Julian Apatu workshop at #LifehackLabs 2014 on "Finding Opportunities for Innovation". The session spanned the Magic Square, Paper Dart Game, and Journey Mapping - all to uncover the concept of lean.

1. Julian Apatu
Hide'n'Seek //
Finding opportunities for innovation @ Lifehack Labs

2. Today’s Lesson
"Everything you hear is bullshit until you
validate it in your own context"
- Someone not quite famous

3. Opportunity ecosystem
● Awareness: being alert to what opportunities are available or creating
them; networks and co-locating yourself in an advantageous position
increases your awareness; uncertainty, ambiguity and confusion are all full
of opportunities
● Readiness: ready to consider, support or act on opportunities;
entrepreneurs demonstrate awareness and readiness of opportunities
● Engagement: taking action on opportunities you want, sharing
opportunities with others or disengaging; you don't have to take every
opportunity that arises
● Reflection: review your situation and explore ways to raise your awareness
of opportunities

4. The magic square
● goal: complete a 3x3 matrix using
numbers 1-9 inclusive where all rows,
columns and the 2 main diagonals all add
up to the same number within 3 minutes
● someone asked what the purpose of the
activity was = service design success
● introduces kinetic actions, teamwork,
collaboration, problem solving and
process mapping
● questions were asked to clarify the
guidelines for interaction, information
sources, key number placement and key
number alignment
● methods: questions, conversations, rapid
prototyping, instant visual feedback
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

5. The Paper Dart Game
● goal: estimate success; hand propel an
identifiable piece of folded A6 paper ~10m as
many times as possible in a 3 minute timebox
where each team member must fold the
paper at least once
● questions were asked to clarify the guidelines
for construction, measures of success,
● exposing all groups to the collective design
wisdom inspired adaptation where success
was demonstrated
● methods: questions, conversations, rapid
prototyping, process mapping, continuous
validation, continuous delivery, continuous
improvement, estimation, fast feedback,
setting expectations

6. Externalise to invite people into your process
● Goal: visually map an experience (how the crew got to Tapu Te Ranga Marae for
day 1 of Lifehack Labs) using 3 stickies for tier 1 (which tells a complete story), then
up to 3 more stickies for tier 2 (filling in the "gaps" and adding richness to the story)
and then up to 3 more stickies for tier 3
● Share the journey as a narrative at each tier
● Having "gaps" at tier 1 is important as it "visualises" space where something can
happen
● Add emotion to the journey map to identify key opportunities at points of pain and
delight
● Also look at the other parts of the process and the holistic experience
● Methods: 3-tiered journey maps, intentional space, conversations, narratives,
((storyboarding, user stories, mental models -- we ran out of time))

7. Double Helix
Anchors (used to give context in uncertainty)
:: constant connection
:: constant contrast
:: constant contention
Activities (cyclic and iterative)
:: continuous validation
:: continuous delivery
:: continuous improvement
Aspects (measures of success)
:: to drive human insight
:: to embrace human failure
:: to extend human learning
:: to celebrate our humanity
Thinking
Fast Slow

8. Reading
"Innovation happens at the intersection of disciplines"
http://storyofdesign.com/2011/04/27/innovation-happens-at-the-intersections/

9. Finding Opportunities
#non-linear #analogous-learning #lean #continuous-validation
#continuous-delivery #continuous-improvement
#disruptive-innovation #social-innovation #iterative-design
#sustainable-solutions #resilience #sandbox-thinking
#human-centered-design
#LifehackLabs

10. Julian Apatu
Connect with Julian on Twitter: @japatu