How to manage innovation projects?
Whether you are undertaking, that you need to evolve a project in which you are working or that you require new goals and market differentiation for your company you will know that, innovation, it is the key to success to make any of these objectives befulfill.
However, managing innovation projects, on many occasions, is a real challenge, since it requires finding the balance between creativity, strategic planning and compliance with results in the market. In this article, I share some tips and best practices that will help you manage innovation projects effectively.
Define the objectives of innovation
The first step to manage any innovation project is to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. To do this, it is essential to detect the challenges that you want to address and clearly define the specific objectives that you want to achieve.
Although some believe that innovation is, on many occasions, something somewhat ethereal and almost mystical dedicated only to privileged minds that have the ability to see what others do not see . . . and this is not so. Innovation has to be measurable, raise attainable objectives and address challenges by solving problems that are relevant.
In addition, each challenge has to have a time in the time in which results must be able to extract results and, all these challenges and objectives must be aligned with the mission and vision of your project or company.
Create a multidisciplinary team
Innovation thrives in an environment of diversity. Do not work alone, forms a multidisciplinary team that includes different profiles, engineers, marketing specialists and other relevant professionals in the field or the sector in which you want to innovate.
Includes people with different ways of thinking, not everyone has to be visionary brains. Surround yourself with criticisms, some more dreamy, others more practical and pragmatic, people with more experience in the sector and others with less and consider each opinion, since, the combination of different perspectives and skills will encourage creativity and allow addressing theproblems from multiple angles that
Communicates the objective of innovation
It does not matter if you are the project manager, the CEO of your company or a worker who wants to propose an innovative idea that allows to improve something in some field. No matter how clear you have in your mind the problem, the challenges, objectives or times that you will take to put that idea that is around your mind in the market. If you don't know how to communicate your vision that idea will not come to fruition.
You have to be able to communicate your idea in a way that is easy and understandable for all the people who are going to participate in it. You have to work on each and every one of the team members have clarity about the problems, challenges, objectives and ways of addressing innovation. A good way to communicate your ideas and that could help you is to learn to paint your ideas.
Keep in mind that, on many occasions you will have to adapt the speech so that people with different profiles can understand that vision you are raising. It is not the same to communicate an innovative idea for a financial expert, the CEO of your company, engineers, developers or your customers . . . Therefore, spend time to find the best way to communicate your vision to each of the participants inthe same.
Promote a culture of innovation
Innovation implies many psychological aspects that, sometimes, are not simple to manage for everyone. Innovation is a carousel of emotions for which all team members have to be prepared.
Depending on the type of project or the scope in which you want to innovate you and the people with whom you will find you before moments of great uncertainty. You will have successes and also failures in the process . . . the good news is that all this is normal.
Therefore, promoting an organizational culture plays a crucial role in the management of innovation projects. It promotes a safe environment in which experimentation is valued and people have a space for failure. Encourage team members to propose novel ideas and learn from mistakes. Celebrating successes and analyzing failures is essential when innovating.
In my personal case I usually apply a phrase with the equipment that helps us face the challenges in a more relaxed way: “I don't know how we are going to do it, what I do know is how we have done it other times and that on the way somethingWe will have value "
Innova with patience, step by step
Innovation is more a background race than a Sprint race. It is crucial that you and your team stay motivated and, the best way to motivate people is to be able to reach small goals that show you that the effort has its reward and that the goal is getting closer.
Knowing how to measure the expectations of each delivery in an innovation project is essential for ideas to come to fruition. How many bad managers of innovation have sunk ideas for having over -dimensioned expectations . . . however clear you have the objectives, no matter how aligned the team is, on the way you will find problems that you had not planned, stones and problems on the roadThey will have to be resolved to take the next step.
Therefore, be patient, it is flexible, detects the problems that do not let you move forward, analyze whether they are a real impediment and, if it is, do not leave it aside to work to solve it to continue moving forward in your goals.
Manages the risk involved in innovation and is proactive
Innovation projects are inherently associated with risks. Try, anticipate and identify these risks from the beginning and develop mitigation plans. Being prepared to face obstacles will allow you to manage them more effectively and minimize their impact on the project. A good product designer will be of great help in this regard.
Anticipating and identifying the risks of innovation is a complex task. There are few occasions that this previous analysis can paralyze and lead to not knowing where to throw. There is so much information that we can have to manage in this process that sometimes you can feel overwhelmed and lost. A simple orderly list in which you raise all the challenges that you have detected in which you can list the pros and cons of each of them can be very useful. Although it seems obvious, write that list somewhere, take it out of your head or that of your team and put order since, in this way you can talk about the same and not what each one imagines in their head.
It is proactive and advances if you want your innovative ideas to become a reality. On many occasions the best way to manage the risk of innovation is to advance. It is very common to fall into "analysis by analysis. "Proactivity, meaningful, is the best way to manage risk. Take some of the challenges you have detected and start addressing it. On the way, evaluate the results and learning that you find and enter that vicious circle that involves being a solver problem.
Involve your users to make decisions
Remember that any idea, by innovative that seems in your head, will be meaningful to the extent that it solves a problem and there is a business model associated with it. This is why user -centered design is essential for this innovative idea to become a reality.
It involves users from the early stages of the project through interviews, surveys, usability tests, expose them to prototypes . . . their feedback will allow you to adjust and improve your idea in order to better meet their needs and expectations.
In addition, thanks to the feedback of your users you can make better decisions. I always say "I never invented anything, I just listen and do what people tell me to do. "Your idea can be great, the opinions of your team's experts can be great and, without a doubt, all those ideas and opinions are the seed to build something bigger but, consider your users fundamental part of decision making.
It raises hypothesis, measures and analyzes the results
Any innovation project is a hypothesis in itself. When you consider to innovate in any field parts of the basis that your idea solves a problem. Depending on what problem you should pose hypotheses that help you evaluate whether you are right in your assumptions or not.
To ensure that your innovation project is on the right path, it is essential to evaluate these hypotheses, measure them in some way and analyze the results. Establish criteria based that help you make decisions when evaluating your hypotheses and the impact of your idea.
For example, plant how many people have the problem you are trying to solve and look for information on the Internet, interview users or look for data that endorse (or not) that assumption to, with that information, to be able to make adjustments and continuous improvements in your idea.
Celebrate the achievements, learn from failures and enjoy the way
Innovating is, on many occasions, a more psychological exercise. From the moment an idea arises in your head, the illusion of being able to carry it out, to solve a problem and provide value either to the market, to users, your project or your company.
Innovation requires a high degree of resilience, you must have a high capacity to adapt to adversity and, in more cases than we would like, to manage high doses of frustration. Think of those crazy scientists of the films to which the specimens explode doing their experiments. Innovation is that, for many certainties you have, there are many more test situations and error than anything else. To think that your idea is going to go to the first and that without experimentation and learning you will find the key is something rather utopian. Therefore try to keep you and your team motivated in the process since, without that motivation you can hardly take frustration.
Never forget, enjoy, enjoy and enjoy. Innovating is one of the most beautiful things that someone can experience, having an idea and carrying it out is an experience that, beyond metrics or economic results, deserves to be lived. Innovation not only teaches you about the sector in which you are working. Innovation helps you learn a lot about yourself, who you are, what are your strengths and where are your weaknesses.
And, when you finally get what began as a simple idea, it becomes a reality, celebrates the achievements. Recognize the effort and success of each and every one of the people of the team and be proud of what you have achieved.
