Finding Nuggets When It All Looks Like Gravel: Bringing Insight to Innovation

Speaker: Susan Abbott, Abbott Research + Consulting

IIeX PhiladelphiaJune 2013

2

The joys of abundant data

Big data is like gravelYou deal with it “in aggregate”Individual data points aren’t all that useful

It will point you in the right direction But will not lead you to innovation

To find nuggetsyou must de-aggregate and de-average

You need nuggets of insight to innovate Small pieces of important stuff

The situation:

Big financial firm, B2B spaceBig multi-year IT projectNeed to look out at least 5 years

The IT development team

The insights development team

Remember the blind men and the elephant?Who has relevant information?

Not only the customer, usually.

External professionals

(e.g. Auditors)

Internal staff that serve these

customers

Experts in systems

integration

Customers operating at the outside edge of

needs and requirements

Discovery Labs

Expert Interviews

Analysis

Develop Concepts

Online community

Ethnography

Evolving plan and evolving methods changed as the project developed

Collaboration

Discovery labs – 1 or 2 per segment

Project team in the room (no window!)

Lots of interactive projective exercises

Half-day sessions held in a pleasant

meeting space

Personal invitations extended

Immediate debriefs after

participants leave

Tons of Ah-Ha moments

Client team and participants interacting to understand the participant’s business

A slide from a concept development session: too many ideas!

Capture moments, not meetings

Stories remind people of the insights later on, when they lose their way

Thank You!

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