The customer centered innovation map

This paper introduces the concept of the job mapping. It maps out the steps people take to get a job done from start to finish. From there you can look to innovate by making the steps involved faster, cheaper, or not necessary at all.

The steps are:

1. Define (determine goals)
2. Locate (gather items needed to do the job)
3. Prepare (setup the surrounding environment to do the job)
4. Confirm (verify everything is ready to start)
5. Execute (do the job)
6. Monitor (is the job being completed as planned?)
7. Modify (make any changes needed if the job goes off track)
8. Conclude (finish the job or prepare to complete it)

Looking at innovation through this lens it gives you a clear point to start. You are more interested in what a customer is trying to do, than the exact way they are currently doing it.

From a knowledge funnel point of view, you are going back to a known mystery and trying to find a better way to solve it. This paper argues that although talking to your customers is extremely important, you need a framework do get the most out of the discussions you have.