In the last decade, the value of innovation management systems has grown manifold. Ever since industries have started focusing on ecommerce businesses, the emphasis on bringing powerful and game-changing ideas to the table has grown exponentially.
It not only allows the industry owners to get ahead of their time but also enables them to utilize their workforce more stringently to bring more innovations to the field. Considering how competition has grown tremendously in every field, industries can only survive if they bring more innovative ideas to life.
So, if you’re new to this idea and want to explore innovation management tools, let’s talk it out.
Importance of Innovation Management System
Before we start discussing the processes of innovation management and its tools, you must know that an innovation management system is different from idea management software. Although they seem like synonyms, idea management software is more about gathering ideas and finding an apt idea to work on.
Innovation management has a far bigger horizon than that. In an innovation management system, the goal is to gather ideas and sculpt them into real innovations. The process begins with generating an idea and bringing that idea to life in the form of a product or service.
It takes several tools and teams to use an innovation management system; if you think it can happen on its own, you must know it can’t. To bring an innovative idea to life, you need specific tools and a dedicated process that will produce actual results.
There are various reasons why innovation management is important for your business, such as
- Staying ahead of the curve
- Using every available resource,
- Becoming a field leader.
Now that you know about the importance and severity of innovation management for growing industries, how can you put it to good use? We suggest you look into some of the best innovation management tools. It is by far the best solution to integrate innovation management into your company dynamics.
You might not know which innovation management tools to use, so we’ve listed a few below for you to check out.
Phases of Innovation Management
Innovation management can be divided into five phases. We are discussing all five phases below in brief detail:
- Exploration
Exploration is the first step in innovation management. When you think about true innovation, you must always begin while keeping your customer in perspective. You first need to empathize with them and figure out their problems. The exploration phase can be further divided into three steps:
- Identify the problem.
- Get insight from customers.
- Identify the jobs that must be done.
The goal of the first phase is to gain as much insight as possible about your target market, so you start looking for solutions.
- Definition
Once you have all the required data and information regarding the persisting problems your target market is currently dealing with, it will become easier for you to define your idea. You will have a direction that you must follow to attain productive results.
You also need to keep in mind that every idea must be communicated the way it should be. For instance, if your idea is to develop a product to solve a problem, you must define it visually. Whereas if you offer them services or new business processes, you can use storyboards to convey what you have in mind.
- Test & Learn
If you wish to stay ahead of the competition, you must learn from your mistakes. Innovation management’s result will only be successful for your business if you keep testing your ideas and learning if something goes wrong.
But how will you know if your idea is good enough once you have it? You can start by sharing it with your colleagues and getting their feedback. Learn what they have to say and ponder any theories they share to improve your innovation.
- Build a Business Case
If you want to produce something innovative, you must have a solid business case. If there is no plan and no understanding of whether your innovation will be vital for future projects, there is no reason to spend money and resources on it.
You can start by doing a SWOT analysis of your idea. Outline the risk profile and then also work on ROI. This should give you a better image of what you can expect from your innovation.
- Implementation
Lastly, once you have created the idea and know it will be fruitful, it is time to go into the implementation phase.
You must ensure that for implementation to work, the executives, directors, and all the company’s decision-makers must be on the same page. Study as much as possible about the idea, and then implement everything you have learned so far.
5 Tools for Innovation Management
There are different innovation management tools you can use for every step. We have enlisted our top 5 choices that offer comprehensive functionality and are excellent systems to begin with.
- Qmarkets
Qmarkets is corporate software that we highly recommend for larger organizations. It is a complete innovation management software that can perform some impeccable heavy lifting for your business.
- Ideawake
Ideawake is a precise and straightforward innovation management software designed specifically for beginners.It does lack features, but is also very practical to use.
- Inno360
Inno360 is disruptive innovation software that is great for larger companies. It creates innovations based on the data available on the internet.
Final Thoughts
This is everything we could gather regarding top innovation management processes and tools. As you have read, innovation management falls under the umbrella of idea management and provides company owners with conclusive results.
It has grave importance for building a business today, where every brand and business owner needs a competitive edge in the market. An innovation management system enhances the performance of your employers by gathering them to work toward a common goal.
It is a great way to collect ideas and cultivate and sculpt them into real innovations. So, if you’re looking for ways to take your business ahead, perhaps now would be a good time to consider integrating an innovation management system into your work model.