For many companies, the first step is the most difficult when it comes to innovation. Questions arise such as: Where do we start? In which areas do we operate? Where do we have any potential at all? These phenomena can be counteracted with the creative method of innovation digging. The method is similar to professional archaeological excavations: It helps with the systematic search in defined areas that can be worked on – and later expanded and tested – by a team.
The method is suitable for ideas relating to new products and services. But also when processes, market and business areas are to be designed more innovatively and suggestions for improvement in dealing with customers and their satisfaction are needed.
How does innovation digging work?
Sounds like a promising tool, doesn’t it? Let’s delve a little deeper. I would like to take a brief look at how innovation digging works.
Scenario: You are a product development engineer looking for inspiration to improve or innovate your product.
Step 1: Take a pad or another sheet of paper and draw a normal table – this will be our search field matrix.
Step 2: In the row headers of the table, enter the touchpoints that people have with your product. If it were a coffee machine, the line headers could read:
- Unpacking the coffee machine after purchase
- Set up the coffee machine
- Read operating instructions
- Fill with coffee
- Fill with water
- Setting the dosage
- Brew coffee
- Serving coffee
- Cleaning process
- etc.
Step 3: In the column headers of the table, enter the benefit dimensions (these are adjectives in their first intensified form) that come to mind spontaneously:
- faster
- more favorable
- more comfortable
- more environmentally friendly
- safer
- funnier
- quieter
- more erotic
- etc.
Step 4: Now run your finger through the resulting search fields according to your own rules and say the word combinations quietly to yourself, such as: “fill water faster”, “set up coffee machine more comfortably” or “clean more fun”.
Be inspired by the word combinations and see if there are any connections that you have never thought about before.
Using innovation digging to find ideas: Application examples
The use of innovation digging is versatile. Making fields of potential visible is only one conceivable possibility; over the years I have seen many possible applications and also received exciting additional ideas for the tool from the circle of users of the method. I have put together my favorites for you:
Competence abbreviation:
The name abbreviations of the persons responsible for finding ideas in this part of the table are noted on search field squares or row or column headers.
Names of competitors:
If competitors have functions or features that can be assigned to a search field in your company’s table, the competitor’s name or logo can be entered there. This provides a fantastic overview of the search fields in which the competition is innovative and where it is not.
Date of last creative session:
The date of the last creative session for a search field can also be entered in this search field. This gives you a complete overview of where and when you have worked in which search field.
Names of experts:
The names of colleagues or external people who we consider to be experts in this innovation search field.
Marker for “We already know”:
A colored marker, for example, that shows us that we have known this search field for a long time.
Marker for “We haven’t thought it through yet”:
A colored marker, for example, that shows us that this search field is new to us and that we haven’t thought it through yet.
Document link:
A document link that takes us to a further document containing details about this search field.
Target linkage:
An entry that shows us whether or not this field contributes to existing project or company targets.
Project coupling:
An entry that shows us whether this field has a possible connection with other innovation projects or initiatives in the company.
Further information on innovationdigging
If you would like to find out more about the tool, please take a look at this page. You can also order your own Innovationdigging poster and the accompanying manual for the tool here.
