A short presentation based on my experience of convincing companies and users of changing habits, using new tools and features. It all boils down to them understanding What's In it for Them. My public IBM profile: http://ibm.co/bjellerup

1. Peter Bjellerup – GBS S&T CoC for Social Business
Useful or just cool?
On what makes innovations great
This material was used by IBM during an oral presentation; it is not a complete record
of the discussion. © 2012 IBM Corporation

2. © 2012 IBM Corporation

3. Two questions keep coming back
 Why should I use it?
 Why should I pay for it?
© 2012 IBM Corporation

4. There are only two kinds of innovations
1. Make something possible that was not before
2. Make something better that was possible before
© 2012 IBM Corporation

5. People want ROI – Return on Investment. But on which investment?
 Costs
– Initial costs
– Operational costs
– Knock-on costs and investments
• Financial, technological, organizational....
 Time invested
– In learning
– In changing habits (your’s and others you depend on)
– In bug resolution and de-confusing
 Risk taking
– Being an early adopter
© 2012 IBM Corporation

6. When do you get that return on investment?
 When you power on?
– Sometimes, but rarely
 When people use the invention?
– Most of the time
– Instead of the predecessor.....
© 2012 IBM Corporation

7. Therefore, inventions and investments depend on people wanting to
use them, not only on them becoming available
BUSINESS The purpose of IT
Products is to produce
benefits for the
Business companies that provide
them
benefits
The audience use the IT
Individual Products because this
benefits use produce benefits for
them, not because of the
benefits for the company
USERS
The reasoning in this and the following slide, on business and individual benefits, is based on “Effektstyrning av IT” by Ingrid
Ottersten and Mijo Balic 2004, ISBN 91-47-07450-7. Only available in Swedish as far as I know
© 2012 IBM Corporation

8. Therefore, inventions and investments depend on people wanting to
use them, not only on them becoming available
Definition
of benefits BUSINESS The definition of the
expected benefits is
made from the
Business company’s perspective
benefits
But for the company to
Individual realize its benefits, it is
benefits necessary that the users
want to use the IT
Product to realize their
USERS benefits
Realization
of benefits
© 2012 IBM Corporation

9. Therefore, inventions and investments depend on people wanting to
use them, not only on them becoming available
Definition
of benefits BUSINESS The possibility of
realizing any benefits
depend on the
Business availability and
functionality of
benefits
TECHNOLOGY supporting technology.
Individual
benefits
Realization USERS
of benefits
© 2012 IBM Corporation

10. Therefore, inventions and investments depend on people wanting to
use them, not only on them becoming available
Definition
• Purpose, Ambition
of benefits BUSINESS The three key factors for
• Financial framework
• Decisions, Policies success of the IT
• Responsibility Product bring each their
Business components to the final
mix to be assessed.
benefits
TECHNOLOGY
• Functional enablement
• Resource requirements As in the original definition
– Initial of an IT Product,
Individual – Running assessing an existing one
benefits • Integration requires an understanding
• Delivery performance of these factors and their
components, albeit not as
• Individual goals deep
Realization USERS • IT Maturity
of benefits • Mindset:
– References
– Context
© 2012 IBM Corporation

11. Conclusion: The success of your invention depends on the
willingness of people to want to use it (most of the time)
 And that fit starts with your ability to understand their needs
and their context their way – to ”walk a mile in their shoes” –
also called Empathy
© 2012 IBM Corporation

12. Competition is more than just choosing between suppliers
Different supplier of a similar offering Which travel agency shall I use for my ski trip by
bus this winter?
Different technology to fulfil the same need Or should I go by air instead?
Different approach to satisfy the same need Ooops. My fiancé wants to go to the beach instead
Different priorities to use limited resources (time, But maybe we could save the money to buy a flat
money) together?
© 2012 IBM Corporation

13. Summing up
 Why should people use and pay for your invention?
 How and when does it pay back on investments
 Do you start from the need or from the feature?
 What’s in it for the user?
 What is the extended competition like?
© 2012 IBM Corporation