PERFORMANCE : What can be better, what can be more?

1. Performance to perfection PERFORMANCE: What can be better, what can be more? This is the most evident factor to improve. It is about what the product is meant to do; its main function. A car needs to drive, a brush needs to clean, a perfume needs to smell. If you improve on the main function, your compete on performance. It is where strong R&D brings you the Rolls-Royce or the five star, the fastest, strongest, the highest performance. You win value through the improvement of main function, and the integration of new functions and performances. Examples of pure performance- innovation are faster cars, stronger glue, ultra sharp knifes, stronger magnets or lauder speakers. Examples of integrating extra functionality are for instance; a Swiss knife with USB stick, GSM with camera, integrated computer packages, fax-copy-printers, one-stopper shopping or multifunctional tools. Increased performance is the most obvious driving factor for innovation that leads mostly to increased margin. The ultimate factor is perfection. In a note of caution, one should be aware that the customer does not always require more performance. As mentioned, the choices of product are not based on only performance. For those who are older Betamax had stronger performance than VHS, and still VHS made the standard. It is not evident to measure its performance on the customer site, since there is a great deal of perception involved. What is the “perceived performance”. On the integration of new functions, there is also a note of caution. Too much integration is often a product overkill. The fax copier scanner printer might have some identity problems. A nice example of an integrated perfomance in processes is the Atlas Copco tree cutter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U6x3U8fTr8 PERFORMANCE What the product or process has to do, what it is made for, the main function, make that better or more. You can also introduce a new performance. Ideal performance is PERFECT.

2. Less Harm to Harmless HARM: What can be less damaging, less harmful? A second focus of value creation is the reduction of harmful effects. Durable innovation addresses issues such as reducing waste, not warming up, more noiseless applications, safer or more trustworthy applications. For the projector this means for instance a non-noise cooling system through which we have no burden of annoying sound. Rather than focussing on more of the good, here you aim at reducing the bad. If you make a list of elements that bother you around your product or process, and then ask yourself, how can I reduce those. This is also creating more total value. Minus minusis plus, as you put them perpendicular (– and – equal + ). The trend in durability links also close to the environmental innovation. It depends where you focus your value: be it harm to your customer, or harm to the environment. More later. Examples are biodegradable products, processes to reduce waste, safety articles, environmentally friendly discharge, safety fuses, airbags or passwords. Power is when harmful effects can be converted into advantages, for instance vaccinations (whereby the harmful virus is injected for immunity), heat as an energy source, rust as corrosion protective agent, or the weak glue of a post-it. If you are designing a circular saw, you may make a better cutting knife (performance) or focus on the danger of cutting your fingers. We all know someone who lost a finger in the process. This is what SawStop has created: Video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV8eEGUDYc4 more later. Ideally this value goes to harmless, bio or even restorative...can it be not damaging or even cure. SAAB claims in their car that the air going out of the car is cleaner than the air coming in. So the more you drive, the better for the environment. LESS HARM What are the harmful elements in your system, harmful to the environment? Sound? Heat? Time? Pollution? Ideally here you want a HARMLESS, SAFE or BIO system.

3. Easy to automatic INTERFACE: What can be easier? What can be rectified or more convenient? A third perspective of value creation is the use of user friendliness or ergonomic innovation. The product can have the same performance or harm, but just easier to use. How convenient and ergonomic is the interface built up? Can we make the projector smaller or the operation easier? How can the interface be reduced or improved. The smaller the “hurdle” or the required better. It is not about the main function of the product, but about all the actions it undergoes through the usage. Your product may be transported, viewed, heard, held, pushed, connected or mixed. How can the customer actions be improved; for example the smaller telephones; easier to store, better grip to hold, lighter products to transport, aesthetically more pleasing to view, subtitles to understand, colour codes to differentiate, users profiles to recognise or transparent packing to inspect. Some call it human centred design. Anything related to beauty, aesthetics or style, we also classify in interface, as it relates to how the user interacts with the product. A some cases the user friendliness is strengthened with the addition of the opposite components: pencil with gum, hammer with nail hiker, stapler machine with staple remover, one direction glass or cancellation insurance. The ultimate user friendly product is one where no interface is necessary. Examples are: speech recognition instead of keyboards, self-service checkouts, self-reacting systems, unscrewing corkscrews or light sensors. There we speak of a self- or automatic interface. Self-cleaning, Self-balancing, self-repairing. The ideal interface is here no interface at all. An example of self- is self repairing. For those of you that ride a bicycle, it takes some time to repair a tire. Unless the tire is self-repairing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEv6CkRzsMs More on self later... INTERFACE What is the user interface like? Can you make it easier, nicer, design? What can be a better experience to the user? Ideally the interface goes to zero and the system goes to SELF.

4. Cheap to Free COST: What can be cheaper? Finally, and an very popular in some sectors is economic innovation. The same for less: surplus value created through reduced expense, while maintaining functionality. Can we make the projector cheaper? Some refer to lean innovation. Cheaper flat screens, Dell, Ryanair, Colruyt, pay per use or leasing. A technique to reduce costs is to try and eliminate components whilst keeping all functionality. This is achieved by combining functionalities like a click cover so it is both cover and click, so screws or glue can be eliminated. A flexible bag that is squeezable so the pump or piston system can be eliminated (Unijet). A solar cover, so the power supply can be eliminated. More later. The maximum surplus value through economic innovation are the free models such as the paper METRO or free public transport, free software, Skype telephone communication, Google, sponsored events, JCDecaux (delivers free bus shelters to French cities) and YellowPages. The challenge is to find another way of funding the action. An example of such company is Mega Media,  they are going to building owners with a rather surprising question. Can we clean your facade for free? Well, of course you can . On the necessary scaffolding they place an advert which gives them enough income to pay for their work and margin. www.innovatiekanaal.be/uitzending05.html Another example, even future, is where it is not free, but you even earn. The company from Waregem, Belgium, askes the companies if they would be so kind to rent out their roof. Well, ok again, I don’t really need my roof this year... They place solar panels on the roof and go back to the company asking whether they would like some cheap electricity (from their own roof). And again it is a winning model. www.enfinity.be It is important in this direction to not only focus on the material or production cost, but also see what cost is involved by the user. The reason why IKEA getting such prices is that they have convinced their customer to take the assembly cost on their side. Al the sweat and swearing for two hours of assembly is also a cost . COST What about the efficiency of the system? What are the cost components? How can you reduce the cost of the user? Ideally the cost goes towards FREE product or process.