This is a quick blog post in response to a question I received on a previous article: Close the gap between R&D and Customer Support. Between my long-winded answer and the fact that this subject deserves a post on its own, I decided to respond here.

I came from Google, search for interface between R&D and CS and apparently I came to the right place. Most of your article is clear to me as we are doing it day to day, more or less. Although I’m in the opposite chair (CS manager), I do understand the pressure on R&D as well as on CS. Question is, in an organization which has a habit of issuing new sub versions and major versions quite often (and of course CS attention for bug solving decreases) what can be done in order to assure timely bug fixes, as well as keep releasing new versions as often as possible.

The question of “how to manage frequent release cycles with minimal turmoil and maximum alignment (R&D, CS, Marketing)” is a good one. I highlighted our processes and best practices that worked well for my team. These should not be a surprise, as they are aligned with the agile development best practices. However, note that implementation and execution of these practices require vigor and disciple for all parties involved. I would love to hear from others’ experiences.

(more…)

Ever wondered what connectivity means around the world? How mobile technologies have impacted or influenced developing worlds? Thanks to Putting People First for pointing out the Round. The World. Connected. A video series  as well as the MMD4D blog by Mira Slavova that is focused on mobile services for emerging markets with specific focus on Africa.

The Nokia Siemens Networks has created an extremely well produced website and video series, entitled “Round. The World. Connected.” that sets out to understand what connectivity means to different people and cultures across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The project focuses specifically on how the latest communications technologies are touching peoples lives and on the socio-economic impact of connectivity.

Also, make sure to check out Futures of Learning for their research insights around the world covering everything from mobile phones to social media. 

Futures of Learning is a collective blog dedicated to the topic of new media and learning. The members of the blog are part of a project, funded by the MacArthur Foundation, that is conducting an international survey of research in the field. We are focusing on two areas. One is an international review of research on how people are adopting digital and networked media. The second area is a review of learning institutions that are incorporating new media in innovative ways. We welcome suggestions for literature and programs that we should be looking at!

 

Nothing like a beautiful weekend and a cluttered garage to highlight the importance of understanding sunk costs and opportunity costs in a good decision making process. Head over to AskDong.com for a clear description on sunk cost and opportunity cost. At the same time, realize that though definitions maybe clear, to err is human. 

I don’t like clutter in my house. However, I do value the idea of establishing a clutter zone in the garage that holds our donation and potential garage sale pile. This Memorial Day, it was time to clear up the pile and organize it. As we started to sort through the pile, our discussion quickly turned to opportunity cost analysis of whether to hold a garage sale or not: would it be worth spending a good weekend (lets be honest, those are rare in Seattle, WA) by cleaning, tagging and waiting for a possible sale and making a few bucks? 

Framing issues from the perspective of opportunity costs can simplify the decision making process. However, letting go can still be a challenge —  wouldn’t someone pay $$ for that stuff that cost me $$$??? Whatever the previous investment or expense may have been, the feeling of being invested in the past makes it difficult to change tracks. Many projects follow this trend of throwing good money after the bad.  

Regardless, acknowledge and accept the sunk costs as sunk. Put a check for a failure and celebrate your learnings. And, establish milestones for regularly scheduled reviews with clear guidelines on funding expectations to avoid unpleasant surprises.

In case you’re wondering… within 2 hours the garage was cleaned and everything in the pile was donated to Goodwill. Yet, we still had time for a 5 mile hike in the woods that afternoon, and not to forget the wonderful feeling of free space next to the car in the garage.

Note: This is a repost from my www.kitetail.com site. 

The profitability equation is quite simple: when a firm’s revenue from selling its product or service is greater than the cost of offering it, then it is concluded that the firm is profitable on that given offering.

Profits = Revenues – Cost

If we further analyze this simple equation, then we recognize that the revenues are a function of the quantity of a product or service sold at a price that the customer is willing to pay. This price is chosen based on the attractiveness of that product or service to the customer, i.e. its attributes. On the other hand, the cost is also a function of product’s attributes and the quantity it is produced at. For profitability, the ultimate goal of a firm is to offer products with differentiated attributes that customers are willing to pay high prices for, while keeping costs low and competitors out.

What does that mean for your innovation? Innovation is about implementation of a new idea for the purpose of creating value: value for the firm, and value for the consumer. Innovations come in many forms, and the research on innovation and innovation types can be quite confusing, as each author has his/her perspective and terminology. Unfortunately, this is further exacerbated by the fact that innovation has become the latest buzzword or Holy Grail for firms as they look for growth.

Innovation Types (more…)

I previously discussed the challenges of building a successful strategy, and key areas where you need to build a foundation for your strategic plans to be successful.

From experience, I have seen strategies fail at various stages and for various reasons. Some common threads were:

• lack of ownership/sponsorship as the manager moved on to bigger & better things;
• organization’s inability to change;
• lack of excitement, momentum, push and motivation;
• poor transfer between functional groups;
• organization not willing to take risks;
• decision process and information flow is f*#!?d up;
• inability to move from powerpoint slides to real-life execution: conflicting interests, values and priorities;

This blog is focused on factors that are key to successful execution of your strategy.
(more…)

For more advice on focusing your innovations during hard times, check out Innovation Weblog’s special report Innovation Strategies for the Global Recession. Chuck Frey and Renee Hopkins Callahan have compiled an extensive list of strategies on how to maintain innovation during challenging times from a diverse collection of innovation experts and practitioners. Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: innovation strategy, Innovation Weblog, economic downturn

Focusing your innovations during down times is key to survival. You need to keep on innovating to differentiate and grow, but also innovate on products and services your customers would be more willing to buy to stay profitable.

As I mentioned before, the profitability equation is quite simple: when a firm’s revenue from selling its product or service is greater than the cost of offering it, then it is concluded that the firm is profitable on that given offering. This same equation holds true for your customers’ business as well: the benefits of the product or service outweigh the cost of acquiring it.

Profits = Revenues – Cost 
During downturns, clearly demonstrating how your new product or service contributes to the profitability of your customers’ business is the key. Analyzing your own and your customers’ value chains can be the inspiration for your focused innovation strategy. Here are 6 key areas that will help focus your innovation strategy.
(more…)

I have been playing with the Roku Netflix streaming device, Apple TV as well as the XBMC and Boxee open source media centers running on Apple TV. This is the inspiration of this post: the what, why, when and how questions relating to defining your open architecture strategy.

Quick background: Using ATV USB Creator, it is possible to install XBMC and Boxee on Apple TV. However, as soon as a firmware upgrade occurs for Apple TV, I’m back to square one: wait for the open source community to catch up with the fixes to ATV USB Creator, followed by reinstall and reactivate. As much as it is a hack, these hacks/solutions do increase the value of Apple TV, enabling me to access other available Internet channels, outside of iTunes.
(more…)

Innovation and risk go hand in hand. They are the yin and the yang. Highly innovative projects have the highest projected return and also carry the highest risk of failure. By using risk management, organizations take a structured approach to dealing with uncertainty, finding ways to manage and mitigate risk.

Traditional risk management processes rely on the evaluation of the impact vs. the likelihood of occurrence. As every innovator will tell you, Murphy has a permanent spot in their team. Given that, accurate assessment of the uncertainties the innovation process brings would be like walking on water. More importantly, attempts at managing those risks can stifle the innovation process. Using a mindful approach to risk management, organizations can improve the effectiveness of their development activities while fostering their innovations simultaneously. To start, evaluate your existing project risk management processes and update it using the following ideas.
(more…)

Apple has an announcement scheduled for this Tuesday. There is much speculation of innovations within the MacBook line, including potentially a low cost product line. As a Mac user, I am eagerly awaiting what is next. Whatever their announcement is, one can be sure it will continue to build on Apple’s core competencies.

Core competency originates from C. K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel in their 1990 paper “The Core Competence of the Corporation.” Prahalad and Hamel highlight core competency as a source of uniqueness that a company can do uniquely well, offering a competitive advantage as competitors can’t quickly copy. A core competency can take various forms: know how, process, manufacturing, relationship, development methodology, culture, talent management, branding, marketing, distribution, research & development, …
(more…)