Innovation isn't random. Pampers' wetness indicator solves a clear problem: parents need to know if a diaper is wet, but the existing option (taking it off) is inefficient. By identifying this unavoidable task and its bad workaround, the exact shape for a winning new feature becomes clear.
Related Insights
A powerful heuristic for innovation is to use your own irritation as a guide. Jerry Seinfeld, annoyed by the formulaic nature of talk shows, created "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" as its direct opposite. By identifying friction points in existing products, you can find fertile ground for creating something better.
Asking users for solutions yields incremental ideas like "faster horses." Instead, ask them to tell detailed stories about their workflow. This narrative approach uncovers the true context, pain points, and decision journeys that direct questions miss, leading to breakthrough insights about the actual problem to be solved.
Instead of inventing new features, Prepared identified its most lucrative expansion opportunity by seeing users' painful workarounds. They noticed 911 dispatchers manually copy-pasting foreign language texts into Google Translate—a clear signal of a high-value problem they could solve directly.
Intentionally create open-ended, flexible products. Observe how power users "abuse" them for unintended purposes. This "latent demand" reveals valuable, pre-validated opportunities for new features or products, as seen with Facebook's Marketplace and Dating features.
Some of the largest markets address needs customers have completely given up on because no viable solution existed. This powerful latent demand is invisible if you only observe current activities. You must uncover the high-priority goals on their mental "to-do list" that they have quit trying to achieve.
When handed a specific solution to build, don't just execute. Reverse-engineer the intended customer behavior and outcome. This creates an opportunity to define better success metrics, pressure-test the underlying problem, and potentially propose more effective solutions in the future.
Truly innovative ideas begin with a tangible, personal problem, not a new technology. By focusing on solving a real-world annoyance (like not hearing a doorbell), you anchor your invention in genuine user need. Technology should be a tool to solve the problem, not the starting point.
When designing for kids, the founder learned not to take feature requests literally. A child asking for a bike basket to hold rocks isn't just asking for a rock holder; they're expressing a deeper need for a versatile container for their adventures. The key in user research is to infer the underlying problem from their specific examples.
Instead of just creating an 'athleisure' line because it's popular, Hanes identified specific problems—like chafing—that consumers experience during movement. They then designed products with features like anti-chafe panels, directly linking innovation to their core brand promise of comfort.
