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:
- Define (determine goals)
- Locate (gather items needed to do the job)
- Prepare (setup the surrounding environment to do the job)
- Confirm (verify everything is ready to start)
- Execute (do the job)
- Monitor (is the job being completed as planned?)
- Modify (make any changes needed if the job goes off track)
- 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.