Topic 5: Innovation and design

Drivers for invention

• Expresses creativity for personal interest

• Constructive discontent

• Scientific or technical curiosity

• Desire to make money

• Desire to help others

Constructive discontent

Not happy with the current situation and product so they feel that it would be beneficial to work out strategies to improve it

The lone inventor

An individual working outside an organisation who is so committed to the invention of a product that they become isolated because he or she is engrossed with ideas that imply change and are resisted by others

Intellectual property

A symbol, design, or phrase legally registered to identify and distinguish a specific product or service from those of others

4 reasons why companies get intellectual property 

- Selling or licensing to provide revenue streams
- Offering customers something new and different
- Marketing and branding
- Value as an asset 

Patent pending

An agreement from a government office to give someone the right to make a sell a new invention for a certain number of years

Trademark

A recognisable sign, design, or expression, which distinguishes products or services of a particular trader from the similar products or services of other traders, not registered by the government

Copyright

A legal right created by the law of a country, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distributed, usually for a limited time. Does not have to be registered 

Registered trademark

Trademark that is registered with the government.

Service mark

A trademark used to identify a service rather than a product.

Shelved technologies

Inventions or innovations that, despite being developed, are not released to the market.

Reasons why some patented technologies are shelved (why some products don’t work out in the end)

• Cost effectiveness (technology is available but the cost of it is too expensive for consumers)

• Social (market not ready for change/perceives product as unsafe)

• Technological (science and underpinning ideas have been developed

• Timing (products are released in a strategic order)

Invention

Creating something new that didn’t exist before

Innovation

Taking a new invention and bringing it to the market or improving an existing product and bringing it to the market

Reasons why few inventions become innovations

• Marketability (low product demand)

• Financial support (little financial backing from the organisation/outside sources)

• Marketing (expensive advertising, shipping, storing, selling)

• Need (good reason/demand for the product)

• Price (value for money)

• Resistance to change

• Risk

Crowd-sourcing

Practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contribution from a large number of people, typically from the internet

Sustaining innovation/incremental innovation

Ideas having to do with improving the current product by developing more generations of it. For example:

• Additional features/fixes

• Cost reductions

• Product line expansions

Disruptive innovation/Radical innovation

Introduces completely new products, services, or processes that significantly disrupt existing markets or industries

Process innovation

Implementation of new or significantly improved methods for producing goods or delivery services

Architectural innovation

Reconfiguring the architecture of a product or system by changing how its existing components interact, rather than introducing entirely new technologies

Modular innovation

An approach to innovation that involves designing products or systems with interchangeable components, or modules, that can be independently developed and combined.

Configurational innovation

Innovation that changes both the technology inside a product and how the parts are put together or organised. It changes both the parts of a product as well as how they are arranged. E.g. a phone where not only the parts inside are improved but also the way those parts fit together is redesigned so you can easily swap or upgrade pieces.

Diffusion of innovation

A theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technologies spread through populations.

Rogers’ 5 step decision making process

1. Knowledge (individual becomes aware of the innovation/learns about it)

2. Persuasion (individual develops an attitude (pos/neg) towards the innovation)

3. Decision (individual decides whether or not to adopt/reject the innovation)

4. Implementation (individual puts the innovation into practice)

5. Confirmation (individual seeks reinforcement of their decision/may seek further information to confirm its value)

Suppression/delayed adoption of innovation

The introduction or acceptance of a new product/process/idea is slowed down or prevented.

Act of insight

Refers to the act of sudden insight or revelation, which suggests a solution, or the means of achieving a solution. (e.g. Archimedes leaping from his bath shouting ‘Eureka!’ as an act of sudden realising the solution to a problem)

Adaptation

Taking a technology, concept or system from one application and then applying it ot a new product

Analogy

The transfer of an idea from one context to another. (e.g. Bayliss adapted the concept of using electric motors as a generator of electricity so that he could produce a radio that didn’t rely on batteries)

Chance

Things that were invented by accident (e.g. post-it notes, microwave oven, air conditioner)

Technology transfer

Taking a useful technology or invention from one area and using it in a different area. (e.g. laser technology is originally developed for one purpose and has been transferred to various other uses such as welding, surgery, barcode readers)

Technology push

Scientific research leads to advances in technology that support new ideas (new technology introduced to the market driven by research, consumers may not be aware of the new technology or the advantages it may bring)

Market pull

A new idea is needed as a result of demand from the marketplace.

Inventor

An individual either working on their own or in an organisation, but still has a job of inventing, and often they become isolated and obsessed with the idea

Product champion

An influential individual, they develop enthusiasm for the product, usually in an organisation. They actively advocate for the product’s success

Entrepreneur

An influential individual who takes an invention to become an innovation. They are often the ones who finance the development, product, and diffusion of a product into the marketplace,

Product life cycle

1. Launch/Introduction phase (introduce the new product/service to the marketplace

2. Growth phase (once the product has survived the introduction phase, it will need to grow. At this stage, it is hoped sales and profits will grow)

3. Maturity phase (Everyone’s tried it and its not new anymore. May start reducing prices to sell more)

4. Decline phase (falling sales means that customers are tiring of your product or buying the same product from a competitor)

Obsolescence

The process of becoming antiquated, out of date, old-fashioned, no longer in general use, or in a condition of no longer being useful.

Planned obsolescence

It is deliberately planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so that it would eventually break down and the consumer will have to come back to purchase another one

Style/Fashion obsolescence

Designers change the styling of products (aesthetics) so customers will purchase products more frequently, due to the decrease in the perceived desirability of unfashionable items.

Functional obsolescence

The reduction in the usefulness or desirability of an object due to outdated designs or features that cannot be easily updated or changed

Technological obsolescence

A product or technology becoming outdated and no longer useful due to useful, newer, and better alternatives having been developed. This primarily applies to technologies, products, and systems that involve technology or technical components.

Predictability in the PLC

Rate of which technological advancements has given birth to some unbelievably short life cycles especially in digital devices. On average you can expect that highly innovative products that you purchased on release day to be replaced by something newer and better within a year.

Unpredictability in the PLC

Hard to know how long each phase will be, as some products may have a long phase so it drags out and people still like it. Other products never become popular an just go into decline.

Product versioning

Different versions of the product is produced with different price points (e.g. apple’s iphone, iphone mini, iphone pro max)

Four elements of diffusion

1. Innovation (the new object or product)

2. Communication channels (the way messages move from one to another)

3. Time (the length of time required to pass through the innovation-decision process)

4. Social systems (a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal)

Roger's five characteristics that impact customer adoption of an innovation

1. Relative advantage (how improved the innovation is over the previous generations)

2. Compatibility (how easy it is to assimilate into an individual’s lfie)

3. Complexity (if the innovation is perceived as complicate or difficult to use, an individual is unlikely to adopt it)

4. Observability (the extent that an innovation is visible to others. An innovation that is more visible will drive communication among the individual’s peers and personal networks and will in turn, create more pos/neg networks)

5. Trialability (how easy an innovation may be explored. If a user is able to test an innovation, the individual will be more likely to adopt it)

Consumer adoption of technological innovations

The process that consumers use to determine whether or not to adopt an innovation

Consumerism

Ideology or belief that encourages the excessive consumption of goods and services in ever-greater amounts to keep the economy going. It can influence designers and businesses to create products that appeal to these desires

Innovators

People who adopt new technologies first, who want to be in as early as possible, almost at the development stages

Early adopters

People who have preordered the new product. They will pay any amount of money to be the first. They tend to be influencers. E.g. people who line up outside the Apple store during launch.

Early majority

They are not stupid. They like to wait and watch what the early adopters do and say before buying the product. They are still paying the premium price because they are still one of the first, usually the second wave of early adopters (if the product is good)

Late majority

These are the people who are not bothered. Iphone 16 (e.g.) is completely irrelevant to them and they will only buy it if theirs breaks, eventually upgrading to a later technology. They usually pay a cheaper price for the product because the product is not the newest one

Laggards

People still walking around with an iphone 5, desperately charging their batteries, saying that their iphone is fine. They will only buy a new one if their iphone dies completely. They will complain about buying a new one and saying how they liked their old one.

Target market

A particular group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed

Target audience

A specific group of people within the target market at which the product is aimed at

Market segments

Distinct groups within a broader market that have similar needs, preferences, or characteristics.

Market analysis

The process of gathering and studying information about a specific market within an industry. It helps the business to understand the market size, customer needs, competitors, trends, and external factors to identify opportunities and risks.

User needs

The basic requirements or essential things that users must have from a product or service to achieve their goals

Economic viability

The ability of a project, business, or idea to be financially sustainable and profitable over the long term.

Fixed costs

Business expenses that stay the same regardless of how much a company produces or sells. DO NOT vary with the level of output.

Variable costs

Expenses that change directly with the level of production or sales. The more the company produces or sells, the higher the costs.

User trial

Controlled test where real users use a product or prototype over a period of time in their normal environment.

User research

Broader process of studying and understanding the behaviours, needs, motivators, and problems of users through methods like interviews, surveys, observations, and usability testing.