Bookshelf: Utility is the Driving Force Behind Innovation
Companies pour millions of dollars into product development every year, so getting it wrong can cost them big. Denis Hauptly, vice president, technology strategy, for Thomson Global Resources, aims to help firms get it right in his new book, in which he states as its theme: "In the world of product and service innovation, utility is the driving force." Products based on need, he says, have a longer life than innovations based on appearance or novelty.
With that in mind, Hauptly presents three fundamental questions every innovator must ask:
- What tasks are the product really used for?
- Are there any steps that can be removed from that task?
- What are the very next tasks that the customer will want to perform after using this product?
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About the Author
Jill Jusko
Bio: Jill Jusko is executive editor for IndustryWeek. She has been writing about manufacturing operations leadership for more than 20 years. Her coverage spotlights companies that are in pursuit of world-class results in quality, productivity, cost and other benchmarks by implementing the latest continuous improvement and lean/Six-Sigma strategies. Jill also coordinates IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Awards Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America.
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