The 5 Dimensions of Product Innovation provide a framework for Product Managers to innovate solutions to problems that are not obvious.
Discover
Discovery is continuous as the Product Manager continuously talks with customers, uncovers new opportunities, and analyzes the market. In Discover, we spend time understanding who the customers are, what they need, in what market they operate.
And we come out of discovery with a deeper understanding of what is are the possible problems to solve or new opportunities.
Challenge: Problem and opportunity identification
Define
Define helps us focus on a clear problem to solve.
We emerge from the Discover dimension with the question “What is the problem?”. And then we in Define we spend time really going to the root of the problem. The goal of Define is to create clarity on the specific problem or opportunity that we are going to solve. This becomes the focus of the next activities.
Both Discover and Define belong to the problem space. Then, we move on to the Design dimension.
Challenge: Focus on the right problem
Design
Design sits at the intersection between problem space and solution space, and it represents the transition to start thinking how we can solve the problem. We also call it “Design & Ideate”.
Design helps to generate possible solutions. We may have a few different ideas. We may not know which idea is working or maybe not working. The goal of the Design dimension is to identify which solution provides problem-solution fit, that is which solution is the most effective at solving the problem or addressing the new opportunity.
Once we are clear about a possible solution, it’s time to start investigating it and building it. That happens in Drive.
Challenge: Problem-solution fit
Drive
Drive is the phase where we start planning and building the solution. The goal here is not a full commitment to the solution, because we have not gone through Deliver yet and we have not fully validated it. The goal is to drive product development so that we build a solution while minimizing costs and risks.
One possible way to do that is to build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), launch it in market with select customers, and collect feedback to validate it. We want to learn quickly if the solution that we are envisioning actually works for our customers, whether it solves the problem or not.
Challenge: Minimize cost and risks
Deliver
Deliver is about making a solution available to our customers so that we can validate if the solution works for them or not. The focus here is on viability and value generation.
In Deliver we want to validate the outcomes generated by the solution. We then use this learning to decide what to do next, and possibly iterate on the solution. In Deliver we measure value and collect feedback from customers. To do so, it may require to deploy the solution in market, or develop a go-to-market strategy.
The goal of Deliver is to validate product-market fit. And based on what we learn, we iterate and repeat the whole cycle.
Challenge: Product-market fit
Key principles that drive product innovation
At Spark Engine we believe that these principles drive behaviors in support of product innovation:
Innovation is not linear. Often, the Problem Space and Solution Space activities are happening together.
Innovation is not a solution. Innovation is behavior change and value creation. We focus on repeatable ways of measuring impact by change and value.
Discovery is continuous. We continuously conduct discovery in the problem space to define, manage, and prioritize opportunities.
Want to learn more?
Enroll in the “Foundations of Product Innovation CPIP” course to learn how to leverage the 5 Dimensions of Product Innovation and support your team.
Template download
Use the form below to download the template of the 5 Dimensions of Product Innovation and the “Big Wheel”: