- Innovation Maturity Analysis Survey -

Developed by Harrington Management Systems, EDGE Software, Inc., and based on the innovation research work done by James M. Higgins


We strongly believe that no new improvement initiative should be started before there is a good understanding of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses related to the type of improvement.

Your impression of your organization’s innovation performance is very important to you and your organization. As a result, we have developed a short online survey that provides a snapshot of your view of how the innovation activities within the organization are functioning. In addition, it captures your impression of the strengths and weaknesses of your organization’s major innovation drivers.

Your impression of your organization’s ability to be innovative is very important although it may or may not reflect the organization’s actual performance. However, to have sufficient confidence in any survey, a much larger sample needs to be analyzed and must be a homogeneous sample of the population being surveyed. As a result, we recommend that this analysis be used primarily as a weathervane to determine if improving the innovative systems within the organization will result in significant bottom-line improvement.

Instructions


This analysis focuses on providing a general view of the level of innovation maturity in the five areas of an organization that have the biggest impact upon its total maturity level. Record your rating on a scale of 1-10 where 1 indicates "Do Not Agree" and 10 indicates "Strongly Agree in every way". Of course, a much more detailed study needs to be conducted of any organization before its relevant strengths and weaknesses can be defined and improvement recommendations can be developed. The Innovation Maturity Level is assessed in these five areas of an organization:

  1. Management
  2. Process
  3. Product
  4. Sales and Marketing
  5. Service

The survey used here is a modification of the extensive research and analysis by James M. Higgins in the 1990s in his book, Innovate or Evaporate: Test & Improve Your Organization's IQ : Its Innovation Quotient (published by New Management Publishing Company) and is used with permission. This survey has been validated over the last 20 years by hundreds of organizations.

Your input will become part of a database that will be used to generate group reports for specific types of organizations (examples: healthcare, state government or banking) and/or populations (examples: top management, government officials, retail workers and assembly workers). Your rankings and analysis will be kept confidential but may be anonymised and included in an aggregated summary.

Contributors to the development of the survey include:

  1. H. James Harrington (Harrington Management Systems)
  2. Frank Voehl (Strategy Associates, Inc.)
  3. James M. Higgins
  4. Candy Rogers (Harrington Management Systems)
  5. EDGE Software, Inc.

To Get Started...

First, select the "About You" tab and tell us a little about yourself. Then select each of the remaining tabs to enter your ratings for each of the five areas. Finally, select the "Submit" tab to submit your ratings.


Here's a Hint for how to select a rating:

Information About You

Management Innovation Maturity Level

A1. Have a stated and working strategy of management innovation.

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Strongly Agree

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A2. Require managers to have objectives for management innovation and evaluate their performance relative to these objectives.
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A3. Develop structural mechanisms for management innovation.
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A4. Have effective management improvement suggestion programs.
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A5. Have management information systems for management innovation to scan the environment, monitor and benchmark competitors, determine best practices, keep abreast of new technologies, monitor market conditions, and exchange information internally.
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A6. Have formal management idea assessment systems that separate creation from evaluation and look beyond simple financial analysis.
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A7. Create a management vision/strategic intent.
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A8. Empower subordinates: delegate sufficient authority for managers to be innovative.
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A9. Train management employees to be creative.
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A10. Provide physical facilities conducive to idea exchange and creative thinking in management.
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A11. Engage in knowledge management for the management process itself – identifying knowledge assets, sharing information, tapping innate knowledge of individuals.
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A12. Leverage resources to achieve seemingly unobtainable management innovation objectives.
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A13. Possess a shared value that this is an innovatively-managed organization.
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A14. Require relevant non-managerial employees to have objectives for management innovation and evaluate their performance in relation to those objectives.
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Process Innovation Maturity Level

B1. Require relevant managers to have objectives for process innovation and evaluate their performance relative to these objectives.

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B2. Use deadlines and/or objectives that stretch performers’ capabilities to speed process innovation.
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B3. Require cross-functional and customer/supplier process redesign/reengineering teams.
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B4. Have an effective and efficient structure for creating process improvement innovation.
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B5 Have management information systems for process innovation to scan the environment, monitor and benchmark competitors, determine best practices, keep abreast of new technologies, monitor market conditions, and exchange information internally.
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B6. Have formal process idea assessment systems that separate creation from evaluation and look beyond simple financial analysis. It also includes a system for implementing process innovation.
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B7. Allow employees to make mistakes when innovating processes.
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B8. Empower subordinates: delegate sufficient authority for employees to innovate new processes.
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B9. Treat employees as a vital resource for building competitive advantage in processes.
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B10. Use many of the 100 or more creativity processes such as brainstorming, verbal checklists, mind mapping, storyboarding, lotus blossom, and so on for process development.
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B11. Proactively create new opportunities, and respond to change relative to new processes.
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B12. Successfully practice continuous process innovation and reengineering.
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B13. Place a high value on change and make it part of the organization’s culture with respect to process redesign.
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B14. Require non-managerial employees to have objectives for process innovation and evaluate their performance in relation to those objectives.
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Product Innovation Maturity Level

C1. Require relevant managers to have objectives for product innovation and evaluate their performance relative to these objectives.

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C2. Use speed strategies for new-product development.
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C3. Develop structural mechanisms for intrapreneurship.
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C4. Have an effective and efficient structure for creating new products.
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C5. Create a vision/strategic intent for product innovation.
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C6. Have management information systems for product innovation to scan the environment, monitor and benchmark competitors, determine best practices, keep abreast of new technologies, monitor market conditions, and exchange information internally.
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C7. Empower subordinates, delegate sufficient authority for employees to innovate new products.
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C8. Provide physical facilities conducive to idea exchange and creative thinking about products.
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C9. Manage organizational culture to make it more innovative for product development.
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C10. Place a high value on change and make it part of the organization’s culture with respect to product development.
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C11. Engage in knowledge management for product development – identifying knowledge assets, sharing information, tapping innate knowledge of individuals.
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C12. Invest heavily and appropriately in product R&D.
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C13. Provide physical facilities conducive to idea exchange and creative thinking about products.
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C14. Require relevant non-managerial employees to have objectives for product innovation and evaluate their performance in relation to those objectives.
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Sales and Marketing Innovation Maturity Level

D1. Have a stated and working strategy of sales and marketing innovation.

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D2. Require relevant managers to have objectives for sales and marketing innovation and evaluate their performance relative to these objectives.
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D3. Develop structural mechanisms for sales and marketing innovation.
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D4. Have sales and marketing innovation programs/centers.
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D5. Have management information systems for sales and marketing innovation to scan the environment for new opportunities, monitor and benchmark competitors, determine best practices, keep abreast of new technologies, monitor market conditions, and exchange information internally.
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D6. Have formal sales and marketing idea assessment systems that separate creation from evaluation and look beyond simple financial analysis.
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D7. Create a sales and marketing vision/strategic intent.
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D8. Use special approaches in managing innovative sales and marketing employees.
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D9. Train sales and marketing employees to be creative.
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D10. Use many of the 100 or more creativity processes, such as brainstorming, verbal checklists, mind mapping, storyboarding, lotus blossom and so on, for sales and marketing innovation.
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D11. Successfully practice continuous as well as “big bang” sales and marketing innovation.
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D12. Engage in knowledge management for sales and marketing – identifying knowledge assets, sharing information, tapping innate knowledge of individuals.
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D13. Manage organizational culture to make sales and marketing more innovative.
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D14. Require relevant non-managerial employees to have objectives for sales and marketing innovation and evaluate their performance in relation to those objectives.
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Service Innovation Maturity Level

E1. Innovation is a strategic issue and everyone has been trained a minimum of 40 hours in problem-solving tools.

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E2. The financial strategy is well documented and focuses on providing innovative ways to provide value to all stakeholders.
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E3. Finances structured to support the management system, not as a police force, for the management system.
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E4. Information technology uses an innovative approach to its organizational structure and its operating procedures to provide specialized knowledgeable assistance to the various functions within the organization.
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E5. A primary measurement of all personnel in procurement is the innovative ways they have employed to acquire the highest level innovation products and services while minimizing costs.
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E6. Personnel systems are continuously using innovative approaches that serve to enhance the employees’ work experiences through training and learning experiences.
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E7. Personnel staff are certified professionals that use innovative approaches to maximize their impact on the total operations resulting in them being viewed as a positive contributor to the employees and managers.
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E8. Procurement staff are trained using innovative approaches to improve their operating systems minimizing procurement time, costs, and approvals while assuring the procured item provides maximum value to the organization.
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E9. The Innovation staff combines a unique knowledge of the business processes and advance problem-solving, creative thinking and innovation approaches to harvest opportunities and to solve problems.
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E10. The information technology staff are specially trained and selected for their ability to apply innovative approaches using software and relevant systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
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E11. The information technology department uses high levels of innovation to simplify the tasks that are performed while maximizing the use of the organization’s resources.
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E12. The personnel department is originating innovative approaches to improve management systems including employee selection and development activities.
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E13. The Innovation staff uses innovative approaches to help engineering release high-quality designs, minimizing the possibility of unsatisfactory output reaching the external customer resulting in them being viewed as value added contributors.
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E14. Finance’s role is aligned with the organization’s balanced scorecard where they focus on both costs and long-term impacts. Financial controls are not their primary consideration. Finance has made significant progress removing no value added activities on from their procedures. For example, Finance has made the budgeting process easier to use and less labor-intensive.
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