Kick-Start IT-Led Business Innovation

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The CIO is not considered a strategic partner. The business may be satisfied with IT services, but no one is looking to IT to solve business problems or drive the enterprise forward.
Even if IT staff do generate ideas that will improve operational efficiency or enable the business, few are ever assessed or executed upon.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Business demand for new technology is creating added pressure to innovate and executive stakeholders expect more from IT. If IT is not viewed as a source of innovation, its perceived value will decrease and the threat of shadow IT will grow. Do not wait to start finding and capitalizing on opportunities for IT-led innovation.

Impact and Result

Start innovating right away. All you need are business pains and people willing to ideate around them.
Assemble a small team and arm them with proven techniques for identifying unique opportunities for innovation, developing impactful solutions, and prototyping quickly and effectively. Incubate a reservoir of ideas, both big and small, so that you are ready to execute on innovative projects when the timing is right.
Once you have demonstrated IT’s ability to innovate, mature your capability with a permanent innovation process and program.

Kick-Start IT-Led Business Innovation Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should create innovation processes, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Kick-Start IT-Led Business Innovation – Executive Brief

1. Launch innovation

Sponsor a mandate for innovation and assemble a small team to start sourcing ideas with IT staff.

2. Ideate

Identify critical opportunities for innovation and brainstorm effective solutions.

3. Prototype

Prototype ideas rapidly to gain user feedback, refine solutions, and make a compelling case for project investment.

4. Mature innovation capability

Formalize the innovation process and implement a program to create a strong culture of innovation in IT.

Member Testimonials

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.

9.2/10

Overall Impact

$38,844

Average $ Saved

Average Days Saved

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Testimonial

Point32Health

Guided Implementation

7/10

$113K

I am just beginning so knowing what comes next will help me better formulate my responses

Grand Valley State University

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

Really enjoyed the experience with Adib Ghubril. Our conversations were through provoking and helpful as I was just getting started in the innovati... Read More

United HealthCare Services, Inc.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$12,599

Dana is awesome

Digital Armour Corporation

Guided Implementation

10/10

$16,379

Brian is very knowledgeable. He was generous and helpful. Made the engagement interesting and useful that is relevant for my business.

Grain Craft

Guided Implementation

9/10

$12,999

This was very beneficial as we look for ways to involve others in the company in driving technology innovation.

City Of Chesapeake

Guided Implementation

10/10

$6,150

This is continuing along my discussions in improving our overall infrastructure and user focused implementations across the City.

Seven Seventeen Credit Union, Inc.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$35,041

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to cover the myriad of options. The information will be a very good start for helping us determine a defin... Read More

MCAP Service Corporation

Guided Implementation

10/10

$4,000

MCAP Service Corporation

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

Agriculture Financial Services Corporation

Workshop

9/10

$100K

115

It was a good engagement.

AltaGas Ltd.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$25,000

Dallas Area Rapid Transit

Guided Implementation

9/10

$29,923

Strong advice from Andy & good perspective to areas that i'm focusing on.

Canadian Institutes of Health

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

MCAP Service Corporation

Guided Implementation

10/10

$6,000

Understanding which parts of the Charter I can use now, what can be omitted and added when we're more mature, and what each section should represen... Read More

City of Kelowna

Guided Implementation

8/10

$10,000

The call about the innovation research was great. We received good advice, examples and it helped to reinforce the work and direction that we've al... Read More

Mohegan Tribe Of Indians Of Connecticut

Workshop

10/10

N/A

120

It was dynamically structured. While there was a framework, we were still able to tailor it to be ours. The real use cases from both the IT and bus... Read More

Chartwell Retirement

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

Ontario Provincial Sector ? Land and Resources

Guided Implementation

9/10

$1,000

Great amount of in-depth knowledge displayed / shared I was more looking for some fast high-level perspectives Overall, very interesting and info... Read More

City Of Regina, The

Guided Implementation

7/10

N/A

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Innovation

Innovate now - formalize later! This course makes up part of the Strategy & Governance Certificate.

Now Playing:
Academy: Innovation | Executive Brief

An active membership is required to access Info-Tech Academy

Course Modules: 5
Estimated Completion Time: 2-2.5 hours

Featured Analysts:
David Glazer, Research Manager, CIO Practice
James Alexander, SVP of Research and Advisory, CIO Practice

Workshop: Kick-Start IT-Led Business Innovation

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Launch Innovation

The Purpose

Introduce innovation.
Assess overall IT maturity to understand what you want to achieve with innovation.
Define the innovation mandate.
Introduce ideation.

Key Benefits Achieved

A set of shared objectives for innovation will be defined.
A mandate will be created to help focus innovation efforts on what is most critical to the advancement of IT's maturity.
The group will be introduced to ideation and prepared to begin addressing critical IT or business pains.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Define workshop goals and objectives.

Workshop goals and objectives.

1.2

Introduce innovation.

An understanding of innovation.

1.3

Assess IT maturity.

IT maturity assessment.

1.4

Define the innovation mandate.

Sponsored innovation mandate.

1.5

Introduce ideation.

An understanding of ideation.

Module 2: Ideate, Part I

The Purpose

Identify and prioritize opportunities for IT-led innovation.
Map critical processes to identify the pains that should be ideated around.
Brainstorm potential solutions.
Assess, pitch, and prioritize ideas that should be investigated further.

Key Benefits Achieved

The team will learn best practices for ideation.
Critical pain points that might be addressed through innovation will be identified and well understood.
A number of ideas will be generated that can solve identified pains and potentially feed the project pipeline.
The team will prioritize the ideas that should be investigated further and prototyped after the workshop.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Identify processes that present opportunities for IT-led innovation.

A list of processes with high opportunity for IT-enablement.

2.2

Map selected processes.

Detailed process maps that highlight pain points and stakeholder needs.

2.3

Finalize problem statements.

Problem statements to ideate around.

2.4

Generate ideas.

A long list of ideas to address pain points.

2.5

Assess ideas.

Detailed idea documents.

2.6

Pitch and prioritize ideas.

A shortlist of prioritized ideas to investigate further.

Module 3: Ideate, Part II

The Purpose

Ideate around a more complex problem that presents opportunity for IT-led innovation.
Map the associated process to define pain points and stakeholder needs in detail.
Brainstorm potential solutions.
Assess, pitch, and prioritize ideas that should be investigated further.
Introduce prototyping.
Map the user journey for prioritized ideas.

Key Benefits Achieved

The team will be ready to facilitate ideation independently with other staff after the workshop.
A critical problem that might be addressed through innovation will be defined and well understood.
A number of innovative ideas will be generated that can solve this problem and help IT position itself as a source of innovative projects.
Ideas will be assessed and prioritized for further investigation and prototyping after the workshop.
The team will learn best practices for prototyping.
The team will identify the assumptions that need to be tested when top ideas are prototyped.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Select an urgent opportunity for IT-led innovation.

Selection of a process which presents a critical opportunity for IT-enablement.

3.2

Map the associated process.

Detailed process map that highlights pain points and stakeholder needs.

3.3

Finalize the problem statement.

Problem statement to ideate around.

3.4

Generate ideas.

A long list of ideas to solve the problem.

3.5

Assess ideas.

Detailed idea documents.

3.6

Pitch and prioritize ideas.

A shortlist of prioritized ideas to investigate further.

3.7

Introduce prototyping.

An understanding of effective prototyping techniques.

3.8

Map the user journey for top ideas.

A user journey for at least one of the top ideas.

Module 4: Implement an Innovation Process and Program

The Purpose

Establish a process for generating, managing, prototyping, prioritizing, and approving new ideas.
Create an action plan to operationalize your new process.
Develop a program to help support the innovation process and nurture your innovators.
Create an action plan to implement your innovation program.
Decide how innovation success will be measured.

Key Benefits Achieved

The team will learn best practices for managing innovation.
The team will be ready to operationalize an effective process for IT-led innovation. You can start scheduling ideation sessions as soon as the workshop is complete.
The team will understand the current innovation ecosystem: drivers, barriers, and enablers.
The team will be ready to roll out an innovation program that will help generate wider engagement with IT-led innovation.
You will be ready to measure and report on the success of your program.

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Design an IT-led innovation process.

A process for IT-led innovation.

4.2

Assign roles and responsibilities.

Defined process roles and responsibilities.

4.3

Generate an action plan to roll out the process.

An action plan for operationalizing the process.

4.4

Determine critical process metrics to track.

Critical process metrics to measure success.

4.5

Identify innovation drivers, enablers, and barriers.

A list of innovation drivers, enablers, and barriers.

4.6

Develop a program to nurture a culture of innovation.

A program for innovation that will leverage enablers and minimize barriers.

4.7

Create an action plan to jumpstart each of your program components.

An action plan to roll out your innovation program.

4.8

Determine critical metrics to track.

Critical program metrics to track.

4.9

Summarize findings and gather feedback.

Overview of workshop results and feedback.

Kick-Start IT-Led Business Innovation visualization

Innovate now – formalize later! Digital transformation won't wait.

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Table of Contents

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst

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Guided Implementation 1: Launch innovation

Call 1: Introduce innovation and set objectives.
Call 2: Select a team to begin facilitating innovation.
Call 3: Prepare to roll out the innovation process.

Guided Implementation 2: Ideate

Call 1: Identify opportunities for IT-led innovation and review any finalized problem statements.
Call 2: Discuss ideation techniques and review any completed idea documents.
Call 3: Establish an idea prioritization approach and help select top ideas.

Guided Implementation 3: Prototype

Call 1: Discuss prototyping techniques and review any completed prototype design work.
Call 2: Overcome prototyping challenges and review any user feedback.
Call 3: Prepare to submit business cases for completed prototypes.

Guided Implementation 4: Mature innovation capability

Call 1: Document the target innovation process.
Call 2: Create an action plan to operationalize the process.
Call 3: Identify innovation program components.
Call 4: Create an action plan to implement the innovation program.
Call 5: Assess innovation progress and address challenges.

Authors

Eric Dolinar

Abiella Schneider-Friedman

Contributors

11 organizations contributed information to assist with the development of this blueprint. Due to the sensitivity of the information, all contributors requested confidentiality.
Lorraine Howell, Vice President of Research and Development, Illumiti
Kris Woyzbun, Senior Design Lead, IDEO
Dr. Patricia Morgan, Dean of Research and Innovation, Humber College
Michael Katchen, Founder & CEO, Wealthsimple
Debra Allison, Former CIO, Miami University
Michael Stilger, Partner, Qmarkets.net
Rob Hoehn, Co-Founder & CEO, IdeaScale
Steve Bell, Director of Product Marketing, Brightidea
Alf Martin Johansen, CEO and Founder, Induct
Barbara Marcolin, Associate Professor, Faculty of Management, University of British Columbia
Kin Lee-Yow, VP of IT, CAA
Aiden Beattie, IT Strategy Coordinator, Canadian Blood Services
Natalie Woyzbun, Co-Founder, Tablo Inc.