Monday, April 10, 2023 1

Innovation Assessment &

Improvement supported by Intelligent Decision System

Dr Dong-Ling Xu

Manchester Business School

Email: L.Xu@mbs.ac.uk

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Outline of the Presentation

Background of the Development of Business Innovation Assessment Model

Outline of the Model

Overview of Intelligent Decision System (a decision support software too)

Advantages of Using Software Support in Assessments

Other Applications

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An EC funded project - 12 EC Organisations

To develop a model for diagnosing innovation capability of businesses What criteria How to use them?

To provide software to Support knowledge management Support efficient and effective assessments

Development of Business Innovation Capability Assessment - Background

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Innovation Level – current status Innovation Strategies – where you want to go Innovation Process – how to get there People and Culture Resources Internal soft and hard ware IT Systems Networks External resources

(From literature and EFQM Model)

Business Innovation Capability Assessment – Main Criteria of the Model

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Business Innovative Capability AssessmentThe Model – Main Criteria

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Challenges of Assessment Question Design

Assessment questions should be clear, free of jargons

They should be specific and linked to business activities

They should be generic to all business sectors

They should encourage honest and evidence based self assessment

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Question A.1. a) Has the company introduced new or substantially improved services or processes in the last 18 months?

Explanation: Question 1a asks whether the company has introduced or plans to introduce NEW or substantially improved SERVICES or PROCESSES, in the past 18 months. This indicates how successful the company is currently in terms of innovation.

Example of Assessment Questions

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Question A.1. a) Has the company introduced new or substantially improved services or processes in the last 18 months?

Answers: Yes or NO.

Yes: The company has introduced some new or substantially improved products or processes in the last 18 months. No: The company has not introduced any new or substantially improved services or processes in the last 18 months.

Example of Assessment Questions

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Question A.7

How would you rate the company in terms of innovation?

Answers1. Below Average (Scores 1)

Grade standard: The organisation is aware that it is not very innovative. The Situation Analysis will help it decide how important innovation is in its business plan and where it has the most profitable opportunities for innovation.

2. Average (Scores 2)Grade standard: The organisation sees itself as being quite innovative. In the Situation

Analysis, data will be gathered to confirm this perception.

3. Best for its size/industry (Scores 3)Grade standard: The organisation sees itself as being very innovative. In the Situation

Analysis, data will be gathered to confirm this perception.

4. World Class (Scores 4)Grade standard: The organisation sees itself as being highly innovative. In the Situation

Analysis, data will be gathered to confirm this perception.

The Scoring Scheme

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Question A.2. How many new or substantially improved services or processes has the company introduced in the last 12 months?

Question A.3. How many new or substantially improved services or processes does the company plan to introduce in the next 12 months?

Question A.4. What percentage of the company's turnover is derived from services introduced on the market in the past 12 months?

Question A.5. Has the company evaluated the benefits it has achieved from process innovation?

AnswersThe scores obtained from answering A.2, A.3 and A.4 are the

same as the scores obtained from answering A.5.

Example of Questions & Points Awarded to Answers

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C.10. Has the company used any of the following to develop new ideas with customers, suppliers and/or others , e.g. university or research institute?

Answers1. None (Scores 0)

2. Survey/Market research (Scores 1)

3. Focus group (Scores 1)

4. Formal observation of customers (Scores 1)

5. Product testing (Scores 1)

Example of Questions and Points Awarded to Answers

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Through self assessment

Through business advisors

Challenges: How to handle uncertainties

How to maintain consistency in assessments

How improve effectiveness and efficiency of assessments

Proposed solution: using Assessment support tool

Improvement of Innovation Capability

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Outline of the Presentation

Background of the Development of Business Innovation Assessment Model

Outline of the Model

Overview of Intelligent Decision System (a decision support software too)

Advantages of Using Software Support in Assessments

Other Applications

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Business Innovation Capability AssessmentIntelligent Decision System

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Business Innovation Capability AssessmentIntelligent Decision System

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Intelligent Decision System - Overview

A general decision support tool For Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) under

Uncertainty: Based on Evidential Reasoning (ER)

Approach An evidence based decision analysis method

Various types of uncertainties are modelled and analysed using a unified belief structure

Reasoning based information aggregation

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How ER Framework describe uncertainties: Degrees of belief and distributed assessment

Example of subjective uncertainties: How would you rate the company in terms of innovation:

[excellent 30%, good 50%, average 20%]

Example of incomplete information:

How your customer rate your product quality:

[excellent 30%, good 50%, unknown 20%]

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Answers are equally favorable

The Scoring Scheme – C.10

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Using Value Function and Weights - A.7 to make sure that each answer is associated with the right score

Some questions carry no weight

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Outcomes: Ranking

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Outcomes: Strengths and Weaknesses

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Outcomes: Text report

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Cognitive Support for Better Consistency

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Interfaces for Data Output Tailor Made Text Report

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Interfaces for Data Output Weaknesses Identified

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Interfaces for Data Output Sensitivity of Rankings to Uncertainty

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Applications: Business Innovation Self-Assessment

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Applications: Supplier Assessment

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Applications: Impact Assessment

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Applications: Customer Satisfaction Survey

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Advantages of Using Software Support in Assessments

Knowledge is managed Assessment is more consistent Efficient, effective Clear communications ……

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Other Applications

Business Excellence Assessment Risk assessment (TESCO, SCK•CEN) Project management (SCK•CEN) Supplier assessment (Siemens) Total quality management (SMEs) Consumer preferences identification

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Outline of the Presentation

Background of the Development of Business Innovation Assessment Model

Outline of the Model

Overview of Intelligent Decision System (a decision support software too)

Advantages of Using Software Support in Assessments

Other Applications