Inspired by a quote from Alan Kay (“The best way to predict the future is to invent it”), Holmquist reviews three different scenarios that leverage a process called user-driven innovation as a proactive method of inventing the future.

Understanding people, and, more specifically, the target users of a technology, is an important factor in building impactful solutions. Holmquist suggests that, in addition to the usual methods (scenario planning, user testing, ethnographic studies, and so on), user-driven innovation can introduce unexpected and often profound thinking.

User-driven innovation begins by identifying unusual user groups and exposing them to a new technology. Researchers are able to discover and understand unique perspectives by engaging a variety of users with a given technology. For example, how might a neuropsychologist think differently about a software-driven circuit box than a master electrician? Each user applies a different set of concerns to the new technology, providing a creative starting point for making an even better “mouse trap,” and, in some cases, a better “mouse.”

To illustrate this approach, Holmquist highlights three scenarios in which a variety of perspectives produces more innovative solutions. Context Camera was inspired by the Russian film camera, Lomo. These cameras are famously known and sought after for their numerous imperfections, which contribute in unpredictable ways to the art of photography. Similarly, Context Camera uses ambient information (for example, surrounding noise levels) to create novel images. Holmquist’s second example is Push!Music, which uses the knowledge of music users and intelligent agents to deliver music to a user’s play list based on available music in the surrounding area. Finally, a process called bootlegging is discussed, in which traditional brainstorming is modified by remixing ideas to end up with somewhat randomly combined thoughts, offering a more creative and thought provoking result.

Managing development in one of IBM’s innovation labs, WebAhead, presents similar challenges, in that the traditional means of solution design is often not enough. Fostering breakthrough innovation almost necessarily requires excited focus from alternative perspectives. Holmquist’s user-driven innovation model addresses this need to introduce unsuspectingly relevant viewpoints as inspiration for the next big thing.