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Methodologies of Innovation and how to choose

Innovation methodologies when done right can ensure questions are addressed in the right way and can help you acquire reflexes. If you’re in charge of creating changes in your organization, then you need to develop workflows that allow you to repeatedly produce, organize, and nurture new ideas. These systems must become the funnels that transform ideas into real-world projects.

We at Cultinno have noticed a few innovation processes that are adopted more than others, which we would like to share with you. But before we do, you need to have an insight into how much you know about innovation methodologies.

The role of Innovation Methodologies

We are wired to constantly look for solutions that fix problems. So when it comes to innovation, everyone wants to find the perfect method. However, obsessing over a single best innovation recipe comes with the risk of getting stuck in the old ways of doing things. Every type of innovation has a complex setting, with many variables, so copying the exact same model of innovation is not feasible or at least it won’t reap the desired results. What can and should be replicated, is the disciplined way of achieving innovation. And this is where innovation methods come into play.

Understanding Innovation Methods

One cannot actually define what an innovation method is, but it can be understood. While a process is a series of events or a path of successions that help produce a result, and a tool is an instrument that helps you put a method into practice, a method is generally defined as a procedure through which something is approached or accomplished systematically. Basically, it’s the way we do something according to a plan, in order to achieve the desired result, using a certain set of tools.

In short, we can say that an innovation method is simply the practical way in which we can achieve innovation.

Why is it important to choose the right methodology

Innovation, as sporadic as it may sound, also is rarely a long-term success. A systematic approach increases the chances of valuable innovation. We believe that sticking to a single method is not ideal, especially for large organizations. Thus, the best way to go about this is to create your own toolbox and include various methods for different purposes and kinds of innovations.

  • Bring the best ideas to life: Having a mix-and-match approach to innovation methods will help you bring more, and more diverse ideas to life. Unconventional ideas can lead to breakthrough innovations, but they’re probably the hardest to bring about. Choosing the right innovation methods also means that you allow time for reflection, ideation, evaluation and prioritization of the best ideas.
  • Test assumptions and reveal new business opportunities: Experimentation plays an important role in turning ideas into workable solutions. As it’s wisely said, you should test to improve, not to prove. Innovation methods can also be used to empower employees to better understand opportunities.
  • Help scale innovation within the organization: To scale innovation within the entire organization you have to enable anyone to become an innovator. Having the right tools and methods can help you harness the creativity and knowledge of the entire workforce.

Common Innovation Methodologies

If you’re in charge of systematically creating change at your organization, then you need to develop workflows that allow you to repeatedly produce, organize, and nurture new ideas. Here are a few most common innovation processes which you can start with:

  • The Six Sigma methodology is most commonly used to find new efficiencies or process improvements. The major components of the process include: Defining, Measuring, Analysing, Improving, and Controlling. By defining the problem, measuring performance for improvement and gathering improvement suggestions and then implementing them, customers can save time and money.
  • The Agile methodology is something so many people use because prioritization and improvement are key parts of the process. Feature requests and product needs can be submitted as ideas, prioritized by several evaluation methods and built out and improved concurrently with the help of the crowd.
  • The best part about Design Thinking is that it has been so socialized in the business world, almost everyone has a shared language for what it means. It means putting the user at the centre of the design process.
  • Global Innovation Management Methodology is the mother of all methodologies, as it can be applied to just about any problem – whether you want incremental or disruptive change. Their five-step approach allows practitioners to identify and define their goals, conduct research, align their strategy to their capabilities, develop concepts, and make a case for particularly inspiring ideas. This process has been used by everyone from small business owners to Fortune 500 companies.
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