Will your invention succeed?

Innovation and invention are the buzz words of today, and for a good reason. However, around 50% of patent applications every year fail for grant. From the patented innovations only 10% end up in consumer markets. And only few of these make a difference in our lives. Neither patent grant refusals, nor market success rates are accurate enough to reach a conclusion that most inventions are doomed for failure. But, they do indicate - in a qualitative manner - quite a bit of effort and finance are spent for inventions that we do not need, do not become popular, or simply do not work for one reason or another.

Innovating is creative problem solving which leads to the creation of a novel solution. We have been innovating in increasing pace and effort. The increased pace can be explained by awareness and global scale of challenges for which we try to find unique solutions. Some may say that innovation has also become a holy grail by itself, even when it does not solve an existing problem.

Both problem-solving and innovating for the sake of innovating can bring benefit to the society. It might, however, be wise to increase our efficiency and success rate of innovations, given the scale and urgency of the challenges. That is why I believe systematic approach to innovation may help to solve this phenomenon. There are quite a few approaches for systematic and successful innovation. I will try to summarize some important steps.

1. Identifying the right problem/need: Although this can be the first step, does not necessarily happen so. The solution may be found, even without thinking too hard about the problem. But regardless, I suggest you stand still and ask:

• Is the problem valid and common (or is there a chance it becomes common in the future)?

2. Knowing the history: When you come up with an innovation, it can be very useful to learn its technology path. In short, this is about being sure that your idea is novel and applicable.

• Check if your idea - or similar one - was proposed in the past. If so, why did it fail?
• Check if your idea is the next step in technological tree of the existing solutions, or if it has a potential to create another branch.

Innovation maps are what you may need in order to examine the past and existing technology or methods involved in a particular problem.

3. Assessing your idea and your capability: Here is the step where you have to be skeptic to your own idea. Before you love the idea, you have to hate it. I strongly recommend this step.

• Can you make the idea into a reality with existing technology? For example, does it need a new material, methodology, or a new production technique?

Nowadays quite a few inventions involve interdisciplinary approaches, tools and techniques. Try to assess your own capability and knowledge for realization of the invention.

4. Forming a team: In the past, many inventors have been lone-wolfs. But this is changing. When creativity and knowledge are coupled, they are likely to result in successful inventions. So, if your solution/idea has elements where you do not have proficiency, take a closer look into your network. Build a team from trusted friends or colleagues.

At this stage, you must believe that your idea can mature, improve and become a successful invention. It is important that your team also believes in the idea. Don’t forget to listen to other’s ideas, and to sign NDAs.

5. Making it work: Rarely an idea is 100% complete and ready for real-life application and mass production. There may be technical details that will come into the picture only during detailed design, scale-up, and end-user life cycle.

Inventors are recommended to brainstorm, learn and apply intensive detail-oriented problem solving to make the idea work. A harmonious team will always be better than an individual.

• You should not discard any problem solving idea. But be vigilant not to overdo it. Remember not to introduce more complexity to your idea while solving a detail. It is crucial to keep it simple. You may use problem solving methods such as TRIZ, they are very helpful.
• Compare your idea with existing solution(s) in a fair way. Most important criterion is the cost and/or economic benefit. Other criteria are safety and environmental impact. Any solution for a technical detail may also work on existing solution. So, it is preferable to be careful and fair while comparing your novel idea and existing solution(s).
• It is important you have a proof-of-concept. It can be a working prototype, experiment, or sample application. Always make a feasibility case study. This will help you out to see the economic potential of your invention.
• Try to anticipate the next step for production, or possible demand for different sizes. Be sure that your invention works as efficiently when scaled-up. In some cases, when scaled up to larger dimensions, benefits may be hindered significantly. It is important to define the limits of your invention.

Some innovations may require new material, compound or method development. These may become futuristic inventions which are mostly ahead of their time. It is not a bad thing, nor a failure. But it also means, inventors and society will not directly benefit from these in near future. But they can help the next generation.

Most innovators are clumsy with steps 2 and 5, and skip step 3 completely. In the end, this may result in failure or loss of time, effort and finances.

If you make your novel idea work, the next steps would be intellectual property (IP) protection and detailed product/process design. Both of those steps may become excruciatingly long and expensive if your novel idea is not ready as a full concept. That is why - if followed correctly - a systematic approach should save any inventor a lot of trouble.

If you cannot make it work; and you tried every possible avenue, then it does not work. Do not take this as a failure, or a matter of pride. Take it as a lesson learned. Creativity and inventing are not once in a life time lottery. The most important thing is not to give up. Keep being creative, keep learning and always innovate.

Photo by Flood G.