‘Innovation Accounting’ is a loose term for the idea that organisations need new metrics to manage innovation, the dominant competitive force driving value today. After building a few government as a service platforms the only thing I’ve seen reliably produce valuable innovation is intentional and consistent experimentation.
Increasingly many teams are practicing some form of agile development and implementation, however, despite these efforts, a significant amount of software still ends up being wasteful—not valuable enough to users and not commercially successful. This is where innovation accounting comes into play.
Innovation accounting is a concept that helps organizations effectively manage and measure the progress and impact of their innovation efforts. It provides a framework for tracking and evaluating the success of innovative projects, enabling teams to make data-driven decisions and allocate resources more efficiently.
The primary goal of innovation accounting is to shift the focus from vanity metrics, such as the number of features developed or the amount of time spent on a project, to actionable metrics that reflect the actual value delivered to users and the business. By doing so, innovation accounting helps teams identify and prioritize high-value initiatives, while actively discouraging wasteful practices that do not contribute to meaningful outcomes.
One of the key principles of innovation accounting is the use of validated learning. This means that teams should aim to validate their assumptions and hypotheses through rigorous experimentation and feedback loops. Instead of relying on guesswork or intuition, innovation accounting encourages a scientific approach, where teams formulate hypotheses, conduct experiments, and learn from the results. This iterative process allows for rapid course correction and helps teams avoid investing in ideas that are unlikely to succeed.
Another important aspect of innovation accounting is the concept of the minimum viable product (MVP). An MVP is the most basic version of a product that allows teams to gather feedback and validate their assumptions with real users. By releasing an MVP early on, teams can avoid wasting resources on building extensive features that may not resonate with users. Innovation accounting helps measure the impact and success of the MVP, enabling teams to make informed decisions about whether to pivot, persevere, or terminate a project.
Furthermore, innovation accounting emphasizes the importance of measuring actionable metrics that align with the goals of the innovation project. These metrics can vary depending on the nature of the project but often include user engagement, conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and revenue generated. By tracking these metrics, teams can gain insights into the effectiveness of their innovation efforts and make informed decisions about where to invest their time, money, and resources.
Innovation accounting also plays a vital role in fostering a culture of continuous improvement and learning within organizations. By providing a framework for measuring and evaluating innovation initiatives, it encourages teams to be accountable for their outcomes and learn from failures. Instead of viewing failures as setbacks, innovation accounting helps teams see them as opportunities for growth and discovery.
In conclusion, innovation accounting is a powerful tool that helps manage innovation by providing a structured framework for tracking, measuring, and evaluating the success of innovative projects. By shifting the focus from vanity metrics to actionable metrics, embracing validated learning, and leveraging minimum viable products, organizations can make more informed decisions, avoid wasteful practices, and increase the likelihood of delivering valuable and commercially successful products or services. Innovation accounting is a mindset that encourages continuous improvement and learning, ultimately driving long-term success in today’s dynamic business environment.