How we do it

InnovationLab Process

The diagram on the right shows the process that InnovationLab uses to help clients to innovate — form an opportunity or problem, right through to the final solution. This includes research, innovation workshops, and building of virtual and physical demonstrators.

Depending on their needs, clients may opt for only part of this process.

The different steps are explained in more detail below.

1. Analyse the Present: Identify a Project around a Problem or Opportunity

Every solution starts with a problem or opportunity that the client specifies. With the client, we define and scope a project around this problem or opportunity. The project then follows any part of path shown above — possibly the entire path.

2. Research the Future: Technology Landscape and Roadmap

By observing emerging technology trends, we build a technology landscape. Combining this with knowledge of anticipated market dynamics, we construct a technology roadmap, which will inform the innovation in the next step.

3. Brainstorm: Innovation Workshops

Once we know the trends, we conduct a series of workshops to expose the initial ideas to the right stakeholder group:

• an introductory workshop on innovation in general;
• an open innovation workshop, utilising grassroots innovation; and
• a systematic innovation workshop to converge the broader thinking up to this point into an array of practical solutions.

4. See the Future: Virtual Demonstrators

The next step is to build a virtual demonstrator, where a selection of the solutions are visualised through multimedia, animation, digital game-based scenarios and immersive, interactive planning.

5. Feel the Future: Physical Demonstrators

Once the consolidated options for the solution are extracted from the virtual demonstrator, a physical demonstrator is built in InnovationLab or in the application environment. We invite technology suppliers to integrate their technologies under InnovationLab facilitation. Suppliers and users get to test solutions in the “live laboratory” before it is rolled out in the real world.
The physical demonstrator relies heavily on usability engineering to come up with solutions that will be acceptable to users. A feedback loop exists from the applied solution to next phases of innovation following the same approach in improvement cycles.

6. Be the Future: Build the Solution

In the final step, the client rolls out the solution developed in the real world, with the guidance provided by the demonstrators. The demonstrators are also valuable sales tools — see how we can help you to show case your innovations.