Idea and Innovation Blog

One of the most misunderstood concepts regarding innovation management is the Idea Processing Workflow.

First, what is a workflow?

Here is a definition from Wikipedia:
“A workflow is a model to represent real work for further assessment, e.g., for describing a reliably repeatable sequence of operations. More abstractly, a workflow is a pattern of activity enabled by a systematic organization of resources, defined roles and mass, energy and information flows, into a work process that can be documented and learned. Workflows are designed to achieve processing intents of some sort, such as physical transformation, service provision, or information processing.”

I believe that our slightly modified version of the latter is more à propos:
More abstractly, a workflow is a path of activity enabled by a systematic organization of resources, defined roles, energy and information flows, into a work process that delivers desired results; in the case of repeatable patterns, workflows can be standardized, documented and learned. Workflows are designed to achieve processing intents of some sort, such as physical transformation, service provision, or information processing…whatever the goal is,  in the end, it has to be measurable.”

Ok, so in plain English:
A workflow is about organizing work (a workflow does not eliminate work, it structures it) that is known into a sequence of steps. You will usually but not always involve other people and resources to help you out. A workflow is a process towards a known agreed goal.

So is a workflow good or bad?
A workflow is a good thing, when you know what you are doing. How can you possibly workflow something that you’ve never done before? More ludicrous yet, how can you possibly automate something that you’ve never done before? Or anticipate all the permutations that this newness will bring with it?

The Ford Model T is a good example of a product that comes from a workflow, as the old saying goes: “You can have it any color you want, as long as it’s black”

Actually, that adage says a lot about a workflow because it essentially means that the purpose of a workflow is to process identical (or quasi identical) requests.

1. When you apply for a credit card, we will go through a workflow and you will either get approved or declined
2. When you apply for a loan, we will go through a workflow and you will either get approved or declined
3. When you have a claim from your insurer, we will go through a workflow and you will either get approved or declined
4. When you have a flat tire, you will go through a workflow to get the old tire off and the new one on - and you will either succeed or fail

Here are a few facts about these examples:

1. Thousands of people (if not millions) have done these things before you
2. These processes have evolved over many years and have been perfected over time
3. All of these, at some point or another – were being performed either manually or by a person that had the authority/knowledge/resources that were pivotal to making a certain part of the process work

Gradually, most of these processes were perfected and streamlined. This didn’t happen overnight – it took years. Today, these processes are streamlined because we have (I hope) a near-perfect understanding of how to

1. Get all the data (we have a flat tire, rear-driver side)
2. Determine what resources we need if any (call road side, spouse, friend, do it yourself)
3. Execute the steps (or have someone else do them for you while you watch)
4. Complete the process successfully (get back in the car and continue to your destination)

So a workflow is good then?
A workflow is only as good as its design, and its design is only as good as the understanding of the people creating the design for a particular task or set of tasks. It is also only as good as its user’s understanding of the workflow. While the process may be streamlined and well known by a large percentage of people – not just anyone will feel comfortable changing that first flat tire on their own. Making the perfect workflow is only 50% of the equation – people then need to understand it in order to use it.

Ask  yourself if you would feel comfortable learning how to change a flat tire on the side of a busy highway?

So a workflow is complicated then?
No, a workflow doesn’t need to be complicated – people make them complicated because they don’t understand the problem they are trying to solve. When you don’t understand something – you always end up with a complex solution. A genius is not someone that can solve any problem, a genius is someone that can solve a problem “simply”. If you have a complicated workflow that is impossible to put on a single piece of paper – it’s too complicated. If it takes more than 10 minutes to go over a workflow, it’s too complicated. The conflicts emerge from the fact that we are trying to organize something that we don’t understand. When you don’t understand the whole problem, you can’t solve it. Ask yourself what the steps are for processing an idea in your company?

We want to process ideas!
Yes, but – what are those ideas? And how does the uniqueness of one make it’s needs different from the needs of the next? Not all wheels only have four lugs-nuts that need to be removed; some have five – others, like trucks, can have many more. Therefore, one size workflow does not fit all. Flexibility is a must in order to keep things moving at a pace where we can continuously increase process performance while keeping participants engaged. So lets allow people to grasp the issue first and then break it down into manageable (workflow) chunks. Don’t worry if you don’t understand all of the idea’s workflow from the get go – how could you be expected to? So long as you have the tools and mechanisms to adapt direction, correct path(s) and allot the appropriate resources when and how they needed, you have the workflow that you need.

As abstract of a process as this may appear, it actually gives you the tools but doesn’t force you down a specific “hard-wired” path – an abstract process is a workflow where you can decide what next step makes sense for the uniqueness of each idea. Provide an abstract workflow to users with guidelines and then watch them use the pieces that they need. It’s like a carpenter or any other trades-people – they don’t just use hammers – that’s why they have a toolbox.

An Open Workflow is an Abstract Workflow – you cannot predict all the possible subjects, shapes, paths and details of all the ideas and concepts that you are going to receive. Once you accept that fact…the solution becomes simpler. An Open Workflow does not kill any opportunity for automation, it simply changes how you approach and leverage automation.