THE DEAL OF IDEA IMPLEMENTATION

10 Steps from idea generation to implementation

BY:Michel Neumann June 22, 2017

Every successfully implemented idea/product is a result of a long and painstakingly supervised innovation process. While principles and methods of idea development are universal for all industries, there is no strict rule regarding the steps from idea generation to implementation.

Here is a list of 10 steps that follow the idea management process from idea generation to implementation.

1. Idea selection: coming up with an idea that fits person’s strengths, professional aspirations,related experience and resources to make it happen.At this stage, the idea is just a hypothesis and might be altered or changed later.

2. Scrutiny of all aspects: 

 analytical evaluation of the opportunity from an investor’s standpoint. Key aspects of this assessment are: target audience, size of the opportunity, a calculated risk or not, economic viability, etc. A brief business plan clarifies the covered points.

3. Feedback: obtaining opinions from people aware of the market, competitors, business model and similar business experience. Their practical expertise, and that of target customers, will help predict the likelihood of idea success. The real test is when the product is launched but this preliminary research gives a hint.

4. Feedback reaction: making necessary changes to product, strategy and business plan according to results from the meaningful feedback. Anticipating the needed capital; to reach set targets. Designing an implementation plan with the main objectives in the short term and who will execute them.

5. A basic product: rather than a complete product with a full set of features, a bare minimum offering shows target customers what the product basically is and how it works. A good idea is to build the basic product as quickly as possible and make it inexpensive.

6. On the market: Getting to the market a core product quickly and start examining customers` reactions. While one manufacturer waits and refines their product to make it ideal for the customers, a competitor sells successfully an acceptable similar product.

7. Test drive: testing elements like pricing, branding, customer experience and features gives a practical demonstration of how the product matches customers` needs. Marketing messages, sales pitches and promotions are also areas that can be tested.

 8 Corrections: having an idea which aspects of the product and marketing are imperfect, fixing them enables the manufacturer to continuously improve their product and marketing strategies, used to market it.

9. Growing plans: updates on the product, business plan, marketing and financial strategies enable expansion. If it really proves to be a winning pitch, this is also a good time to gather resources and raise capital.

10. Time to expand: having a proven business strategy and the necessary resources, an ambitious expansion plan seems suitable. If the team shares common beliefs and understands company`s goals and core values, success is likely.

This example of a success story would not be possible without the right idea management process in place. Since innovation plays a central role in every sustainable business strategy, many companies rely on innovation software to help them capture, evaluate and implement the brightest ideas.

Idea software is closely connected with innovation management and manages all the stages from idea generation to implementation. If you wish to know more about innovation management and processes, have a look at our Idea Spotlight Product Video or get in touch.