Experience in refining ideas
April 9, 2019I have to admit my professional experience with idea refinement is very limited. In my previous and current companies we did not do a systematic idea refinement. While previously working as a brand manager in food industry I was responsible for idea generation and refinement within my supervised category, but the job was carried out by me only. Unfortunately, in this stage we did not use any external inputs assuming that the brand manager has the best knowledge and competence to perform the idea generation and refinement. At my current job we do not have idea management process at all.
I found the idea refinement task here very interesting. I started reading all the ideas and could immediately see which ones I am able to contribute. When refining the ideas I was thinking of the the solution proposed in terms of how it can solve the problem and what will be the actual benefits for the user. I was able to give a new perspective to some of the ideas as well as suggest clarifications. As I do not have any technical background, I was not able to contribute of how the solution can be technically executed, but I could add some thoughts from the user perspective. I surely agree that idea refinement provides valuable inputs in idea management process allowing one to see and develop the idea from different perspectives, knowledge and competences. It can help even to sort out best ideas later.
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Hej! Very interesting reflections especially in terms of how you try to contribute with the user’s perspective. Integrating this perspective is actually the most challenging one for many firms. What user needs are representative for the different market segment? Are the user needs actually correctly understood and translated into a viable solution? Are there latent user needs (needs users are not aware of themselves)? These questions are extremely challenging to address particularly in markets charaterized by a large and highly diverse user base (e.g., think about a major airline attempting to addressing user needs that work for most/all passengers).