Resist the Temptation to "Build a Better Mousetrap

https://www.happi.com/breaking-news/new-ideas-on-innovation/

Getting the best ideGetting the best ideas from the R&D lab to consumers is a central challenge for new product development in many industries. Moreover, the percentage of ideas that make it from lab to consumer is low. One factor that affects the probability of success is how innovators look at a given development challenge or problem and whether they make the right “diagnosis” decides if their ideas will fail right out of the gate. To illustrate, let’s consider the age old saying, “build a better mousetrap.” The mousetrap way of thinking is a great example of "Presuming"- the focus is on the technology solution not on the need and as a result it perpetuates incremental uninspiring changes. Why? It has severely limiting assumptions. It assumes that the only answer can be found within the existing technology of mechanical mousetraps. Also, it defines the goal in terms of a solution (“how”) instead of consumer need (“what”). This way of thinking reduces the probability of developing newer, more effective ways to meet the consumer’s needs. For the case study of mousetraps, what is the fundamental consumer need? It’s a house free of mice, not a better mousetrap! Below illustrates how this subtle difference in “need landscape” dramatically changes subsequent product development work:

Problem Definition 1: there are mice in the house.

Approaches to solve problem: – hire exterminator – buy hungry cats – move - seal off all the entry routes like gaps in doors, basements.

Benefits – more diverse approach than just devices – higher probability of solving entrenched problem – more unknown but higher potential for novelty

Challenges – initially unknown cost or supplier – more groundwork before you start development – may rely on competency external to company

Problem Definition 2: need a better mousetrap

Approaches to solve problem: – mousepaper (U.S. 2,962,836) – multiple snares in 1 trap (U.S. 101,620) – electric power harpoon (U.S. 4,669,216)

Benefits – certainty (improve on proven/core technology) – known supply source for components – strong technical know-how in one technical area

Challenges – lots of competition in technology/product form – low probability of performance breakthrough – narrow approach to solve problem, solve symptoms not causes

Now, let’s look at the outcomes of innovation for this case. Despite lots of “invention” in mousetraps (>4400 patents), marketplace performance for mouse control services is >10X the revenue of mouse trap devices. This suggests consumer-based or consumer-backed (start at consumer and work backwards to what technology needs to be developed) innovation and technology strategy reflects market reality more than presuming that making a better version of the same strategy (mouse traps) is the right way to develop products.

? Dr. Ali Alwattari