The New Killer Apps:How Large Companies Can Out-Innovate Start-Ups?

Juhana Repo 0279319

CT60A7000 - Critical Thinking and Argumentation in Software EngineeringSpring 2015

Rule 8: Remember the Devil’s Advocate

Devil’s Advocate

• Right processes for demos, prototypes and pilots are crucial, but so are asking tought questions during the process and remain open for umcomfortable answers

• Devil’s advocate in innovation process is an individual or group whose role is to assess all critical assumptions, key forecasts and other make-or-break aspects of a potential killer app

• Drives at the answer that best serves the long-term success of the organization

• Bay of Pigs vs. Cuban missile crisis• Kennedy’s brother served as devil’s advocate who challenged all plans

and assumptions

• Everyone has to agree devil’s advocacy in the process• The goal of devil’s advocacy must be framed correctly

• Not for killing projects or even identifying flaws but for bringing to the surface issues that might otherwise be ignored

• Devil’s advocacy should be applied to the whole innovation process• Helps to get everyone to the same page

• Most important questions should be asked when killer app should be attempted to scale

• Advocate takes care of that right amount of uncertainty is reduced at each step of process

• Different people can play the role of devil’s advocate

Typical Devil’s Advocate process

• Strategic Assumptions Surfacing and Testing (SAST)• Group divided to three or four teams, which all have different assigned

hypothesis on how to address a problem • Teams come up with a list of critical assumptions• Each team ranks the conditions on two axes:

• How likely they are to be true• How crucial they are for the success of the assigned strategy

• Teams debate and argue against each other of their conditions• Results are summarized and management team can generate list of

killer options

• RWW• R = Is it real?• W = can we win?• W = is it worthwhile?

• Last change review• Offers opportunity to step back and make sure that all the concerns that

have been raised along the way have been adressed• Might also identify implementation-related problems

Thank you! Any questions?