| | |  | Software Engineering | Home » » » Innovation Games: Creating Breakthrough Products Through Collaborative Play | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Innovation Through Understandingsm The toughest part of innovation? Accurately predicting what customers want, need, and will pay for. Even if you ask them, they often can’t explain what they want. Now, there’s a breakthrough solution: Innovation Games. Drawing on his software product strategy and product management consulting experience, Luke Hohmann has created twelve games that help you uncover your customers’ true, hidden needs and desires. You’ll learn what each game will accomplish, why it works, and how to play it with customers. Then, Hohmann shows how to integrate the results into your product development processes, helping you focus your efforts, reduce your costs, accelerate time to market, and deliver the right solutions, right from the start. - Learn how your customers define success
- Discover what customers don’t like about your offerings
- Uncover unspoken needs and breakthrough opportunities
- Understand where your offerings fit into your customers’ operations
- Clarify exactly how and when customers will use your product or service
- Deliver the right new features, and make better strategy decisions
- Increase empathy for the customers’ experience within your organization
- Improve the effectiveness of the sales and service organizations
- Identify your most effective marketing messages and sellable features
Innovation Games will be indispensable for anyone who wants to drive more successful, customer-focused product development: product and R&D managers, CTOs and development leaders, marketers, and senior business executives alike. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Luke Hohmann | | Paperback:
| 192 pages | | Publisher:
| Addison-Wesley Professional | | Publication Date:
| September 07, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0321437292 | | Product Length:
| 9.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 7.98 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.49 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.86 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.8 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 23 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 23 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 find the unknown unknowablesSep 12, 2006
By W Boudville
There's an amusing but cogent passage in this book, where Hohmann talks about things you know, things you know you don't know, and things you don't know you don't know. This exactly echoes what Donald Rumsfeld said recently about knowables, unknown knowables and unknown unknowables. Rumsfeld was talking about terrorist threats against the US, while Hohmann is describing your company's marketplace. The main purpose of this book is to try to move items from the category of things you don't know you don't know into the category of things you know you don't know. As Hohmann points out, in the latter, you actually have some knowledge about whatever that subject is. You can then apply other methods to reduce your ignorance about the subject.
The Innovation Games is a methodology for getting your customers to role play their experiences, in a search for what they might want in a future improved product. Or for deficiencies in your current products. There is nothing in this approach to limit it to high technology products or services. It can be germane to any industry.
Perhaps the main appeal of Innovation Games is that it can engender more creative input and feedback from your customers. It goes beyond asking them to fill out survey forms. These are often constrained by you having to devise the questions. And for the unknown unknowables, you simply will not be able to formulate questions about those. Beyond giving space for the respondent to write any other concerns she might have. The problem with the latter is that many respondents might also be unaware of those unknowables. The Innovation Games is a process whereby sometimes these hard unknowables can be made explicit in the multiplayer role playing. No guarantees. But sometimes it can be worth the effort.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Very useful, varied and practicalDec 13, 2010
By Muir, Alexander
I run user experience research for one of the big tech firms in Seattle. I've been using this book recently to bring some more creativity and variety to the activities we do in our studies. I've found the games are really practical, and there is just-enough material on each to get going. So I'd definitely recommend it.
However, if someone isn't already familiar with running games like this, then they may need quite a bit of practice first. Since, the actual instructions are only part of the story: setting the right mood in the room is important, as is one's manner as a facilitator. The best way of learning this is practice, and working with someone who is already good at this and learning from them. Yet, as book go, there is another book I recommend on the subject: Moderating to the Max, and the Culture Code.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A must read for innovation leadersSep 03, 2010
By Armond Mehrabian
I like this book because it's full of practical tools on discovering your customer's needs, wants, and likes. As an agile innovation consultant, I have used several techniques from this book to help customers describe their most important features (product box) and then prioritize them (buy a feature). The author emphasizes the need for thorough preparation and documentation while making the business process seem fun like a game.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to draw out customer requirements. There are even some techniques for discovering the killer features that will set your product apart from your competitors' (Give them a hot tub). I plan on using these techniques in upcoming customer engagements especially for helping them with strategic direction and product requirements gathering.
It's a must for any innovation professional.
Armond Mehrabian
amehrabian@portofinosolutions.com
Twitter: @armond_m
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Better Understand Your Customer and Discover Great ProductsMay 02, 2009
By John Gibbon
"johngibbon.com"
It isn't the job of your customer to translate their needs into your product offerings. Of course, everyone says you just need to listen to your customer, but no one says how. In "Innovation Games" Luke Hohmann describes 12 games you can play to help you better understand your customers' needs and help you discover great products.
In part I, Luke first provides an overview for understanding and implementing innovation games. He then discusses the process from selecting the game to interpreting the results.
In part 2, twelve separate games are described which can help you understand one or more of the following:
- Unmet and/or idealized market needs
- Products and services usage and relationships
- Product and service functionality
- How to shape your product for the future
Finally, in part 3 tools and templates are provided to help you quickly start playing innovation games with your customers.
In a world where the mantras of "innovate" and "listen to your customer" prevail, Luke Hohmann gives you usable tools to help you do just that.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
I judge how good a book is by how many 3M sticky notes I have stuck to pages. For me, this book had tons.Mar 09, 2009
By Ryan Peel
Great book. I judge the quality of the books I read by how many 3M sticky notes I have stuck to pages. This book had tons.
See all 23 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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