TECHNIQUE 6 Nine Windows

Once you ve defined your opportunity, you can scope and focus your innovation projects. The Heuristic Redefinition technique will help you do this by identifying all the elements of your current solution and how they relate to one another. The Nine Windows technique will do this as well, adding the dimensions of time and scale to your innovation problem. Then Job Scoping is a simple but powerful technique for either narrowing or broadening your project s focus. 

Combine this technique with Functional Analysis (Technique 13) or Nine Windows (Technique 6) to bring as much system- and subsystemdefining horsepower as you can. 

Scoping an innovation project is important because the way you define the opportunity, or the job to be done (JTBD), can make the difference between a run-of-the-mill solution and a truly innovative approach. Although similar to Nine Windows (Technique 6), Job Scoping may take your project in a completely different direction, so it s worthwhile to apply both techniques early in the innovation project. 

On a white board or flip chart, write the JTBD (see Jobs to Be Done, Technique 1). In our example, we are tasked with the rather broad job of improving the company s image. We could use Job Scoping (Technique 7) or Nine Windows (Technique 6) to better define this job, but since we have a few general ideas for meeting this JTBD, let s see where Concept Tree takes us. 

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