Needfinding & Uncovering Opportunities
Opportunity is the raw material of innovation - and the best opportunities hide in unmet and unspoken needs. This module teaches you to map needs, tell unmet from unarticulated needs, distinguish mere attribute enhancement from a true distinct value opportunity, and find the latent needs that open blue oceans. The cautionary Segway case shows what happens when you skip it.
Quick poll
Where do the best opportunities usually come from?
Pick the answer that fits you best - there's no wrong choice.
Learning objectives
After completing this module, you'll be able to:
- Map customer needs and separate the trivial from the valuable
- Distinguish unmet, unarticulated, and latent needs
- Tell attribute enhancement apart from a distinct value opportunity (DVO)
- Use latent needs to open blue oceans of uncontested value
- Learn from the Segway why technology without a real need fails
In this module
Sources & Further Reading
- •Kim, W.C. & Mauborgne, R., Blue Ocean Strategy, 2005.
- •Ulwick, A., Jobs to Be Done, 2016 (unmet/underserved needs).
- •Global Innovation Institute (GInI), Foundations of Innovation body of knowledge.