Innovation and Design

Question 1

define innovation

Answer 1

the idea of novelty and change.

Question 2

define creativity

Answer 2

the ability to move beyond conventional ideas, rules or assumptions, in order to generate significant new ideas.

Question 3

define design

Answer 3

conceive the looks, arrangement, and workings of something. A design must deliver a solution that will work in practice.

Question 4

define Radical innovation

Answer 4

includes large technological advancements which may require completely new knowledge and/or resources making existing services and products obsolete and therefore non-competitive.

Question 5

define Incremental innovation

Answer 5

is more likely to involve relatively modest technological changes, built upon existing knowledge and/or resources so existing products and services are not fundamentally changed

Question 6

The Henderson-Clark model

Answer 6

• incremental innovation is built upon existing component and architectural knowledge,
• radical innovation changes both component and architectural knowledge.
• Modular innovation is built on existing architecturalknowledge,but requires new knowledge for one or more components.

Question 7

define Product designers

Answer 7

try to achieve aesthetically pleasing designs which meet or exceed customers’ expectations.

Question 8

define Service designers

Answer 8

try to put together a service which meets, or even exceeds, customer expectations.

Question 9

Good design practice can:

Answer 9

• drive and operationalize innovation, increasing market share and opening up new markets;
• differentiate products and services= more attractive to customers; increasing consistency in the company’s range= ensure successful product launches;
• strengthen branding, so that products and services embody a company’s values;
• reduce the overall costs associated with innovation, through more efficient use of resources, reduced project failure rate and faster time to market.

Question 10

design activity process

Answer 10

• The transformed resource inputs will consist mainly of information in the form of market forecasts, market preferences, technical data, potential design ideas, and so on.
• Transforming resource inputs includes the operations and design managers who manage the process, together with specialist technical staff with the specific knowledge necessary to solve design problems.

Question 11

The performance of the design process can be assessed in terms of

Answer 11

Quality
- the degree offunctionality,or experience, or aesthetics,

Speed
-fast design = early market launch; starting design late; frequent market stimulation

Dependability
- lack of dependability adds to the uncertainty

Sustainability
-extent to which it benefits the ‘triple bottom line’ – people, planet and profit.

Flexibility
-the ability to cope with external or internal change

Cost

• the cost of buying the inputs to the process,
• the cost of providing the labour in the process, and
• the other general overhead costs of running the process.

Question 12

different sources of innovation

Answer 12

Ideas from customers – 
Listening to customers – 
Ideas from competitor activity
Ideas from staff
Ideas from research and development

Question 13

define Crowdsourcing

Answer 13

process of getting work or funding or ideas from a crowd of people

Question 14

Concept screening: what are design criteria?

Answer 14

• The feasibility of the design option – can we do it?
○ Do we have the skills?
○ Do we have the organizational capacity?
○ Do we have the financial resources to cope with this option?

• The acceptability of the design option – do we want to do it?
○ Does the option satisfy the performance criteria
○ Will our customers want it?
○ Does the option give a satisfactory financial return?

• The vulnerability of each design option – do we want to take the risk?

• Do we understand the full consequences of adopting the option?
• Being pessimistic, what could go wrong if we adopt the option?
• What would be the consequences of everything going wrong? (‘downside risk’ of an option.)

Question 15

Design and Stage Gate steps

Answer 15

Discovery

Stage 1: Scoping

• Narrow down ideas
• Rating of concepts and selection
• Specification and definition of needs
• Talk with other functions, establish barriers

Stage 2: Build a Business Case
Plausibility of design
- Justify product idea and costing/ Design specification
- Discussing ideas and research made

Stage 3: Development
Develop concepts and work on aesthetics
- Create a prototype of the final concept – Model, CAD

Stage 4: Testing and Validation
Create test plans
- Resolve issues
- Possible revise and refine the design
- Prototyping

Stage 5 Launch
Get brand right
- Presentation and exhibition
- Final check of layout, materials and lighting

Question 16

problems with design and stage-gate

Answer 16

• lack of flexibility and a poor reaction to market changes (Chhatpar, 2007)
• Stage-Gate may inhibit companies from achieving radical innovation (Goffin and Micheli, 2010)
• The presence of a multitude of stakeholder throughout the process might cause a lack of continuity, hence resulting in a loss of intent or momentum (Petrie, 2008)

Question 17

4P’s of innovation

Answer 17

Product (service)
-what we offer the world

Process
- how we create and deliver the offering

Position
-Where we target the offering

paradigm
-How we frame what we do