Outcome-Driven Innovation
Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) is a strategy and innovation process developed by Anthony W. Ulwick. It is built around the theory that people buy products and services to get jobs done. As people complete these jobs, they have certain measurable outcomes that they are attempting to achieve. It links a company's value creation activities to customer-defined metrics. Ulwick found that previous innovation practices were ineffective because they were incomplete, overlapping, or unnecessary. ODI attempts to identify jobs and outcomes that are either important but poorly served or unimportant but over-served. ODI focuses on customer-desired outcome rather than demographic profile in order to segment markets and offer well-targeted products. By knowing how customers measure value, companies are able to align the actions of marketing, development, and R&D with these metrics and systematically create customer value. Origin Ulwick was granted the first of twelve patents on the ODI process in 1999. In late 1999, Ulwick claims to have introduced ODI to Clayton Christensen. Christensen mentions examples of Ulwick and Richard Pedi of Gage Foods with the way of thinking about market structure used in the chapter "What Products Will Customers Want to Buy?" in his Innovator's Solution and called "jobs to be done"