scope of design, development, and market impacts.
2-Business Case. It is important to justify a project early enough to not waste resources. While any project will have more information gathered during execution, unattractive projects should be killed early. Reviewers of the Business Case approve that the new product fits the organization’s growth goals, is strategically aligned, and will meet profitability expectations for the level of innovation involved. This approval funds the technology and market development efforts.
3-Technology Gate. The Technology Gate builds on the Business Case gate. Cost of development is balanced against anticipated sales and customer needs. Costs are at the forefront as are feasibility studies. The Technology Gate grants approval for developing at scale. This gate may include approval of licensing and early order equipment items.
4-Constructability Gate. At the Constructability Gate, the cross-functional decision-makers commit to building production facilities, supply and distribution chains, and marketing collateral. Bob Cooper often discusses a “money gate” in his work, essentially a point of no return. In some ways, the Constructability Gate serves as this “money gate”. Yet the iterative nature of Wagile allows a project to undergo appropriate iterations thereby ensuring quality control and risk are managed within the tolerance level of the organization.
5-Launch. The Launch Gate represents the go-to-market decision for a new product. Measures of profitability will validate earlier decisions (e.g. the business case). However, the Wagile process encourages continued adjustment of the product offering to meet customer needs. Engaged customers help the Project Leader and Customer Representative gain market insights for the life of the product and as inputs for next generation products. Read more about Wagile Roles here.

Using Wagile Gates

Like any project management system, Wagile uses gate reviews as checkpoints to gauge the progress of work . Unlike traditional waterfall processes, not passing a gate is not a punitive measure for the team. Instead, the flexibility of learning is built into Wagile and “no” decision at a gate review simply means a better opportunity is available. Believe me, team members prefer the option of working on a new project over scolding for not meeting entry gate criteria!

Gates provide discipline in Wagile that is often missing in Scrum or other Agile processes. Discipline is important for both teams and senior management to increase creativity and to increase profitability. Wagile further builds flexibility into gate reviews by the hybrid nature of the system.

Learn More

Learn more about Wagile Product Development in my Webcast with PDMA on 10 September (register here).
Delve into the full Wagile process in a virtual, facilitated workshop on 10 November 2020 (register here). Workshop participants have access to downloadable templates and tools to fast track innovation!
Check out where I’m speaking next (click here) and book me for your next event.
Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book available at Amazon (now available on Kindle).
Vote on the cover of my next book, The Innovation QUESTION Book here.
Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
Get your NPDP Certification! Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2^nd edition PDMA Body of Knowledge. REGISTER HERE!

About Me

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

The Wagile Philosophy

Posted on 08.27.20

Watch the short video summary and then read on for the details!

In business and innovation, we often talk about strategy. I think of strategy like a destination when I take a trip. I need to know where I’m going so that I can plan how to get there and what resources I will need. Strategy indicates the vision, mission, and values.

When I take a vacation, I enjoy hiking and being outdoors. I also enjoy history and trying new foods. These are a reflection of my values or philosophy in choosing a destination. In business and innovation, our values form how we make decisions and what activities or behaviors are acceptable in achieving strategic goals.

Recently, I encountered two small businesses with similar goals but different value systems. The first bicycle shop I visited had a huge sign on its door – “We are not taking any repairs. Wait here and phone us to enter the store.” The second bicycle shop, sounding exasperated at the disruption in supply chains by the corona-panic, said “We are only taking repairs. We’ve improved our delivery time to four days from two weeks.” It’s easy to see the difference in philosophy and values for these two businesses. And, I bet you can guess which store got my money!

What is Wagile?

Wagile is a hybrid innovation management system taking advantage of the rigor from a staged-and-gated system while adding in the flexibility of an Agile development process. Most organizations end up becoming overly bureaucratic with staged-and-gated processes, hindering speed-to-market.

On the other hand, many organizations that have tried implementing Agile have struggled, too. Scrum (read more about Scrum here) is the most common way that firms implement Agile in a new product development (NPD) project. Yet, Scrum was designed for software. Companies are challenged by the definition of “done” and in getting sophisticated technical design elements completed in a two-week sprint.

Wagile – part waterfall and part Agile – encourages iterations where necessary and increases customer interactions. But, Wagile maintains the discipline of a waterfall (or staged-and-gated) process.

The Wagile Philosophy

For any project management system to succeed, the values of the organization must support the steps, tasks, and expected outcomes of the process. The Wagile philosophy supports a key innovation goal of speed-to-market.

Move fast
Practice discipline
Understand risks
Engage customers
Provide autonomy

Move fast. The benefit of Scrum is moving fast and creating prototypes quickly. Customers test many different versions of the potential product and designers select the attributes that best satisfy the needs of end-users. The Wagile philosophy includes moving fast to quickly determine the most important features and to eliminate bad concepts early. The end result? Cost and time savings during development.

Practice discipline. While waterfall (staged-and-gated) processes can become overly bureaucratic, Agile projects are often viewed by senior executives as chaotic with ill-defined scope and goals. Wagile enforces discipline by placing critical success metrics on each project. An innovation project does not pass a gate review without a clear go-forward plan. We know that creativity is expanded when the problem is bounded by clear expectations and aspirations so discipline is necessary to win with new products.

Understand risks. Uncertainty is always present in an innovation project. Waterfall processes attempt to manage risk with detailed upfront planning. Yet, plans usually are erroneous in one way or another. You might plan two separate electrical feeds for a fire water system but forget that a utility outage will disable the whole plant. Risks are managed, but not eliminated, with planning.

On the other hand, Agile gives a “hand wave” response to risk. These systems assume you’ll know it when you see it. So, the Wagile philosophy endorses risk management and creates a trigger/ response list to manage risk. However, the Wagile philosophy also recognizes “positive uncertainties” to expand and capitalize on surprise results.

Engage customers. While Scrum includes a specific role for the Product Owner (read more here), end-users are still frequently neglected from the process. Wagile forces customer interactions via specific measures at each gate review (e.g. competitive analysis at the Idea Gate and market testing at the Constructability Gate). Moreover, the role of the Customer Representative (see more about the Wagile Roles and Responsibilities here) is wholly responsible to ensure end-user feedback is both accurate and timely. Design Thinking tools are crucial in gathering information throughout the NPD project. (Join me on 11 November 2020 for a complimentary life design workshop – register here.)

Provide autonomy. Many of my readers know I am a chemical engineer. I suffer from some of the common “nerd” traits of engineers – we need quiet time to deeply study a problem and we need to justify a solution based on data and facts.

The Wagile philosophy supports engineers and product development teams by providing autonomy. Senior executives typically are far removed from customers and daily operations on the factory floor. Let the people with the expertise make the decisions.

Of course, when a decision crosses a threshold of high investment or unusually high risk, the team should consult upper management. But under normal circumstances, a flat organizational structure with responsible decision-making guardrails in place allows an innovation team to function most efficiently and productively.

Apply the Wagile Philosophy

While you may be using a traditional staged-and-gated process for innovation or you’ve been trying to implement Scrum, you can make some giant steps to effectiveness by adopting the Wagile philosophy. Focus on moving fast within a discipline of critical success metrics. Understand the project risks and uncertainties but test those limitations with customers. Feedback from end-users should guide a product development effort. Finally, let the experts do their work and give your teams autonomy to make decisions within their control.

Learn More

Learn more about Wagile Product Development in my Webcast with PDMA on 10 September (register here).

Get the full Wagile Product Development course in a virtual, facilitated workshop on 10 November 2020 (register here). Includes templates, tools, and implementation tips.
Check out where I’m speaking next (click here) and book me for your next event.
Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book available at Amazon (now available on Kindle).
Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
Get your NPDP Certification! Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2^nd edition PDMA Body of Knowledge. REGISTER HERE!

About Me

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Changing Innovation Performance

Posted on 12.19.19

Innovation has a dark side. While everyone wants to be “more innovative”, new products fail at alarming rates. When your business is to create new ideas, new technologies, and new markets, failing more than half the time is troubling indeed.

On the bright side, however, innovation is more accessible today than ever. Industries share their product development processes openly and companies partner with suppliers, distributors, and even competitors. We have learned to integrate customers into the development cycle with open innovation and Design Thinking. How do organizations continue to move forward, making progress with speed-to-market and changing internal performance?

The Purpose for Change

Read on or watch the 20-second summary to learn how you can change your innovation performance.

As senior managers present an argument to increase innovation performance, we have to explain the need for change. Many people in the organization see only a narrow slice of the business. R&D professionals, for instance, view their daily work and can see frequent, small gains in knowledge. Marketers identify new insights from customer focus groups when they are held. Project management professionals view small successes in meeting deadlines and milestones. From each individual or functional perspective, things appear okay.

Leaders inspire innovation and significant performance improvements must first demonstrate that a change is needed. Teams build cohesion around a common purpose in the threat of competition. New product development (NPD) teams can accelerate performance in time-to-market by uniting behind a common goal with a tight deadline. This is especially important for virtual teams.

Simplify Work Processes

A friend was recently telling me a story of bureaucracy. She didn’t call it bureaucracy, but her frustration was obvious. To implement a change that sped up the process and was a change that operations desired, she had to obtain approvals from her boss’ boss, the operator’s boss, and a person in the IT department. To submit the change order, she needed to get access to an antiquated computer system for which the organization had no internal training.

If you want to improve innovation performance, you need to simplify your processes and procedures. Agile processes, like Scrum, offer the advantage of focused teamwork and quick feedback from customers. The Agile Manifesto, commands us to emphasize people and interactions over paperwork and bureaucracy. Let your NPD teams work on what they do best – designing and developing new features and technologies.

Measure What Matters

Human beings are programmed to perform our best against the metrics by which our behavior is measured. If your dad gave you a dollar for every hour you were quiet on a road trip, you could manage to be silent for hours on end. If your boss measures efficiency to award your bonus, you will strive to eliminate waste.

Innovations take time to pay off. Short-term metrics drive short-term performance resulting in mundane, incremental products. Developing new technologies and new markets are long-term investments and innovation rewards must recognize learning and growth as a purpose of new product development research, as well as product profitability. Building effective, cross-functional teams is a stepping stone in the journey of improving innovation performance.

Improving Innovation Performance

Innovation is important in every organization. They say if businesses don’t innovate, they die. Customers demand new and better products and services, and companies no longer have the advantage of geographical or technological monopolies. To improve innovation performance, we must share the driving purpose and strategy. Innovation requires change and as flagship innovation leaders, we must communicate the need for change.

Next, innovation succeeds when creativity is unhindered. Simplify your processes and procedures and let the NPD teams be free to do their work without complicated bureaucracy or reporting authority. Finally, measure what matters. Innovation is a long-term adventure where learning is paramount. Experimentation often results in short-term failure yet innovation leaders value knowledge above short-term stock prices.

Do You Want to Improve Your Innovation Performance?

If so, what are you waiting for? Check out our 20 Days of Innovation in 2020 to receive a fresh innovation tip in your inbox daily during the month of January. It’s not spammy and it’s free – sign up here.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching. I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith. It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders. I am an experienced professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making. My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator. Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

What to Do When Waiting

Posted on 09.26.19

When I was in grad school at the University of Washington in Seattle, I did not own a car. I took the bus to campus and home to my apartment in the Northgate mall area. While I was on the bus, I would read journal articles related to my research project. It was great to have 20 minutes of uninterrupted time to concentrate on science.

Recently, my husband and I took a two-week vacation to Scotland. We used public transit and I spent a lot of time on the train recording our stories in my travel journal. A lot of trains and buses have Wi-Fi and I noticed a lot of people texting or looking at Facebook on their phones. Few people were reading or chatting.

Read on or watch the 40-second video summary.

Waiting Time

We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting. Whether we are on the bus or train commuting or we are in a queue at the store, we often face idle time. Most of us today grab our phones and surf the internet or text friends. We fill the waiting time with non-value adding activities.

Now, I’m going to ask you to do an experiment. Close your eyes and think back 10 years. A decade ago, only a few of us had smartphones and there really was not Facebook. What did you do when you were waiting?

Maybe you chatted with the person in line ahead of you and learned the news of your community. Maybe you let your mind wander and you came up with creative ideas. Or maybe you spent that time planning strategic actions for your job or business. Maybe the waiting time just gave you a chance to catch your breath and relax for a few minutes out of a busy day.

Creativity in Waiting

When you have little to occupy your mind and your thoughts wander, creativity sparks. The subconscious mind is constantly working on our problems and challenges, and it is when we relax that those creative ideas can germinate. That’s one reason why people claim to get good ideas in the shower. So far, there is no technology distracting us in the bathroom – yet!

So, I’ll ask you to try another experiment. The next time you are waiting – on a bus or in a queue – resist your phone. Just breathe and observe what’s around you. Watch people and their patterns of behavior. Consider the simple solutions that surround you while you’re waiting: an automatic bus ticket machine, the cash drawer opening and locking, and candy bars stacked near the checkout at the grocery store. Is there a simple, creative solution for your challenge? Can you borrow one of these ideas?

Strategic Waiting

Sometimes we need to concentrate on a specific problem. Waiting time is another opportunity to generate strategic solutions. Sitting at your computer, you’ve got files and emails calling for your attention. But when you’re waiting, you literally have free time with no distractions or interruptions.

While you are next waiting, resist your phone and consider your biggest strategic problem. Now, challenge yourself to come up with three ideas to implement that would solve that problem. While you are waiting, envision exactly how you will execute each plan, who you will need to help you, and what the end result looks like. If you need to research something, plan to do it later. You must resist your phone to brainstorm a strategic plan.

How to Use Waiting Time

All of us have waiting time whether it is during our commute or in queues at stores. Instead of filling the time with quick and easy gossip on Facebook, use your time to find creative and strategic solutions to innovation challenges. Resist your phone and try to generate at least three new ideas and three action plans for implementation. You’ll be surprised with how much you can accomplish in 10 minutes!

Learn About Design Thinking

The techniques of generating three creative ideas and three specific strategic plans are tools from Design Thinking. Design thinking is a creative and collaborative problem-solving approach for identifying customer needs and designing solutions from an empathetic viewpoint. You can apply Design Thinking tools to new product development and innovation and to your own life or business challenges. Sign up here for a free, 60 minute Q&A webinar (21 Oct 2019 at noon CDT) on Life Design. I’ll be sharing more tools from Design Thinking at the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) conference on 6 October in Dallas, TX. Stop by and say “hi”. I’d love to hear how you are generating creative and strategic solutions during your waiting times!

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

How Consultants Use Design Thinking

Posted on 09.19.19

Design Thinking is a collaborative and creative approach to problem solving built on empathy for the customer. We use a variety of tools, techniques, and methods to apply design thinking in innovation processes. It is successful in new product development (NPD) because design thinking focuses on the customers’ needs and understanding from their perspective – of issues or challenges.

Traditionally, design was an afterthought in product development. Designers were called at the final stages to make a product or its package “look pretty”. Today, however, design thinking integrates aesthetics, functionality, and production throughout the innovation process – from ideation to commercialization.

I was recently asked, since design thinking is so successful in helping innovators meet goals, can it be applied in other situations? The answer is a definitive YES! Design thinking helps teachers and trainers, consultants, and small business owners.

Design Thinking and Teaching

As any teacher knows, students are all different. Trainers and facilitators base learners with different needs and capabilities. Students and participants learn differently too. Some gain knowledge from listening to a lecture, others by viewing content visually, and many learn by experience.

Design thinking offers several tools that are specially geared toward the various modes of learning. The design thinking tools and techniques engage multiple senses so participants can hear, see, touch, and engagd in the learning process.

For example, an affinity diagram is a simple tool for categorizing ideas and innovation. But you can use the same concept for learners to categorize vocabulary words, engineering processes, or biological concepts.

Design Thinking and Consultants

Business and management consultants can use design thinking tools to help frame problems and to guide teams to optimize solutions. For example, senior marketing experts in a firm often consult with individual NPD project teams. Understanding the customer’s journey can frame the development process as well as the marketing campaign. A customer journey map shows how various personas become aware of a product need, make a selection, buy and use the product, and dispose or service it after use.

External business consultants can also use the customer journey map to describe engagement with the team, senior management, and other key stakeholders. For projects involving product or quality improvements (like Six Sigma), design thinking tools complement the quantitative data with qualitative evaluations. Understanding how people feel about certain solutions builds rapport and support for total quality management.

Design Thinking and Small Business

Owning and operating a small business is both rewarding and challenging. Small business owners must maintain a pipeline of new products and new customers, all while managing day-to-day operations. In many ways, the small business owner has more challenges than an innovation team seeking disruptive technology!

In order to understand and meet customer needs, small business owners use surveys and CRM systems to understand traffic to their shops. Yet, data alone cannot predict transit attitudes that impact business conditions. Small business owners can apply design thinking tools to better understand their customers and to grow their reach.

One tool that helps identify customer needs and builds understanding is the customer empathy map. Here, you put yourself into the shoes of your customer and gain perspective on what problems they face, how it makes them feel, what messages they see and hear, and what are the pain points and benefits of existing products and services. Repeating the exercise for each of your target market segments helps the small business owner to identify the best way to help their customers have better lives.

Using Design Thinking

Design thinking offers a great set of tools and techniques that help product development practitioners, teachers, trainers, consultants, and small business owners to better understand customers, clients, and end-users. Empathy is at the heart of design thinking so that you deliver products and services that truly meet customer needs and make them happy.

Many of the design thinking tools utilize all our senses to hear, see, and touch artifacts that bring data to life. Design thinking draws on collaborative problem-solving, recognizing that the best ideas are nurtured by a group of people with different experiences and viewpoints. Finally, design thinking is it creative process, often starting with a blank sheet of paper and no preconceived notions of products or customer behaviors.

Learn More

If you are a management consultant or small business owner struggling to identify customers and solutions, you need to join the Life Design Master Mind group. In Life Design Master Mind, we use design thinking applied to life and investigate how to achieve our best purpose, what steps to take in the next phase of life, and how to help those around us. Join me on 21 October 2019 at noon CDT (1 pm EDT/10 am PDT) for a Q&A webinar and Life Design Master Mind pilot. Register now!

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple. x

Routines for Innovation Teams

Posted on 09.05.19

Last week, we discussed two key arenas for success with innovation teams – communication and the project charter. Good communication is obvious in all areas of our lives, but we are often staggeringly inept at sharing information when needed by others. The project charter is a critical guiding document for the team that lays out boundaries and constraints for the product development effort. You can watch a short video on communication and charter here.

While skills development is one of the biggest concerns for innovation executives and leaders, routines in innovation processes can build habits that drive success. Many of the systems and processes in new product development (NPD) are detailed and sophisticated so that companies minimize risk and maximize ROI. On the other hand, routines for project teams are simple and inexpensive with high returns.

Rewards and Recognition

Most of us get up every day and go to work for a purpose. We might say we need to earn money to pay the bills, but as creative professionals, our purpose in working is far deeper. People drawn to innovation, design, and development work, value helping others and improving lives. Hiring for Purpose is the first practice in the Initiation and Structure element of the Virtual Team Model (VTM).

***Element 1 of the Virtual Team Model***

Human beings also want to reap rewards when we fulfill our purpose. Creating a new product that makes it easier to do yard work or yield an increased throughput at the factory are achievements worth celebrating. Recognition of successes in innovation is an important motivator for teams, especially when the challenges seem insurmountable.

NPD teams can build rewards and recognition into their daily routines. For example, daily stand-up meetings can also celebrate successes when goals are met, and tests are completed. Innovation professionals can gather in an informal celebration at lunch after a successful gate review. Displaying the first-run production batches in commemorative packaging builds morale and showcases the team’s efforts.

Rewards and recognition should also include profit-sharing for the new product or business as well. Profit-sharing and stock options are long-term rewards that encourage strategic development rather than quick hits. Longer term rewards also demonstrate the organization’s commitment to learning and development for the innovation teams.

Renewal

Too often, we are on the go all the time. Because of the dedication to the purpose and mission of new product development, innovation professionals often put in long hours. Especially during crunch times to meet critical deadlines and during commercial launches, team members work evenings and weekends, traveling away from their homes, families, and friends. All of this go-go-go takes a toll.

Therefore, innovation teams must build routines of renewal. It can be as simple as instituting walking meetings instead of sitting in stuffy conference rooms. Renewal comes from relaxing the mind, body, and spirit.

Japanese companies require a two-week vacation each year. The reason is that you don’t really let go of your worries and concerns with just a few days away from the office. But, in two weeks you have time to pursue a favorite hobby, breathe in nature, and rejuvenate your soul. Renewal is also the reason that churches and universities offer sabbaticals. The intensity of work in these professions – to help guide and educate others – must be balanced with personal renewal. Sabbaticals give preachers and teachers an opportunity to clear their heads of day-to-day busyness and to focus on important messages.

What is Your Innovation Routine?

Does your innovation team have routines beyond schedules and budgets cycles? Do you recognize and celebrate all accomplishments? Even the learnings that come from failure? Do you reward teams with both financial and motivational honors? Do you give your innovation professionals time for renewal?

Innovation is tough work. If you face issues with too many failed projects and demotivated teams, consider adding routines of reward recognition and renewal. Learn how at the complimentary Life Design Master Mind Q&A webinar on 21 October 2019 at noon CDT (1 pm EDT, 10 am PDT). Register here.

Are Your Innovation Teams Struggling to Move Forward?

If your teams are struggling with cohesiveness and generating timely results, please join us on Friday, 6 September 2019 at 12 noon CDT for a complementary Q&A webinar on Building Effective Cross Functional Teams. Everyone who attends the webinar receives a FREE work style assessment.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Two Skills for Innovation Teams

Posted on 08.30.19

There is no question the innovation is hard work! It is challenging to identify and create technical solutions to solve customers’ problems. It is even more challenging to really identify those customer needs.

Yet, innovation and new product development (NPD) are especially fun areas in which to work. We have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people in our communities, around the world, and in our workplaces. Changing for the better is a happy outcome from innovation efforts!

Innovation projects are executed by teams, usually blending a variety of functions, disciplines, and capabilities. Cross-functional skills are necessary for successful innovation since each discipline – marketing, engineering, operations – brings unique approaches to solve problems. Unfortunately, these diverse viewpoints can sometimes lead to conflict. There are two skills for innovation teams that lead to increased productivity and better outcomes: communication and chartering.

Read on or watch the short summary video here.

Communication

Communication skills can make or break the success of a team. Cross-functional teams bring together people of different backgrounds and experience and require collaboration and cohesiveness to produce results. Marketers speak a different language than engineers, and engineers use a different jargon than the suppliers and distributors.

Effective communication for a cross-functional team starts with understanding internal team needs. Using a workstyle assessment like DiSC® or Team Dimensions Profile, team members grow in self-awareness. Understanding how we tick ourselves allows us to be more receptive of unique ideas and approaches from others.

For example, a friend was going on a job interview. Understanding that she preferred action-oriented relationships that produce results quickly can help her frame responses to interview questions. Especially, in highly technical fields, people may prefer careful analysis over the speed of the response. DiSC helps team members to recognize the strengths of their preferred working style and offers a common language to adopt for increased improved communication within the team.

Charter

Projects without charters are like taking a drive without direction. My dad (a farmer at heart) always liked to drive around the countryside of our town to see how harvest was going. I found these drives boring and pointless. I had no vested interest in harvest and I did not know the farmers whose land we passed. On the other hand, as a CPA, my dad gained valuable knowledge on these drives. He had a mission and purpose.

If you don’t share the mission and purpose of the project, your innovation team members will be bored and disoriented (and may even fall asleep in the backseat!). The project charter for the innovation effort aligns the team to the strategic mission of the project. It explains why the work is important, who the customer is, how the work will be conducted, and what the expectations are for a finished product. The project charter is so important in guiding the work of a cross functional team that the Project Management Institute (PMI®) says you don’t even have a project without a charter!

Cross-Functional Team Skills

Cross-functional innovation teams become effective through a five-step process that includes:

Self-awareness,
Team management,
Project life cycle,
Charter, and
Special circumstances.

Self-awareness lays the groundwork for sharing conversations and creating open dialogue for intra- and inter-team communications. Team management builds on the trust that comes from understanding how each individual team member prefers to work and helps the team commit to goals.

Every team goes through a standard life cycle of initiating the project, building relationships, planning the work, and doing the work. Again, work style preferences and a foundation of trust support effective progress. These elements are especially important for more risky innovation efforts. And, as the life of the project advances, team processes, like the team charter keep the team on track.

Finally, innovation leaders consider special situations or circumstances for team effectiveness. For instance, virtual teams have special needs to utilize the generalist-specialist skills of the dispersed team members. NPD projects with lots of government oversight and regulatory compliance require special processes and procedures, as well.

Grow Your Team Skills

If your innovation teams suffer from a lack of open communication or are driving aimlessly you need attend our next webinar on Building Effective Cross-Functional Teams. Part 1 covers the first two steps in the team building process: self-awareness and team management. Part 2 discuss is how to capitalize on the project life cycle and ensure the project charter links the effort to your strategic mission. We also describe the Virtual Team Model so your new product development efforts can benefit from globally dispersed team members.

Space is filling fast for the Q&A webinar on Friday, 6 September 2019 at noon CDT. Register now!

About Me

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.