Quality activities in innovation environments are frequently reported to seriously mess up innovation performance. After lengthy and heated discussions, quality systems without any economic value but with a serious negative impact on innovation performance are installed, permanently impeding innovation processes. On closer look many of the poorly performing innovation quality systems have one thing in common – a strong focus on “How” topics.
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Innovation Quality – Part 4
Ask “Why” and “What”
2. Executive Summary
Regulated quality is “How” focused
• “Why” and “What” considerations pointless
• “Why” and “What” regulated by laws and regulatory bodies
Innovation quality hardly regulated – exploit that freedom
• start with “Why” “Why invest in Innovation Quality?”
• follow with “What” “What should be achieved?”
• end with “How” “How to achieve quick and cheap?”
Innovation Quality allows to ask “Why” and “What”.
Exploit that freedom.
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3. “Why” and “What” Filter
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Conceivable
Q-Topics
„Why“
Filter
“Why”
Match
„What“
Filter
“What”
Match
„How“
RULES
FORMS
DOCS
4. “How” Focus I
• How …
• …many forms to fill?
• … many signatures per form?
• … many copies to archive?
• … many revisions per year?
• “How” Focus in Innovation Quality
• frequently creates a quality veneer
• rarely creates value adding quality
• Starting with ”How“ question – loss of opportunity.
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5. “How” Focus II
• “Why” and “What” define
• Innovation risk level
• Investment in quality
• Both topics beyond decision competence of normal teams
• Management guidance required
• “How” is the battlefield of lower hierarchy
• How many, how often, how much time to spend, …
• “How” just leads to the lowest common denominator
• Decide ”Why“ and “What” first, discuss “How” last.
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6. “HOW” vs. “WHY” and “WHAT”
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HOW WHY WHAT
… many forms to fill? … fill a form at all?
… not use a faster alternative?
… is achieved by filling the form?
… is the form’s use once filled?
… many signatures? … is a signature necessary?
… not use an e-signature?
… is the signatures meaning?
… is changed by the signature?
… many copies to archive? … archive at all?
… not archive electronically?
… is the archives purpose?
… use of archive is expected?
… many revisions per year? … run a routine revision?
… not switch to cause driven?
… exactly is revised?
… is the revisions impact?
7. A “Why” Definition
• Innovation requires frequent investment decisions
• wrong decisions may cause waste of resources
• wrong decisions may kill innovation opportunities
• wrong decisions will endanger business
• Therefore, Management invests in Innovation Quality
• to guarantee a reliable decision base
• to minimise waste due to wrong decisions
• “Why” - Management Rational and Commitment.
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8. A “What” Definition
• False positives caused the majority of wrong decisions
• false positives will be eliminated
• quality measures aiming at avoidance of false positives
have the highest priority
• Innovation investment is triggered by candidate ranking
• innovation results will be precise and reliable enough to
allow a consistent ranking
• “What” should to be achieved.
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Quick and cheap Quality does not work? Frequently caused by confusing Tools and Concepts. More to this later on.