Innovation is the creation of something original or new that doesn’t yet exist in the market. We can also define it as improving what already exists in such a way that the new product, service, experience, process, or even business model generated from this innovation is capable of generating, delivering, and capturing value, sometimes creating new product categories, for example.
But… are we clear on why we innovate? What has been the journey of a startup and the reason for its creation? From product or process innovations to the creation of a startup capable of delivering a new satisfaction.
“The main goal of this methodology is to provide a systematic and rigorous structure that allows us to identify, analyze, and understand how a company creates, delivers, and captures value from innovative solutions. Once assimilated, it allows us to understand the “why” behind the emergence of new satisfactions – always as a response to already satisfied needs – whether they come from startups or established companies, either through “open innovation” models or intrapreneurship.”
The name of the methodology (“Back & Forth”) is due to the process it follows. We must “go back” in time to help us understand the motivations behind the new solutions, then “move forward” to complete the analysis. Like any methodology, it aims to help structure the reasoning followed, ensuring the understanding of the analyzed model through the validation of each of the 4 stages or steps.
Step 1: What need is being met?
The first step of the methodology consists of precisely identifying the need that the new “innovative solution” is coming to satisfy. Resorting to Maslow to start our analysis is always a good resource.
Step 2: How was it being met until now?
Every need is always already being met. Competitors or substitutes, alternatives within the same category… It is key to determine precisely the category in which this new “satisfier” is established.
Step 3: What improvements are being made?
If it was already being met, there must be reasons to launch a new solution. What friction points does it act upon? In which part(s) of the business model is the value delivered increased? Is it innovation in product or in processes?
Step 4: What factors have enabled the new model?
Technological, social… Here it is key to be exhaustive in gathering all the factors that have facilitated the development of this new “satisfier” or player in the market. Secondly, we must weigh the relevance of each factor: all are important, but the relative weight of each in terms of incidence as a facilitator or “activator” of the new model may not be the same.
If we think about companies or solutions like Holded, Airbnb or Uber, this methodology is applicable to all of them. If we take the last one, we can see that the methodology – and its inherent rationale – is perfectly valid.
“Uber came to satisfy a very specific need, which has existed since time immemorial (transportation, in this case essentially urban/interurban). This need already had some solidly established “satisfiers” (taxi, car rental, etc.), but Uber came to “alleviate” a whole series of clearly detected friction points (unfixed fare price or non-uniform service, among others), while adding layers of value in the form of an expanded product to the basic product/service (complimentary water, for example). A series of facilitators were necessary for this new proposal to emerge, which were obviously technological (GPS, development of mobile applications, “invisible payments”, loading speed…) but also social in terms of acceptance and normalization of the new model by users.”
This methodology has been developed by its author, Oriol Guitart, and is available for download in .pdf format. All rights reserved, with the duration and extension established by the Intellectual Property Law. Its reproduction, dissemination, public communication and/or total or partial transformation is strictly prohibited without the express written authorization of the author, who must in any case be recognized as such in any subsequent use.
