Innovating by simplifying: Seven ways to make things better

Simplification is an important route to innovation that can provide savings in costs, time and effort. Making things easier can also enable and engage a larger community of possible participants and innovators. New perspectives, standardization, attention to human factors, automation, education, illustration and trust are seven approaches they may suggest effective simplifications. However, all approaches have trade-offs and dangers, so attempts at simplification must include engaging relevant stakeholders and examining potential scenarios.

This Executive Technology Report is based on a personal essay by Peter Andrews, Consulting Faculty Member at the IBM Executive Business Institute in Palisades, New York.

Sometimes you innovate to create whole new markets and capabilities, and sometimes you just want to make an improvement. The latter, though less flashy, provides very real benefits in cutting costs, saving time, improving quality and generally making experiences more pleasant and engaging. In many cases, such improvements come as a result of simplification. Before beginning simplification three questions need to be answered:

1. What results are you looking for?
2. What method will you use?
3. What are the dangers?

Let's begin by looking at what you can get from simplification.

To read the full report, download the PDF file at the top of this page.