Ennovation Field Guide

THE

GUIDE

FIELD

Hi! And Welcome to Entuitive’s Ennovation Field Guide. We’ve compiled a TON of great information and tools to help support the amazing, creative, and innovative ideas you have dancing around in your head. This field guide is designed to provide you with tools and skills to develop your ideas using Value Proposition Design (VPD). VPD is a way of thinking about your idea as a product that will bring VALUE to your customers, whether those customers are our clients, our staff, or other consultants in the industry. There are four BIG benefits to approaching your idea using this field guide. We will show you how to:

Gain a better understanding of the wants and needs of your customers

Effectively leverage your team’s experience and skills to deliver your product to customers

Prototype quickly and learn what the most important aspects of your idea are and how to deliver it, without wasting time and money on a flop.

Create better feedback loops to improve your ideas through rigorous testing and learning

We know that your idea has legs, so let’s get started on building your industry game changer!

CHAPTER

What Is Ennovation?

And Why Is it Important at Entuitive?

Ennovation represents the firm’s commitment to a pursuit of continuous advancement and is a key strategic enabler at Entuitive. Rooted in our commitment to uncover innovative design solutions, our interest in technology, and our desire to learn, it is a powerful avenue for channeling the firm’s collective intelligence and deeply entrepreneurial spirit. By creating a platform for great ideas and committing resources to bring them to life, we ensure that Entuitive is always at the forefront of engineering performance.

We want our people to have a platform for participation in our firm’s success. Whether your idea is a new service for our clients or a new client group, a way to improve our internal processes, or something that will make our workplace better, we want to hear it. So how does Ennovation at Entuitive work? We’ll go into more detail in subsequent chapters of this guide, but in a nutshell, Ennovation involves identifying, validating, and implementing ideas.

Identifying an idea means answering a few key questions about it first, such as what is the value of the idea to our business, how does it align with our core values and purpose, and who does it serve?

Once you've submitted your idea (you’ll learn how to do that in the next chapter), the Ennovation Committee may choose to evaluate it and start to validate it. This means allocating the time and resources to test it out and see if the idea really works as you thought it would.

Validation is a key first step in better understanding the value of your idea and comparing it to the associated effort and costs. Ultimately, we want your idea to be implemented across the firm. This typically involves creating a plan to develop, launch, and promote it to staff and clients.

CHAPTER

The Ennovation Website

The Ennovation Ideas site is our portal for shepherding ideas through the Ennovation process. You can visit the site by clicking on the lightbulb icon on your desktop with the title Ideas Live Here or using the URL ideas.entuitive.com in your browser (note: Entuitive login credentials apply). On the Home page, you’ll see our Ennovation Idea Hopper. This is always active and is the place to submit any and all ideas you may have, as well as to check out the ideas your colleagues have submitted.

On the Home page you will also see the current Ennovation challenges that might be underway. For example, we recently ran the 2020 Dragon’s DENnovation Challenge, which sought ideas specific to the aim of better delivering uncompromising performance to our clients. The finalists of that challenge presented their ideas to the Board of Directors, and the winners received $10,000 of time and resources to validate their ideas. Across the top of the site, you’ll notice links to Challenges and Projects. The Challenges page provides access to all current and past Challenges. The Projects page features all ideas currently in progress being validated or implemented.

Ennovation Pro Tip: If you’re thinking about submitting an idea to the hopper, be sure to check out which projects and challenges are already underway. You may have the opportunity to collaborate with your colleagues if your idea or something similar is already in the works. Innovation is a team sport!

CHAPTER

Identify - Idea Submission

OK, so you’ve got an idea – now what? This is what we call the IDENTIFY phase. We are hunting for great ideas, and we need to identify a couple of key elements first:

WHAT is the idea? What value does it have for Entuitive, our clients, or both? HOW might we test this idea to see if it has value? WHO should be involved? And most importantly, WHY is this a great idea?

At Entuitive, there are a couple of ways to get your idea into the ether:

Idea Hopper

Targeted Challenges

The Idea Hopper is always accepting ideas. If you have something in mind and need to let it out, this is the best place to share your great idea because it will not be lost. The Ennovation Committee keeps an eye on the Idea Hopper. At a minimum, every quarter an evaluation effort is undertaken on all the ideas in the hopper to determine if there is an opportunity to move any of them into the VALIDATE phase (more on that later).

Entuitive hosts specific idea challenges throughout the year to activate our creative minds. These challenges can be about industry trends, specific project problems, new communication tools, or a chance to pitch your big idea to the Board of Directors! These challenges are open for a limited time and often come with big prizes for the winning ideas. Some examples of past idea challenges can be found here. Keep an eye out for targeted Idea Challenges.

Having trouble articulating your idea? Know it has value but need help defining why? Or want some perspective on how to frame your idea? We’ve produced a few tools to help you get started. Try some of these simple ad-lib exercises we have created to help support your idea submission.

Ennovation Pro Tip: These are tried and true idea formulation tools – more ideas have made it to VALIDATION using these tools than not. If you are looking for support in how to better use these tools, reach out to a member of the Ennovation Committee for an idea consult.

Connecting with Subject Matter Experts (@ Entuitive) Formulating a truly valuable idea often starts with researching the topic with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Lucky for you, Entuitive is chock-full of SMEs who are always interested in a new perspective in their field of work. It may be helpful to reach out to an SME to get some feedback on your idea before you submit it. Here are some of our Entuitive SMEs with whom you can connect:

CHAPTER

Evaluation

The EVALUATION process involves a small team that reviews a collection of great idea submissions using a defined set of criteria to determine what the best route forward is for each of them. We use all kinds of criteria for evaluating ideas depending on current business strategies, the idea subject, who the idea affects, and if they can contribute to the future growth of Entuitive.

Idea Hopper Evaluation Cycle The Idea Hopper is evaluated every quarter (or every three months) to pull out the most promising ideas, ensure there is enough information to understand the opportunities, and get them into the VALIDATION phase. Wondering how we evaluate your ideas? Here is the Evaluation Scorecard we developed.

Anatomy of a Great Idea Wondering what the anatomy of a great idea is? Check out this infographic to help show you what we are looking for at Entuitive.

Ennovation Pro Tip: Connect with an SME or Evaluator prior to submitting your idea for a Challenge. You never know how that could elevate your idea and get you a leg up in the competition.

Funding Model The funding model at Entuitive is not set in stone. Depending on the idea, the challenge, or the opportunity the funding model may change. However, we want to share our baseline for funding ideas that come out of the Idea Hopper. Each year, the Ennovation Committee targets at least five ideas to be developed and/or tested. These ideas are allocated a small budget to see if their submission value hypothesis is true, whether we should pursue the idea or if we need to pivot and change direction, or if the idea just isn’t ready to move forward at that time. Testing ideas quickly, without too much risk, is the best way to learn more about your customers, confirm your hypotheses, and drive innovation forward.

Choosing the Idea Champion A key component of the Evaluation process is choosing an Idea Champion (IC). This is the person who is identified as the best person to drive this idea forward. Sometimes the IC is the person who submitted the idea, but not always. We want to be strategic in choosing the right IC to ensure the idea gets the best opportunity to be tested and (hopefully) implemented. If there is an idea in the Idea Hopper you think you can champion, reach out to the Ennovation Committee and let us know!

CHAPTER

Validate

Building Your Prototype & Testing

Started from the bottom now I’m here! You made it – your idea was submitted, evaluated, and we think it’s strong enough to start testing your hypothesis. Now the real work begins. To help support your ideation process and develop your goals, objectives, and the right prototype or testing method, we have developed some tools to broaden your understanding of what your idea is, who it’s for, and what you’re going to solve. And don’t forget to check out this graphic that illustrates how the Entuitive idea validation process works!

Ennovation Matrix: Identify Your Idea This tool is a great way to get a wide picture of what your value proposition is, who your customer base will be, and what resources your idea needs to get traction. There is also a place to start thinking about your cost-benefit analysis or return on investment (ROI).

Customer Profile Worksheet The best way to solve the pain points of your customers and provide useful solutions is to get to know them! This worksheet gives you space to observe or interview your customers and discover the hurdles they face in their day-to-day. Actually talking to your customers will help you validate your value proposition or let you know if you need to pivot.

Now that you have identified your idea, your customer, the value your idea brings to that customer, and how you’re going to test that idea, you’ve entered THE TESTING PHASE! The most exciting part of testing is that you finally get to do something, get your hands dirty, fail quickly, and learn.

Idea Evolution: Prototype & Testing (Click here) Now that you have your value proposition and have talked to your customers, you can start testing your idea. The original experiment you put forth on the SciENtific Method worksheet might still hold, or based on your recent research, you may have realized that you need to pivot. Either way, use this Prototype & Testing sheet to keep track of your progress as you test your idea.

The SciENtific Method: Results (Click here) Once you’ve tested your idea and gathered some data, use the SciENtific Method Results sheet to record your results and articulate whether your original hypothesis was true.

CHAPTER

Implementation

So, you’ve worked through your value proposition, designed a test (or series of tests) to test your hypothesis, made some adjustments, and improved your product. Now you think your idea is ready to implement to a wider group. This really is exciting! Of course, it’s not enough to create a tool, process, or product. Your customers need to actually use it if you want to make the impact that your value proposition was selling. There is no single recipe for implementing an idea, but at this stage the work will resemble a typical engineering project: there will be a defined budget, clear goals, and a timeline.

An important part of implementing your idea across the firm is to market it, promote it, and get your colleagues excited about it. What good is a great idea if nobody knows about it! Strategic marketing is not only reserved for promoting Entuitive externally to our clients and partners (though if your idea is a new service, for example, we’ll have to do that too). Strategic marketing also applies to internal promotion to make sure that everyone in the firm knows your tool, process, or product exists, how it works, and how to use it.

The Marketing & Communications Team is here to help you with both internal and external idea promotion. They’ll work with you to develop a communications and launch plan. Perhaps your idea will necessitate the creation of a new credentials package, or a blog post and social media campaign. To make sure they can effectively promote your idea, they’ll need to know a few things first:

Who does the idea benefit? Who are we marketing to? What is the core problem we’re solving for them? What is the value proposition? What specific action do we want to accomplish by promoting your idea? How can we reach our target audience?

If these questions seem familiar, it’s because you’ve probably already thought about them when identifying and validating your idea. The more clarity you attain regarding your idea at the beginning of the Ennovation process, the easier it will be for you to promote it to your clients and colleagues later on. And if you’re not sure how exactly to go about marketing your idea, or if you’re stuck on whether a blog post or a white paper would be best, don’t worry, the MarComm Team will help you figure it out.

Connecting with Knowledge Centres Another great place to connect with an SME is through our Knowledge Centres. Here is a list of our active KCs.

BIM

Bridges

Building Envelope

Cold Formed Steel

Concrete Repair & Restoration

Construction Engineering

Contract Administration

Loads & Actions

Masonry

Offsite & Modular Constuction

Programming

Structural Concrete

Structural Steel

Timber

Eastern Canada Standards

Western Canada Standards

UK Standards

US Standards

Ennovation Value Proposition Template This ad-lib is your on-paper elevator pitch for the value you think your idea can bring to a customer. Imagine you have 30 seconds in an elevator with Elon Musk – how are you going to sell your idea to one of the world's most inventive innovators? Simple, simple, simple – keep it simple. If you can turn heads with your idea and keep the concept simple enough to fit into this activity sheet, you probably have an idea worth sharing. Click the link above to access the template.

The SciENtific Method This ad-lib is a fun and easy way to think about your idea in terms of what you have observed as a customer pain point, what you believe your idea can do about it, how you might go about testing your hypothesis, and how you are going to measure the results of your test. By thinking about what you want the result to be, you can gain better insight into how strong your specific idea/solution is. If you can’t fill out this sheet in a clear and concise way, it might be time to take a step back and reformulate your idea. Or it might be time to connect with a Subject Matter Expert who can share some key insight into the service sector you are trying to develop your idea in (check out the section below on SMEs and where to find them at Entuitive). Click the link above to access the template.

Admin: Cindy Zacharias

Business Development: Jennifer Eyskoot

Finance: Ken Hodgkins

Marketing & Communications: Jennifer McKay

Operations: Brian Stonehouse

People & Culture: Jennifer Longworth

Technology: Tony Ringl

Ennovation Matrix: Identify Your Value Proposition This tool is focused less on your overall business plan and more geared towards solving your customer’s problems or pain points. Use this tool to identify how you are going to solve each of your customer segment pain points, what success looks like in their eyes, and why/how your idea is going to make their job easier, thereby making them a loyal customer.

Ennovation Pro Tip: It’s important to keep your project goals in mind during the implementation stage because you want to be sure you are still moving in the right direction. If you aren’t, and the goals are changing, that’s OK, as long as there's still value that can be defined.

Cody Bezaire

Jonathan Werner

Heather Elliot

Tom Jennings

Gary Twomey

Jason Jelinek

Paul Tomasik

Ian Washbrook

Laura Young

Tom Greenough

Mike Anderton

Agha Hasan

Daniel Stevens

Eric Chung

Chris Fitzpatrick

Ian Washbrook

John Maguire

Tanya Luthi

Challenges are evaluated using a similar process to the Idea Hopper. However, the criteria may change depending on the specifics of the challenge. Often, we call on SMEs to drive the evaluation process, so we are connecting the right people with the right ideas. Keep your eyes peeled on the next challenge and look for the list of Evaluators who are part of the challenge.

Click on the title of each worksheet to access the PDFs.

Table of Contents

What Is Ennovation? The Ennovation Website Identify – Idea Submission Evaluate

Validate Implement Worksheets

Worksheets

The SciENtific Method Ennovation Value Proposition Template Ennovation Matrix: Identify Your Idea Customer Profile Worksheet

Ennovation Matrix: Identify Your Value Proposition Idea Evolution: Prototype & Testing The SciENtific Method: Results