INNOVATION TEMPLATES

Description
‍In order to build sustainable innovation, it is crucial to be not only aware of different trends but analyse them in detail and evaluate their potential impact on your market.‍

How to use the template
‍1. Go out and talk to customers, talk to industry experts and combine this with desk research to know about all relevant trends.
2. Fill out a trend profile for each individual trend: (1) describe the trend in detail, including the way in which it could affect your industry. Use examples and illustrations to enable other people to quickly understand the trend profile. (2) Evaluate each trend according to its possible impact on your market (use research and not just your gut feeling) and according to how easy it is to implement related technology (how likely is it that this trend will quickly be used for new products or services?).
3. Use the trend mapping exercise as a next step.

Description
Trends have a huge influence on possible innovation, both in a negative and in a positive way. Trend mapping enables you to be aware of different trends and helps you to include them in your innovation strategy. Use the trend map to see potential barriers but also as a source of inspiration. Consider first using the trend profile template.

How to use the template
1. Review the predefined categories and decide whether some are not relevant for your business or whether others are missing.
2. Use the trend profiles you already filled out or start by defining specific trends (based on customer and expert insights and market research)
3. Have a brainstorming session in your team to discuss the different trends and to assess how quickly a trend will have an impact (1-5 years; 5-10 years; >10 years?).
4. Plot the trends into the trend map.

Description
The test card is a tool to keep track of hypotheses you have, design experiments to test those hypotheses and run the tests. This will help you to base decisions not just on believes and assumptions but on actual data.

How to use the template
1. Fill out the test card by (1) stating your hypothesis, (2) explaining the experiment you want to conduct to test the hypothesis, (3) defining clear metrics of what will be measured in the experiment and (4) what the exact outcome needs to be to prove or disprove the hypothesis.
2. Do this exercise for all the hypotheses you have and consider having several experiments and test cards for the same hypothesis, to increase reliability of the tests.
3. Prioritize your test cards and start with the experiments that are easy to implement and costs little (don't invest a lot early because easy tests might already lead you into new directions)
4. Conduct experiments and use learning cards for each experiment

Description
Test cards can be used to design and run experiments to verify parts of your value proposition and your business model. After the experiments are done, the learning cards are a great tool to structure the learnings and take action accordingly.

How to use the framework
Take a look at the test cards and use the insights to fill out the learning cards. After filling out the whole card, assign the necessary next steps to people in your team and set deadlines for the implementation. Give them the learning card as a reminder.

Description
The innovation battlefield is similar to the opportunity map. However, it is not focused on your portfolio of products and services but on single features of one product or service. The innovation battlefield helps to understand which features are necessary (hygiene factors) and which ones are new and surprising features to differentiate yourself.

How to use the template
1. Look at either at an existing product or service or think of a new offering you would like to evaluate.
2. List the features this product or service offers / should offer (not more than 10).
3. Rate each feature according to its novelty for customers (how exciting is it for customers) and according to its indispensability (how important is it to keep a feature).
4. Plot all features in the innovation battlefield map.

Must have features: the features in the bottom right corner are the ones you need to provide to keep your customers. However, not more than necessary should be invested there.
Unnecessary features: the features in the bottom left corner should be left out as they don't provide enough value for the customers.
Key features to focus on: the features in the top right corner are the most important ones. The most resource should go into further strengthening them.
Unexpected but awesome features: these are "nice-to-have" features. Nevertheless they might be crucial to differentiate yourself from competition.

Description
Similar to the customer persona, the empathy map helps to better picture your target customers. Compared to the customer profile, it is however even more focused on a deep understanding of the customer. The empathy map is all about being empathic with the customer.

How to use the framework
Go out and talk to your customers. Build empathy by understanding their daily routines, their habits and their thoughts. Observe them in their environment and listen closely to them. The most obvious parts to observe is what customers do and say. To find out what they hear, see, think and feel you need to be very open to get to know the customers. Ask them how they feel in specific situations and let them tell stories without Interrupting them. Ask for example "when was the last time you did..". Ask follow up questions like "What did you feel in that situation? What did you think? What struck you as surprising?"

Description
A customer persona is a fictional character that represents a specific target segment. Personas are built based on customer research and should help to understand customers better.

How to use this template
Go out and learn about your customers (e.g. with a design thinking approach). Cluster your findings and create customer personas from them.
A customer personal can include a lot of different information and the kind of information that is important also depends on your specific target group.
Some data you might want to include is some demographic data (e.g. age, gender, salary, education, job). While this might be relatively easy to find out, it is even more important to understand customers in terms of their behaviors (e.g. What do they like to do? How do they spend their time? How do they address specific issues?), their goals and also their pains.

Description
In order to structure feedback from different stakeholders, the feedback grid is a great tool. Whenever you receive feedback, try to structure it with the help of the feedback grid to draw conclusions and make use of the input.

How to use the template
To fill out the feedback grid four types of questions can be asked:
What do you like about the concept?
What could be improved? / What should be changed?
What remains unclear?
What other ideas do you have?

Instead of using these questions, it is often a great possibility to just show customers a prototype of a concept (can just be a drawing on a piece of paper or a mock-up) and let them interact with the prototype. You will be able to observe what they like, what they don't like, what they don't understand and what creative ideas they have to add to the prototype. Observe the stakeholders, ask follow up questions and fill in the feedback grid with what you heard.

Description
A business model describes how an organization creates, captures and delivers value. The Business Model Canvas helps to give a shared understanding of which elements to discuss when talking about business models. The nine building blocks are focused around the two core topics of the company's value proposition and the target customer.

How to use the template
It makes sense to start with the two core elements "value proposition" and "customer segments" and build everything around that.

Customer Segments: For whom are we creating value? Who are our most important customers? Are we addressing a mass or a niche market? How segmented is the market?

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Value Propositions: What value do we offer? Which customer problems do we solve and how? What are the most important features?

Channels: Through which channels do we reach our customers? Which different channels are needed for raising awareness, selling and delivering our products, or offering after sales services?

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Customer Relationships: Which relationships do we have with our customers and what do they expect? How automated or personalized is the relationship? What is the relationship between different customers?

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Revenue Streams: For what do customers pay and for what are they actually willing to pay? How do customers want to pay? How do different revenue streams come together?

Key Resources: Which resources are needed to offer our value proposition? (Tangible, intangible, human and financial resources)

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Key Activities: Which activities are required to offer our value proposition?

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Key Partnerships: Which key resources are we acquiring from partners? Which key activities do partners perform? Who are our partners?

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Cost Structure: What are the different fixed and variable costs in our business model? Which resources and activities cost the most and how much?

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Description
‍The Value Proposition Canvas looks at two of the building blocks from the Business Model Canvas. The tool can be used both to improve existing value propositions, or create new ones. On the left side is the Value Proposition, which describes the proposed value of your business model in detail. On the right side, the Customer Segment Profile describes the specific target customer.

How to use the template
‍Fill out the Value Proposition Canvas to the best of your abilities. Then go out and talk to the target customer to refine it.

Customer Segment
Customer Jobs: What are customers trying to get done in their work or in their life? This doesn't only include functional jobs (e.g. driving from A to B) but also social jobs (e.g. gaining a good reputation) or personal jobs (e.g. achieving peace of mind or feeling more safe).
Customer Pains: What do the customers not like? What problems do they have? What obstacles are in their way to get certain jobs done?
Customer Gains: What are the outcomes customers aspire? What does the customer expect from a value proposition?

Value Proposition
Products and Services: List all the products and services your value proposition includes and how relevant they are.
Pain Relievers: How does your value proposition address and solve specific customer pains?
Gain Creators: How does your value proposition enhance or create specific customer gains

In the end, your value proposition and your customer segment need to fit together! Otherwise either side needs to be realigned.