Innovation Portfolio Mapping
Innovation Portfolio Mapping visually connects innovation projects to strategic business objectives and innovation ambitions. This method helps teams assess the balance and effectiveness of their innovation efforts, identifying areas for improvement and resource reallocation.
Use this method when you need to evaluate the current state of your innovation projects, ensure alignment with strategic goals, and identify gaps or imbalances in your innovation portfolio.
Solves: Lack of strategic alignment in innovation projects, inefficient resource allocation, unclear understanding of innovation portfolio balance.
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Step 1: **Define Sub-Categories (10 mins)**: Review the provided sub-categories and add any missing categories relevant to your organization's activities.
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Step 2: **Map Strategic Objectives (15 mins)**: Transfer your business's strategic objectives onto the mapping tool. Consider using objectives from your company vision.
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Step 3: **Map Projects to Objectives (30 mins)**: Place project circles under the strategic objective they most closely align with. Facilitate a discussion to ensure accurate placement.
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Step 4: **Map Projects to Innovation Type (30 mins)**: Move project circles vertically to represent their corresponding innovation type (e.g., Continuous Improvement, Incremental, Radical/Disruptive, Architectural).
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Step 5: **Analyze and Discuss (30 mins)**: Review the completed map, identify imbalances, and discuss potential actions (e.g., killing projects, reallocating resources).
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Step 6: **Document Action Items (15 mins)**: Capture key decisions and assign owners to action items arising from the discussion.
- Encourage open and honest discussion about project alignment and value.
- Ensure all participants have a clear understanding of the strategic objectives and innovation types.
- Remind the group that the goal is to improve the portfolio, not to criticize individual projects.
- Use different sized circles to represent the resource allocation for each project.
- Color-code projects based on their risk level or strategic importance.