A thought, suggestion, or plan for a new product, service, process, or improvement. Ideas are the fundamental building blocks of innovation and are often evaluated and developed through the ideation process.

A group of ideas clustered throughout the innovation process; it represents a possible solution to a strategic question. Typically, hypotheses are linked to big ideas, and experiments are conducted to reduce uncertainty, taking solutions through the process from verification to validation.

Structured tests carried out to validate hypotheses related to new ideas, products, or services. Business experiments are designed to reduce uncertainty and gather actionable insights by systematically testing assumptions, measuring outcomes, and learning from results to guide decision-making in the innovation process.

Assumptions or propositions that are tested through business experiments to determine their validity. In the innovation process, hypotheses are formulated to address uncertainties and guide the development and testing of new ideas, products, or services. Successful validation of hypotheses helps reduce risk and informs decision-making.

A fundamental change in a company's strategy, typically involving a shift in product direction, target market, or business model, based on feedback and learning from initial business efforts.

Engagement requests allow Contributors to express interest in deeper involvement with campaigns or ideation work.

The ability to notice signals, recognize changes, and create a vision. It involves future thinking skills, which include the ability to foresee and anticipate, make plans, and organize future possibilities.

In the context of innovation, Profile refers to the unique set of strategic characteristics and capabilities that define an organization's innovation identity. This includes its innovation culture, strategy, processes, and competencies. Understanding an organization’s profile helps tailor innovation initiatives to align with its strengths and address its specific challenges.

As part of the Wheel of Innovation, Learning Capabilities refer to the organization’s ability to acquire, share, and apply knowledge. This emphasizes continuous learning and development to stay ahead of industry trends and technological advancements, involving training programs, knowledge management systems, and a culture of curiosity and experimentation.

A communication approach used for innovation ideas. It seeks to provide a comprehensive and easily digested collection of intelligence connected to an innovation idea. It comprises several components, an innovation narrative, business tests that have been conducted and are planned, a future press release, and FAQs.

A time-bound, intensive period of work, typically lasting between 2 to 10 weeks, focused on generating and developing innovative solutions to a specific business problem. During an innovation sprint, cross-functional teams collaborate to rapidly prototype, test, and refine concepts. The process is designed to foster creativity, encourage experimentation, and accelerate the innovation cycle by quickly moving from ideation to actionable outcomes. Innovation sprints often conclude with a presentation of findings and prototypes to stakeholders for feedback and decision-making, ensuring the proposed solutions are viable and aligned with business objectives.

Refer to a combination of traditional knowledge, interdisciplinary research, and new technologies deployed to solve complex societal problems. Is there a powerful partner, emerging research domain, or voice you should be keeping an eye on? Utilize them to learn about what future interactions might be.

A controlled environment in which new software or features are tested, ensuring that any potential risks are mitigated before full deployment.

Used repeatedly to identify, refine, and combine ideas. These ideas are then expressed as hypotheses that are tested with high-level business experiments. The result is a problem statement derived from a strategic initiative that, if solved, will lead to successful commercialization.