Innovation might begin with an employee's “aha!” moment. Or it might result from a research group actively studying a problem. Whatever the source, you now have an idea—for a new technology, a new way of providing a service, or even a new way of selling.

The next phases of innovation help you determine where this inspiration fits. Companies rarely complain of having too few ideas. The challenge is figuring out which ideas are worthy of pursuit. That's where ideation comes in. During the ideation phase, you determine whether the new idea is a viable strategic and market fit. During the incubation phase, you begin investing time and resources that reveal whether the idea is feasible. The innovation phase ends after incubation when the idea moves into product development.

PDC can assist with every phase of the innovation process.

• Ideation - With a set of well-developed tools, PDC can help you sort through the sometimes bewildering array of possible innovation ideas to find the few that are worthy of investment.
• Customer Value - An idea becomes an attractive opportunity when it delivers a solution to customers who value it for the problem that it solves. PDC’s Market-Driven Product Definition (MDPD) process provides a framework and tools for helping you understand what the market values.
• Innovation Maturity Modeling -  Without the right controls, funding, and processes to bring an idea to fruition, a company may fail even if the rest of the innovation system is strong. PDC’s five-part innovation maturity model, was developed in conjunction with IBM using both proprietary and public research. It covers 30 aspects of innovation to help you assess your company’s level of innovation maturity compared with demonstrated practices at other organizations.

Contact PDC today about improving innovation.