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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 13 2007, 4:17 PM EDT (current) | laschmitt | 584 words added |
| Jul 13 2007, 4:14 PM EDT | laschmitt |
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Key: Additions Deletions
A key challenge in exploring a White Space is identifying which opportunities deserve further effort. The process of identifying these opportunities takes place as follows:
In this process, it is critical to have defined indicators and evaluators of opportunities. The indicators are signals that something is worth further information gathering and analysis. Good indicators let one explore broadly and quickly, finding those areas where there are interesting signs of potential value.
Indicators are the ‘outside-in’ drivers. If you see one of these indicators, then there may be an opportunity worthly of exploration. Evaluators are the ‘inside-out’ filters. Once you are exploring an opportunity, an evaluator tells you whether to continue or to stop.
Evaluators are criteria that are used to judge the potential of a specific opportunity. They are used to rank and prioritize the various opportunities that are discovered in order to focus on the best few. The issue with evaluators at this early stage of opportunity discovery is that the information being evaluated is often incomplete, ambiguous and uncertain. The evaluators used must be able to accommodate this state of affairs.
For both Indicators and evaluators, it is important to define the dimension and the units for each one being used. Guiding questions can then be used to zero in on where on the scale a particular opportunity lies for each indicator or evaluator.
Each indicator is intended to ‘indicate’ something of interest and be easy to discover and at least initialy value or quantify. The opportunity indicators are:
Potential opportunities will be explored and profiled for future evaluation if at least several of these indicators are positive. Guiding questions can help.
Each evaluator is intended to provide a criteria for comparison with other opportunities as well as a threshold for consideration. Some of these evaluators are similar to the indicators listed above but with more detail and defined criteria. The opportunity evaluators are:
These evaluators will be used to rank and filter the opportunities to identify the best few.
- Discover opportunity possibilities by looking for relevant indicators that signal potential. Perform further exploration and information gathering
- Synthesis and analysis of the information to develop an opportunity profile
- Evaluation of the portfolio of profiles to select the best few
In this process, it is critical to have defined indicators and evaluators of opportunities. The indicators are signals that something is worth further information gathering and analysis. Good indicators let one explore broadly and quickly, finding those areas where there are interesting signs of potential value.
Indicators are the ‘outside-in’ drivers. If you see one of these indicators, then there may be an opportunity worthly of exploration. Evaluators are the ‘inside-out’ filters. Once you are exploring an opportunity, an evaluator tells you whether to continue or to stop.
Evaluators are criteria that are used to judge the potential of a specific opportunity. They are used to rank and prioritize the various opportunities that are discovered in order to focus on the best few. The issue with evaluators at this early stage of opportunity discovery is that the information being evaluated is often incomplete, ambiguous and uncertain. The evaluators used must be able to accommodate this state of affairs.
For both Indicators and evaluators, it is important to define the dimension and the units for each one being used. Guiding questions can then be used to zero in on where on the scale a particular opportunity lies for each indicator or evaluator.
Indicators
Good indicators allow one to quickly cover large areas of an opportunity domain (i.e. a white space) and find promising places to spend time exploring further.Each indicator is intended to ‘indicate’ something of interest and be easy to discover and at least initialy value or quantify. The opportunity indicators are:
- Need Indicators – Unmet need and/or desire, resource intensive workarounds exist, systemic waste in the system, acceptance of inefficient status quo
- Momentum Indicators – Future potential, activity and energy, forces, drivers and trends
- Maturity Indicators – New discoveries, new businesses, publication activity, leading media interest
- Access Indicators – relevant knowledge and expertise, barriers & alternatives
- Economic Indicators – growth rate (independent of current size), economic ‘equation’, capital investment
- Strategic Indicators – What’s on whose radar, expressed interest, expressed need
Potential opportunities will be explored and profiled for future evaluation if at least several of these indicators are positive. Guiding questions can help.
Evaluators
Good evaluators permit the comparison of opportunity alternatives. Opportunity alternatives are expressed as profiles that contain the information necessary to be evaluated and prioritized. This information will necessarily be incomplete, ambiguous and uncertain due to the nature of emerging opportunities. The evaluators used must accommodate these characteristics of the information.Each evaluator is intended to provide a criteria for comparison with other opportunities as well as a threshold for consideration. Some of these evaluators are similar to the indicators listed above but with more detail and defined criteria. The opportunity evaluators are:
- Economic Evaluators – potential economic outcomes of addressing the opportunity
- Solution Evaluators – possibility and difficulty of solutions
- Market Evaluators – size, growth, dynamics
- Value Evaluators – Uniqueness, Relevance, Ubiquity measures
- Activity Evaluators – other entities activities and interests
- Organization Evaluators – competencies, time frame, resources
- Strategic Evaluators – adjacency, mission compatibility, EH&S filer, triple bottom-line
These evaluators will be used to rank and filter the opportunities to identify the best few.
