Innovation games: creating breakthrough products through collaborative play

✍ Scribed by Luke Hohmann

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 190
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Innovation Through Understandingsm   The toughest part of innovation? Accurately predicting what customers want, need, and will pay for. Even if you ask them, they often can’t explain what they want. Now, there’s a breakthrough solution: Innovation Games. Drawing on his software product strategy and product management consulting experience, Luke Hohmann has created twelve games that help you uncover your customers’ true, hidden needs and desires.   You’ll learn what each game will accomplish, why it works, and how to play it with customers. Then, Hohmann shows how to integrate the results into your product development processes, helping you focus your efforts, reduce your costs, accelerate time to market, and deliver the right solutions, right from the start. Learn how your customers define success Discover what customers don’t like about your offerings Uncover unspoken needs and breakthrough opportunities Understand where your offerings fit into your customers’ operations Clarify exactly how and when customers will use your product or service Deliver the right new features, and make better strategy decisions Increase empathy for the customers’ experience within your organization Improve the effectiveness of the sales and service organizations Identify your most effective marketing messages and sellable features Innovation Games will be indispensable for anyone who wants to drive more successful, customer-focused product development: product and R&D managers, CTOs and development leaders, marketers, and senior business executives alike.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 14
About the Author......Page 20
Foreword......Page 22
Preface......Page 24
Acknowledgments......Page 30
PART ONE: The Why and the How of Innovation Games......Page 32
What Are Innovation Games?......Page 33
Organizing Innovation Games......Page 37
Innovation Games as a Market Research Technique......Page 38
A Market Research Process......Page 40
Primary and Secondary Data......Page 41
Whom Do I Ask? Market Segmentation......Page 43
Questions, Data, Answers, and Actions......Page 45
The Unique Benefits (and Drawbacks) of Qualitative Market Research......Page 46
What Makes Innovation Games Special?......Page 47
The Innovation Games Process......Page 49
Degree of Open-Ended Exploration......Page 51
Number of Customers Who Can Play the Game......Page 52
Preparation Workload......Page 53
Time Frame of Action......Page 55
A Planning Timeline......Page 57
Phases of Preparation......Page 58
Organizing Your Team......Page 60
The Day of Your Innovation Game......Page 66
Processing the Results of Your Innovation Game......Page 68
Innovation Games and Customer-Centric New Product Innovation Processes......Page 71
Ideation Phase......Page 72
Using Innovation Games to Feed Product Requirements......Page 74
Using Innovation Games with Customer Advisory Boards......Page 75
Summary......Page 76
PART TWO: The Games......Page 78
Prune the Product Tree......Page 79
Preparing for the Game......Page 80
Playing the Game......Page 83
Processing the Results......Page 85
How I Can Use Prune the Product Tree......Page 86
Remember the Future......Page 87
Why It Works......Page 88
Playing the Game......Page 90
How I Can Use Remember the Future......Page 92
Spider Web......Page 93
Why It Works......Page 94
Preparing for the Game......Page 95
Processing the Results......Page 97
How I Can Use Spider Web......Page 98
Product Box......Page 99
Preparing for the Game......Page 100
Playing the Game......Page 103
Processing the Results......Page 105
How I Can Use Product Box......Page 106
Buy a Feature......Page 107
Preparing for the Game......Page 108
Playing the Game......Page 112
Processing the Results......Page 113
How I Can Use Buy a Feature......Page 114
Start Your Day......Page 115
The Game......Page 116
Preparing for the Game......Page 117
Playing the Game......Page 119
Processing the Results......Page 120
How I Can Use Start Your Day......Page 122
Show and Tell......Page 123
Preparing for the Game......Page 124
How I Can Use Show and Tell......Page 126
Me and My Shadow......Page 127
Why It Works......Page 128
Playing the Game......Page 129
Processing the Results......Page 131
How I Can Use Me and My Shadow......Page 132
Give Them a Hot Tub......Page 133
Preparing for the Game......Page 134
Processing the Results......Page 135
How I Can Use Give Them a Hot Tub......Page 136
The Apprentice......Page 137
Preparing for the Game......Page 138
Processing the Results......Page 139
How I Can Use the Apprentice......Page 140
20/20 Vision......Page 141
Why It Works......Page 142
Playing the Game......Page 143
Processing the Results......Page 145
How I Can Use 20/20 Vision......Page 148
Speed Boat......Page 149
Why It Works......Page 150
Preparing for the Game......Page 151
Playing the Game......Page 152
Processing the Results......Page 154
How I Can Use Speed Boat......Page 156
PART THREE: Tools and Templates......Page 158
Phase One Planning in Greater Detail......Page 159
Customizing Speed Boat......Page 162
Customizing Buy a Feature......Page 163
Key Goals......Page 164
Key Remaining Action Items......Page 165
Room Layout and Customer Organization......Page 166
Detailed Schedule......Page 167
AirIT Sample Thank You Letter......Page 168
Start Your Day Materials......Page 173
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)......Page 175
Give Customers Time to Play the Game......Page 178
Transcribe the Results......Page 179
A Good Facilitator......Page 180
Conclusion......Page 182
C......Page 184
I......Page 185
M......Page 186
P......Page 187
R......Page 188
T......Page 189
U–Z......Page 190