The steps to reality

An innovation by definition is something new; while text books may prescribe ideal ways to take an innovation to market there isn't a prescriptive way for how we fit into your process - flexibilty is our key asset.

It's about performing appropriate tasks and learning at every stage to achieve the right product/market fit i.e. the right features for the right customers. In some cases we help distill the idea into a viable solution, sometimes we help find the most appropriate manufacturing partner and sometimes we do the whole job.

Ideation

Exploring the innovation

Innovation refers to something new, untested and unknown. Rather than going headlong into the product we work as part of the innovation team to propose and evaluate a range of ideas before more significant time and resources are committed to the concept.

Concept

Getting on the right track

The hypothesis has to be tested. Reducing the idea to the simplest and most cost effective form to validate the idea is essential. Assumptions need validatiing! the concept should test assumptions and, ideally provide ways to analyse a number of scenarios.

Prototype

Confirmation

Rolling the prototype and concept into one can be feasible - it depends on the many factors, including time. Using our wide network of suppliers we prefer to use the most appropriate technique during the prototype to uncover potential manufacturing issues.

Production

Paying attention to the details

The goal of any company is repeatability - sales, products, processes, customer experiences. Attention to detail is critical - from the detailling of individual features to the supplier selection, from marketing to regulatory control! Learning should not finish with prototype sign-off.

Help and Support

It's Free and Always Will Be

We don't bill like lawyers and accountants - but we are mindful of your and our time. Worrying about the cost of a conversation stifles the innovation process. At Response we dont charge for these conversations, the little things that help the process flow smoothly - after all you dont worry about the cost to discuss something with in-house team members do you?


Services we provide

There are many facets to the work our clients ask us to do; sometimes we simply help resolve the boundaries for the original hypothesis - providing methods, timescales and ballpark figures to help determine viability.

Other times we deliver final products; there are no fixed rules defining how we work, what we do and how we are engaged. This section expands on the four core steps of innovation by adding a little more meat.

Get in touch - its only by talking together can we see if our experiences will help move your innovation forward.

Idea Development

Working with you, we question the hypothesis to try to understand in a common language what you are trying to achieve and how we can help in the process. From this collectively we can establish if we are compatible both technically and culturally.

Outlining

At this point we have established a rapport and understanding. This crucial step establishes the terms of reference for the innovation. Brevity is good at this point; not just for speed it helps distill details to essential criteria that everyone can understand and agree upon.

Concept Exploration

Brainstorming? or whatever term you are comfortable with. Before committing real time and money we explore a range of ideas via sketches, post-it notes or mindmaps - the mechanism isn't important, the output is. Output needs to be clear, enabling value based judgments for on-going development.

Concept Engineering

Early stage concepts often pose a series of important questions that can only be answered by real world testing. The concept doesnt have to be a piece of prize winning art - it doesnt need to be wholly representative of the solution. The concept is a test bed producing verifiable evidence to confirm a range of assumptions with controlled impact on time and budget. At the end of this stage a clear direction should be evident - and agreed.

Prototyping

The process of realisation. For software this may start at Alpha progressing through Beta1, Beta2 to release. With physical products sequential protoype releases are typically impractical as each iteration costs as much as the previous; this is one key differentiator between hardware and software. Both are learning processes and both are fundamental to the delivery of a viable product - the method chosen should therefore reflect as closely as possible the deliverable product architecture.

Documentation

Often design consultants view documentation as a non-productive burden however we respect and embrace the essential contribution appropriate documentation adds to the innovation and the company. Documentation can simply formalise a milestone, or support regulatory control (i.e. UL testing, Medical Device Directives, ISO, FDA etc.). Response has provided support to its clients with simple project control and Hazard (Risk) documents to full Quality Management Systems.

Production Design

Production design Valid code, latest technologies, always up-to-date. Compatible with latest desktop and mobile browsers down to IE8.

Detailing and Liason

Syndicate is tested on different devices, browsers and operating systems. If you find one, the beer is on us.

Response portfolio

!!! We are just revising this section - so please call back frequently - thanks !!!

Over more than 20 years we have been supporting company's and individuals across the world Here are just a few examples from different disciplines:

Clicking on each image will deliver information on the job and in most cases more images.

Innovation Lifecycle Management

The Innovation Process

From product design through to establishing manufacturing partners and processes, Response continues to work with companies and individuals to help turn their innovations into a deliverable products.

Companies large and small may have their own internal processes; normally sequential, often following the so called waterfall process. Innovation follows a series of checks and balances not conforming to established sequential processes. This may be OK where established marketing data provides a tight framework for traditional project planning. However, for a true innovation the granular detail underpinning this framework is either incomplete or simply doesn't exist; each step is a learning experience not elegantly catered for by a traditional project plan as it navigates left as well as right along the path.

 As more and more fresh companies take on product innovation Response's perspective ideally suits this fast-paced environment.

Ideation

An essential pre-cursor to the concept phase setting the initial assumptions and constraints for the deliverable product.

Ideation helps quantify the innovation without incurring too many overheads. The process should be quick and detail free comprising rough sketches, web extracts, sticky notes, emails etc. Output needs to be clear and unambiguous to facilitate agreement on a clear product direction - often referred to as the Minimum Viable Product.
Output should not be reams of documents and ideas; however, output needs to communicate metrics to be verified and any assumptions required to be validated.
Some may perceive this stage 'an unnecessary comfort' however over the hundreds of projects we have been involved in has shown that spending just one day on Ideation reaps significant benefits down the line.

Response relishes taking part in Ideation dialogue; depending on the extent of our involvement, we often provide input free of charge.

Set the Boundaries

Be optimistic but not unrealistic or unwilling to comprimise in the face of evidence. Establish ideal dates, budgets, expected customer pricing, manufacturing route etc. Consider any headline hazards - these may have a dramatic effect on the product boundaries.

Core values

Clearly define, document and agree the Minimum Viable Product. What should the product do and how? what are its customer benefits? and how it will be sold? Do not ignore manufacturing, or for software its deployment. The MVP should be ruthlessly managed; MVP changes should be evidnetial. Emotional, supposition or hearsay changes should be validated before application; all changes at this point will impact agreed delivery boundaries.

Control and Timescales

Each variable has an impact on delivery; establish a project outline but remember innovation usually means something new so contingenies have to be made for the learning process. Outlining controls (formal requirements, quality, regulatory etc.) will have a positive impact on contingencies.

Conception

Conception explores and evaluates assumptions made at Ideation. This may be via more elaborate sketches, it might be a crude assembly of components, an electronics breadboard, a software wireframe or even a slide presentation.

Concepts test vision and expectations helping all stakeholders and team members visualise the proposed project outcome from a common perspective. Its not always possible to differentiate a concept from the prototype; this has to be considered in the ultimate project constraints.
Ideally the concept should be capable of testing a range of assumptions resulting from Ideation without massive rework. Output should be sufficiently robust and repeatable to support the build of a prototype. Output should support the preparation of formal product and project documentation as determined by the final product classification.

 Response can help resolve the concept into an effective resource for the project quickly and cost effectively through our network of trusted and skilled partners.

Test Assumptions

Concepts should test assumptions and confirm expectations using the most appropriate and effective method. Ideally concepts should be capable of fast iteration to validate as many assumptions and requirements laid down at Ideation rapidly and cost effectively.

Crystallise

With the concept delivering repeatable results the review should be clearly articulated to all stakeholders culminating in agreement for the way forward. The agreement should unambiguously communicate the scope, the costs and timescales presenting a clear picture of the end result.

Document

With the evidence gained the scope of supporting documentation can be established. The very minimum should be a simple list of clear requirements that can be clearly identified and measured in the final output. For a product in a regulated environment such as medical or aerospace the documentation requirements will be much more extensive and likely include hazard analysis, quality plans, verification and validation plans, and formal product (project) requirement specifications. This is also the time to consider protection via design rights, copyright and patents.

Prototype

The type of product and its complexity determines the prototype route - from a single iteration for design validation to a sequence of closely related steps intended to evolve a complex product effectively.

For a physical product the early prototypes could be artistic sketches or photo realistic images taken from early digital designs. Visual prototyping quickly conveys product semantics - shape, form and function identifying materials, finishes, textures etc. The equivalent stage for software would be interactivity swatches communicating use models and interfaces. Whatever the product the prototype will culminate in a representative product capable of testing the user experience, manufacturing, product resilience etc. The prototype may pose more questions and enter into an iterative phase - this is more likely with an innovative product.

 Response has dedicated more than 20 years to supporting its clients with effective routes for prototyping their products.

Test Assumptions

Using the most appropriate and effective method the concept should be tuneable to validate as many assumptions and requirements laid down at Ideation.

Crystallise

Once tested and iterated the results coming from a review of the concept(s) should be clearly articulated, documented and the requirements agreed with all stakeholders. A successful requirement should leave no-one in doubt about the scope and finer points of the deliverable product; from this point forward a clear picture of the deliverable product costs should become evident.

Visualise

Clearly define, document and agree the Minimum Viable Product. What should the product do and how should it do it, and what will the customer gain from the product. Do not ignore manufacturing, or in the case of software its deployment.

Production

Response exists to make things! its why we get out of bed every day. We take pride in each aspect of every innovation we help to bring to market.

We live and breath the innovation process and contribute fully to any part of the process our clients invite us into. The buzz from seeing, touching and marvelling at the end product is like no other.
For us production isnt just about the end product - its the cullmination of thought, interaction, choice of supply routes with everything coming together to repeatably build and deliver the best user expereince. Production is all about detail - manufacture, deployment and delivery and how the customer interacts from the point of purchase onwards.
Response is all about the detail - from understanding materials and methods to the application of tolerances and how they impact the product.

Test Assumptions

Using the most appropriate and effective method the concept should be tuneable to validate as many assumptions and requirements laid down at Ideation.

Crystallise

Once tested and iterated the results coming from a review of the concept(s) should be clearly articulated, documented and the requirements agreed with all stakeholders. A successful requirement should leave no-one in doubt about the scope and finer points of the deliverable product; from this point forward a clear picture of the deliverable product costs should become evident.

Visualise

Clearly define, document and agree the Minimum Viable Product. What should the product do and how should it do it, and what will the customer gain from the product. Do not ignore manufacturing, or in the case of software its deployment.

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