Acceleration refers to combining processes, tools, and methods to help companies launch innovations and bring them to mainstream markets faster. It involves four iterative phases: 1) opportunity mapping to identify challenges and opportunities through foresight and customer understanding; 2) developing a business model and minimum viable solution with customers; 3) testing the business model through experimentation and iteration; and 4) scaling up the business. The goal is to accelerate a company through an iterative learning process involving the organization, customers, and innovation networks. Acceleration concepts apply broadly and aim to speed innovation adoption through lean startup methods, validated learning, and ecosystem involvement.

1. Acceleration
What is acceleration?
Tiina Apilo, VTT (tiina.apilo@vtt.fi )
Thanks to the partners of Accelerate-project for contributing
to the content of these slides

2. Management
practices
1. Accelerate time to
launch
2. Accelerate time to
mainstream market
penetration..
We were inspired by
hackathon culture
Acceleration is not a common term/concept..

3. Acceleration
• accelerating innovation go-to-market and commercialisation
• combination of means: processes, tools and methods, which help companies go faster to the
right markets
Phases/elements of acceleration continuous process
• Opportunity mapping
• Background: (fuzzy) front end (e.g. Reinertsen 1985, Koen et al.2001 in product innovation literature, innovation strategy
framework (Apilo 2010): need for change (exploitation) & change opportunities (exploration), UX approach, customer
discovery (Ries 2011, Blank 2013)
• Important here: continuous mapping of both opportunities and challenges (doing things different/better), foresight:
market, competition, regulation, customer and user understanding
• Business model
• Background: business model canvas (Osterwalder & Pigneur 2010), business model literature.. (eg. ), value proposition
(eg. Chesbrough 2006), Service dominant logic (Vargo & Lush 2004)
• Important here: value co-creation with customers and innovation network (suppliers, research etc.)
• Minimum viable solution
• Background: minimum viable product and pivoting (Ries 2011, Blank 2013), experimentation (Thomke 2003)
• Important here: go-development with customers and innovation network, crowdsourcing, iteration-pivoting
• Validated learning
• Background: evaluation (Ries 2011, Blank 2013), organisation learning, launching phase, marketing..
• Important here: measuring, learning from success and failures, scaling up
Innovation process Acceleration process
Time

4. First Accelerate project common understanding of acceleration

5. The four-phased acceleration frame (Sirris)

6. The four stages of the start-up lifecycle (Mohout 2015)
Mohout, Omar. Startup Master Class 1.
www.slideshare.net/omohout

7. Transformation of ideas to
concepts & quickly evaluation
by intended user groups
and ecosystem partners
Developing a minimal viable
solution & appealing value
proposition
Testing of
business model
Scaling up
business
The iterative acceleration learning cycle

8. Main principles of acceleration concepts
• acceleration is a combination of means: processes, tools and methods, which help companies
go faster to the right markets
• basic concept is applicable in all companies in all size, in all time in their lifecycle, and in all
industries which utilise ICT or provide ICT based solutions
• acceleration process is an iterative learning process, in which an organisation and its
innovation network participate
• it is inspired by lean-start up and validated learning concepts
• each of four phases are iterative processes themselves
• organisation’s innovation culture create a basis for good breeding ground to acceleration
• customer understanding and also both end-user and customer involvement to acceleration
are essential
• business environment knowledge and foresight help to find potential opportunities with
great business potential
• exploiting ecosystem role is important
• each component in business model has a crucial role

9. The iterative acceleration learning cycle with tasks