Unit 4 Assignment: From Ideation to Proposal: Crafting an Innovation Strategy

Purpose

Innovation becomes powerful when it moves beyond brainstorming into structured, actionable concepts. This assignment bridges that gap by helping you transform a promising idea into a clear, user-centered proposal. By focusing on problemsolution fit, it introduces core principles from the Lean Startup approach and lays the foundation for your future work with the Lean Canvas.

You will begin developing a concept brief by exploring user needs, defining key elements of your idea, and demonstrating how your solution offers a compelling and feasible path to impact.

Setting the Stage for Innovation. You are part of a cross-functional innovation team within your organization. Leadership has identified a critical challenge: improving user experiences to address specific pain points while delivering long-term value for the company.

In the Unit 3 Discussion, you collaborated on sustainability-driven ideas and user-centered solutions. Now, your role is to act as an internal innovation lead by preparing a brief for senior stakeholders. This proposal will showcase one idea from the Unit 3 Discussion, either your own or one refined in collaboration with a peer, and outline how it could deliver measurable value.

Your submission will serve as the foundation for future assignments, including a business model, pitch, and growth strategy. Your voice should be professional, persuasive, and grounded in the user problem you’re aiming to solve.

Task

Develop a 2-3 page concept proposal based on your Unit 3 ideation work. Your proposal should build out the early-stage components of a Lean Canvas and reflect principles from Chapters 2 (Building the Innovative Organization) and 6 (Innovation Strategy) of Managing Innovation. This is not an academic essay. It is a concise business proposal modeled after early-stage Lean Canvas thinking. Bullet points are encouraged where appropriate, and writing should be brief, direct, and user-focusednot theoretical or scholarly. Your proposal must include the following six sections aligned with the Lean Canvas:

1. Introduction

• Briefly describe the organization or context (real or fictional) where the innovation would be applied.
• Introduce your core idea and explain how it emerged from your prior brainstorming or collaboration.
• Identify the user group this solution serves and why addressing their sustainability challenge is significant.

2. Customer Segment

• Clearly define the user group using:
• Demographics (e.g., age, income, education, family structure)
• Psychographics (e.g., lifestyle, values, attitudes, behaviors)
• Geographics (e.g., neighborhood, region, climate, local norms)
• Behavioral traits (e.g., usage patterns, decision-making habits)
• Explain what makes this groups needs relevant and how they are underserved in this context.

3. Problem

• Identify two core pain points or challenges faced by this user group in their daily lives.
• Share empathy-based insights that show why solving these problems matters from the users perspective.

4. Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

State your compelling value proposition, what makes the solution stand out to the user.

Describe the ultimate benefit or transformation the user will experience if the solution is implemented.

5. Solution

• Outline three key features of your proposed solution that directly address the identified pain points.
• Describe what the solution is and why it matters to the user.
• Focus on how each feature aligns with user needs (not on how it will be implemented).