April 20, 2018 // By Magenic
When it comes to creating new software products, the contributions of company business and IT departments haven’t always jibed.
That’s unfortunate, since that lack of cohesion often leads to important knowledge gaps inhibiting a product’s success and hindering speed to market. Meanwhile, interdepartmental collaboration can be highly effective; Forbes points to research showing those who work on projects together stay on task 64 percent longer and log lower fatigue levels, higher levels of engagement and better rates of success. And Harvard Business Review recently collected data showing the time spent by managers and employees in collaboration rose 50 percent since the late 1990s.
Unsure how to get started fostering business/IT brainstorming sessions within your organization? Consider these ideas.
- Evaluate the tasks or challenges you’re struggling with in your business. Which are the most time-consuming? The most boring? The most complained about by employees, vendors and customers?
- Think of ways they could be automated to save you time and money and help you grow your business. How could changes boost your overall productivity?
- Seek input from employees, vendors and customers, perhaps offering rewards for viable ideas. Encourage everyone to think outside the box without censorship and to suggest even wild ideas that might seem impossible.
- Review software already on the market. Could you combine elements to create new and better solutions? Resources such as https://wordpress.org/plugins/, https://warriorplus.com and https://www.jvzoo.com/products/topsellers offer listings of tools that have already been developed.
- Consider how other businesses might benefit from your new product idea. Could you make money from it? Have you identified a Product Owner?
- Hold regular ideation sessions whereby key people learn more about your intended customers and discuss updates in technology and the marketplace.
- Narrow down your choices to what you believe will be the most valuable options.
Interdepartmental collaboration takes time, planning and effort, but can be worthwhile in generating the innovation so necessary to today’s lightning-fast software market.
“It can, over time, get your firm to a much more interesting position to innovate,” writes Natalie Nixon on Inc.com. “You optimize the capacity of your associates to extend beyond their comfort zone, grow, and in turn, stretch the boundaries of the organization.”
If you’d like to learn more about the importance of business and IT alignment, and how it can get you to market faster, read our white paper.