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Innovation Process Management
at Different Stages of R&D
Madhav Kulkarni
17-Jan-2015
GIPC, 2015

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Contents
• Innovation
• The Dilemma
• Innovation Process
• Elements in R&D
• Effective IP Management
• Systematic Innovation
• Summary
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Innovation
• Innovation is for Business Value
– Create
– Add
• timely, systematic & cost effective
• Business Value for competitive advantage
• Competitive advantage for Monetization
– Make money
– Save money
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Innovation
• Idea to Monetization involves
– Product/Service
– Process (internal)
– People
• Managing 3P essential for successful innovation & monetization
• The global innovation success average, across all geographies and
all industries, was only 4 percent (According to a Doblin Group report , Business Week)
• 2 Types of innovations
– Breakthrough Innovation
– Incremental Innovation (efficiency improvement, cost reduction, improved quality,
etc.)
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The Dilemma
• Big companies are poor innovators
– Fixed Business Models
• Less risk in following the same
– Process Driven (too much/many)
• Approvals (rise of bureaucracy)
• Complicated processes & complex IT interfaces
– Impatience
• To try something creative
• To failure
– If adventure is dangerous, try routine (Kodak, Nokia)
• INCREMENTAL INNOVATIONS
• Breakthrough innovations?
– Curiosity and creativity needs extreme of security (Google) or
insecurity (Startups)
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Innovation Process
• 3 main components (2 in R&D)
1. Idea
2. Invention/POC and
3. Monetization
• Various elements affecting Innovation Process
1. enabling and empowering management
2. empowered and integrated/cooperating departments/employees
3. e-documentation enabling search ability and leveraging earlier
successes/failures
4. problem/need identification
5. Ideation &selecting solution(s)
6. focused R&D
7. effective IP management
8. commercialization (manufacturing and sell for products/processes or
sell/licensing of technology)
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e-Documentation
• At all stages would positively influence all processes, including
innovation
• Lab Notebook
– My first use of electronic lab notebook: 1999
• Recording R&D work
• Ideas
• Invention Disclosure
• Patent Prosecution Documents
– Responses to office actions
– Maintenance
– Opposition/Litigation
• Securing and managing information flow at different stages
between different divisions is the real challenge
– Simple electronic workflows would do
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Search, Sharing, Avoid Duplication, Evaluation, Approval, Monitoring, Automation

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Problem/Need Identification
• Why innovate?
– Solve/cater to current or future Problem/Need
• Feedback from end-user
• Feedback from Industry (Customer)
• Trend identification from market and/or IP analysis
• Vision
• Define exact Defect/Need
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Ideation
• No bureaucracy/conservative approach/overpowering, please
– If managers know everything, other “brains” are not required
• Collect all needs/problems (more needs/problems, more opportunities)
– Prioritize needs to be catered/problems to be solved
• before killing, involve the person(s) who brought the need/problem
– These people might NOT be good in financials, so include people who are good at
finance (Value, NPV, etc.)
• Collect all ideas (more people, more ideas)
a. Use collaborative portal (internal/external)
• Keep access simple (avoid another login & password to access)
• Keep ideas organized in a simple way (avoid complex interface/system)
b. Create a team of cross-functional people to ideate
• Use tools like brainstorming, TRIZ, etc.
• Involve the person(s) who brought the need/problem
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Selecting solution(s)
• Evaluate/Screen ideas from both sources
– Do not have too many metrics/steps/criteria
• Time required, Feasibility
• Allow people to challenge the criteria
– Involve the person(s) who contributed to the need/problem and
idea(s)
– Provide transparent feedback for non-selected ideas
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Focused R&D
• Imagine (start with the end in mind)
• Lesser the processes & specifics
– more passionate and creative the people are
– Open up the problem and let them invent/improve
• Discover/Invent/POC
• Use Design of Experiment, LEAN, other tools
• Have ideation for troubleshooting problems in R&D
– Involve the person(s) in the progress who contributed to the need/problem
and idea(s)
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R&D and IP
• Collaboration of R&D, IP and Marketing teams is vital
• IP
– IP R&D
– IP Legal
• In case they are separate functions, collaboration between them is also
important
• IP R&D
– Exploration/Landscaping, Competitive Analysis, search and analysis for
various opinions by IP Legal
• IP Legal
– Patent Drafting, Filing, Prosecution
– Opinions on Novelty, FTO, Opposition, Invalidity
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Effective IP Management
• Ideation
– Providing prior art/landscape/blocked space before ideation
• Allow people to contemplate and think over the need and possible
solutions
• R&D
– Prior art searches for selected ideas/solutions
• Non-infringement
• Novelty
• Troubleshoot problems in R&D
• Patentability and/or non-infringement of working solution(s)
• Disclosure, Patent Application & Prosecution, Maintenance
– Automate steps/reminders
• Finding infringements/potential licensee
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Systematic Innovation
• Timely, Systematic (?) & Cost-effective
• Systematic innovation
– Balance between creativity and process discipline
– Systematic processes should provide platform to foster creativity
• The processes should be
– Simple (user friendly)
– Transparent (non-demotivating for people) and
– Flexible (fostering creativity)
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SUMMARY
• Have simple & elegant process(es)
• Use information technology (only) for
– Recording
– Knowledge sharing
– Smooth workflow
• Foster collaboration through information and credit sharing
• Define the defect (problem/need)
• Generate ideas and select potential solutions
• Optimize R&D stages (use DOE, Lean)
• Protect IP (wherever possible)
• Monetize
• IP team may effectively facilitate the whole innovation process
– Timely inputs at each stage
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If the innovation process at each stage is not managed well..
..incremental innovations, loss of opportunities and attrition is inevitable.
Happy Breakthrough Innovations!!!
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