The Final Perspective: A Composable Innovation Enterprise Framework

In my view any new approach to innovation needs to aim to achieve interdependent and interlocking innovation, solving problems that have not been addressed before and offering sustainable value, impact, and returns to all involved or significantly improving on the existing solutions. Today we are missing a comprehensive structure or innovation process to achieve this, we need a radically different approach to managing innovation.

I am suggesting a vertical and horizontal design applying innovation stack and building block approaches, all “housed” on a technology platform. This post explains this thinking, and validation and provides the way I envisage this.

Nothing can work in isolation.

We need an Innovation Mandate calling for a Radical Re-design of how we undertake innovation management, it is needed to bring innovation management into the 21st century in design and approaches.

I believe today; the innovation management process requires this fresh mandate to drive change to bring the process into today’s more technical period where our systems need to operate seamlessly and flow across the organization and the entire innovation process.

Are we leveraging fully what is available to us to build better innovation concepts?

Are we leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning enough from the explosion of data to identify patterns and insights leading to emerging concept creation? Are we really leveraging the Digital Transformation, turning innovation concepts that aim to streamline business processes, improve efficiencies, reduce latency, and capitalize on the richness of available technologies to offer the potential to create new business models? Have we allowed Customer co-creation to become more co-jointly involved in innovation, gaining insights into customers’ deeper needs and preferences?

Finally, we have not leveraged open innovation to its next level by leveraging digital technologies, social media, or the richness we can deploy from our networks and connections to give a greater diversity on a platform approach where customers, partners, and suppliers. We have the capacity through technology and human interactions for them to come together, exchange, and increase and accelerate innovative concept value.

So why did I name this “A composable innovation enterprise framework?

Firstly from a general business perspective, the term “composable” implies a way of thinking and organizing that emphasizes flexibility, adaptability, and modularity. It involves breaking down complex systems, processes, or strategies into smaller, independent components that can be assembled, reconfigured, and combined in various ways to meet specific business needs.

Composable thinking encourages businesses to view their operations as a collection of modular building blocks or capabilities that can be flexibly arranged and rearranged. It shifts the focus from rigid, monolithic structures to a more fluid and dynamic approach that allows for rapid adaptation and customization.

Specifically composable innovation can be explained

Composable innovation in my mind approaches the innovation processes and systems in a specific way, designed to be this modular, flexible, and adaptable in thinking and approach. It draws inspiration from the concept of composable architecture in technology, where systems are built using independent, reusable components that can be combined and orchestrated to create customized solutions.

In the context of innovation, composable thinking involves breaking down the innovation process into smaller, modular components or building blocks. These components can include different methodologies, tools, technologies, and resources that can be flexibly combined and reconfigured to meet specific innovation needs.

Composable innovation enables organizations to rapidly assemble and reconfigure innovation capabilities based on changing requirements and emerging opportunities. It emphasizes the ability to leverage and combine existing resources, knowledge, and technologies in novel ways to drive innovation.

By adopting a composable approach, organizations can achieve greater agility, adaptability, and scalability in their innovation efforts. They can more effectively respond to market dynamics, experiment with new ideas, and integrate diverse perspectives and inputs into the innovation process.

Overall, composable innovation promotes a modular and flexible mindset in managing and orchestrating innovation activities, enabling organizations to leverage their existing assets and adapt to the evolving needs of the business landscape.

Composable thinking encourages a more flexible, adaptable, and collaborative approach to problem-solving, innovation, and resource management. It empowers organizations to build and optimize their capabilities in a way that aligns with their specific goals and changing market dynamics.

The framework proposed is vertical and horizontal, offering an innovative enterprise system architecture.

I believe we need to leverage technology, concepts, and design thinking. I propose a radically different system architecture for managing innovation designed and leveraging all the value of technology approaches.

Organizations can create a more comprehensive and effective innovation ecosystem by utilizing building blocks as components of the innovation stack, guiding platform development using the innovation stack, and supporting the innovation stack with a platform. Equally, components are oriented towards learning, knowledge, creativity, design, and testing—essential tasks in the innovation process.

The makeup of the basic design of the Composable Innovation Enterprise Framework

Innovation Stacks become the core, and the building blocks explore and exploit the essential elements.

The innovation stack consists of modular, shared, and persistent elements that are repeatable and proven in their contribution value. Developing any new concept requires recognizing its specific elements of required knowledge, operational requirements, and our future world, plugging into the human-AI collaboration.

Stack building comprises two parts, the horizontal layers, and the vertical components.

Horizontal Layer: Building Block contributing to the different Innovation Stacks

The vertical layer represents a suggested building block of innovation stacks that combines various approaches discussed previously. There are delivering multiple building blocks, many already available, and these would be loaded down from a Marketplace of components and modular blocks. I have not listed all of the possibilities here.

 It comprises the following layers:

1. Discovery Layer:
   • Building Blocks: Market Pull assessment, Technology Push potential, Challenge Defining, Vision, and Goal alignment.
   • Platform Components: Exploratory tools, Front End Management Software, Environmental Scanning, Trend Management, Start-Up Scouting, Weak Signals, Academic Research, Radar, IP Scanning, Three Horizons, and Strategic Roadmaps.
2. Idea Concept Layer:
   • Building Blocks: Ideation sessions, customer research, market analysis, trend analysis, competitive analysis, whiteboard exploring, idea box, crowd science and sourcing, double diamond assessment.
   • Platform Components: Idea management software, online communities, social media listening tools, collective intelligence, corporate venturing, and design thinking.
3. Problem Validation Layer:
   • Building Blocks: Problem identification, user testing, prototyping, concept testing, and user feedback.
   • Platform Components: Rapid prototyping tools, user testing software, customer feedback management tools, and project and portfolio building.
4. Solution Development Layer:
   • Building Blocks: Design thinking, Agile methodology, MVP development, feature prioritization, testing, experimentation, and iteration.
   • Platform Components: Collaboration software, project management tools, tracking and roadmaps, Agile development tools, and Design Thinking Methodologies.
5. Business Model Design Layer:
   • Building Blocks: Value proposition development, revenue model design, pricing strategy, cost analysis, and market positioning.
   • Platform Components: Business model canvas software, financial modeling tools, and pricing strategy software.
6. Execution Layer:
   • Building Blocks: Go-to-market strategy, launch planning, marketing and promotion, sales enablement, and customer support.
   • Platform Components: Marketing automation software, CRM systems, customer support software, and sales enablement tools.

By combining these building blocks into a modular building block of innovation stacks, organizations can create a customized approach to innovation that aligns with their specific needs and goals. The platform components offer pre-built tools and resources that accelerate the innovation process, while the building blocks provide a structured approach to ensure effective execution at each step.

I plan to extend this out with another layer of the Circular Lifecycle in the near future. I have shown it within the design but I have not worked through this as sufficiently as I would have liked at this time.

Vertical Layer: Achieving the Final Perspective, the innovation stack gets validated by the team.

The horizontal layer comprises the learning components that provide the structured learning and thinking through process focuses built through this vertical and horizontal taxonomy and framework. It involves the following elements of the process to follow in the innovation process:

1. Future Foresight:
   • Made up of finding opportunity spaces and potential scenarios.
2. Learn:
   • Gather & Probe handling unstructured content, classifying relevance, searching, and filtering.
3. Synthesize:
   • Looking for patterns and model dynamics from data, structuring, and inquiry (AI) to simulate.
4. Create:
   • Forming connections and maturing the association’s system dimension needs, network engagements, deepening understanding, architecture framing, impact, and implication.
5. Decide:
   • Evaluate and select options based on fitness, portfolio needs, velocity, and overcoming cognitive biases.
6. Communal:
   • Understanding and informing through social interactions, attributing, designing, adapting, projecting future value and impact, coherence with existing systems, identifying changes and their implications, and using metaphors for identification.

I plan to add another element of Sustainability, both social and corporate value, later as I have not worked on this as much at this time but have included it here.

Visual 2. The Composable Innovation Enterprise Framework shows Marketplace and Platform APIs and Components and the opening considerations when building this out.

This framework requires integration, coherence, collaboration, and interactivity to achieve its objectives in a team environment, all having access to the same knowledge and insights; one of the essential reasons this has to be on a technology platform for a comprehensive, transparent, communication and full access for all involved.

In my learning components, the vertical elements I gained from a suggested one provided by Larry Schmitt, but my solution has a much broader framework of learning needs of the contribution value of the building blocks ‘feeding’ each of the innovation stacks both in horizontal and vertical components, due to this comprehensive approach.

Identifying the key components and relationships of innovation stacks and building blocks is crucial for developing a comprehensive and effective innovation ecosystem. By leveraging the tools, frameworks, and mechanisms provided by the marketplace and platform components to build the innovation stacks, organizations can create an ecosystem that fosters a culture of innovation, accelerates the innovation process, enhances collaboration, leverages diverse perspectives, and drives competitive advantage.

Feasibility and Considerations

Implementing the building block and innovation stack concept is feasible through available platforms and components that offer varying degrees of modularity. However, it requires careful planning, resource allocation, and significant innovation commitment to its enablement. There is a need to consider the following factors as it challenges much of the established and requires growing validation of its value and future impact:

1. Resource Allocation: resource investment, development, and time
2. Integration with Existing Corporate Operating Systems: aiming for a seamless integration
3. Cultural Alignment: experimentation, risk-taking, support, and encouragement on seeing the value
4. Implementation Challenges: building blocks and innovation stacks have challenges in complex processes
5. Considering the Practical Implementation & Scalability: requires staging and managing
6. Integrating technology and software thinking: will need adaptability and agility
7. Transforming the current systems and processes into a new architecture: planning, resources, and adaptation

A design like this does align with the goals of leveraging technologies and design thinking to drive innovation, and arguably bring innovation management into the 21st century but its further exploration, experimentation, and evaluation are clearly necessary to determine its radical potential and practicality across many different organizational contexts to realize the greater potential

The proposed design becomes far more of an innovation ecosystem design suited to responding to today’s challenges and complexities where broader collaboration is becoming essential.

So in summary

In summary, implementing a building block and innovation stack design is feasible but requires careful planning, resource allocation, investment, and a solid commitment to innovation. The benefits include a structured and efficient innovation process, enhanced collaboration, and leveraging pre-built modules and tools for accelerated innovation.

We formulate an integrated design based upon a vertical and horizontal approach 1) using building blocks as components of the innovation stack, 2) using the innovation stack to guide platform and learning development, 3) using the platform to support the innovation stack modular design, 4) enabling the building, adding and deploying new applications and services as applicable and recognized as needed.

What do you feel? Does this approach have a radical potential for changing the current innovation management systems and bringing this into the 21st century in technology enablement and software thinking? I believe it indeed does. We need a radical reset of innovation to solve our future challenges and all the complexity of these, collaborating across organizations and institutions together.

References:

• Sangeet Paul Choudary: Platforms and the Building Block Thesis Platform Revolution
• Larry Schmitt: “The Innovation Stack“