How can you use innovation labs to experiment with new technologies?

1 Define your purpose

Before you set up or join an innovation lab, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and why. What are the challenges or opportunities you want to address? What are the goals and outcomes you want to measure? How will you align your innovation efforts with your business strategy and values? Having a well-defined purpose will help you focus your resources, communicate your intentions, and evaluate your progress.

2 Choose your technologies

The next step is to select the technologies that you want to explore and experiment with in your innovation lab. You can choose from a wide range of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, internet of things, virtual reality, or biotechnology. You should consider the relevance, feasibility, and impact of each technology for your specific problem or opportunity. You should also research the current trends, best practices, and use cases of each technology in your industry and beyond.

3 Build your team

An innovation lab requires a diverse and multidisciplinary team that can collaborate, learn, and create together. You should look for people who have different skills, backgrounds, and perspectives, but share a common vision and passion for innovation. You should also ensure that your team has access to the necessary tools, equipment, and support to work effectively in the innovation lab. You can also leverage external partners, mentors, or experts who can provide valuable insights, feedback, or guidance.

4 Design your process

An innovation lab is not a place where you can just brainstorm and play with gadgets. You need to have a structured and systematic process that can guide you from ideation to implementation. You can use various frameworks and methods, such as design thinking, lean startup, or agile, to help you define, prototype, test, and iterate your solutions. You should also establish clear roles, responsibilities, and timelines for each stage of the process.

5 Share your learnings

One of the main benefits of an innovation lab is that it allows you to learn from your experiments and failures. You should document and share your learnings with your team, your stakeholders, and your customers. You should also seek feedback and input from different sources and perspectives. Sharing your learnings will help you improve your solutions, generate new ideas, and build trust and engagement.

6 Scale your solutions

Finally, you need to have a plan to scale your solutions from the innovation lab to the real world. You should identify the potential customers, markets, and channels for your solutions. You should also assess the risks, costs, and benefits of scaling your solutions. You should also consider how to integrate your solutions with your existing products, services, or processes. Scaling your solutions will help you create value and impact for your business and your customers.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?