The new ISO 56000 family of standards on innovation management

Innovation isn't just about bringing a light-bulb idea to life. For something to be called innovative, that new idea or key change must create value for the user.

Innovation is not exclusive. Everyone can innovate and make improvements to their world. Whether you are a company competing in a global market, a local producer, a hospital department, a charity or an individual, there is always opportunity to innovate.

Innovation can help you get ahead rather than just keep up. Here are three examples[1] of where companies have helped consumers and society with their innovations:

1.      Graphene (scientific innovation)

Graphene's strength is remarkable, considering its weight. At about 300 times the strength of steel, it is also an incredibly light and thin material. First discovered by two scientists at the University of Manchester, graphene's ability to conduct heat and electricity make it the world's first 2D material.

2.      Dyson (product innovation)

Inventor James Dyson wanted to 'make the everyday work better'. Known best for the iconic Dyson vacuum cleaner, the company has also entered into other areas, including solutions for quick hand drying, regulating temperatures in your home and hair styling appliances.

3.      Deliveroo (service innovation)

The online company Deliveroo tapped into a gap in the UK market, connecting restaurants that don't typically deliver with consumers who want home delivery. Part of the 'sharing economy' trend, Deliveroo has capitalized without employing drivers. Drivers are self-employed, carrying out deliveries in their own time.

What do you need to know about innovation?

It's really the process behind it that is where the 'magic' happens. What that magic is is often debated. Business and academic literature points to conflicting, confusing and/or proprietary ways of carrying out innovation activities. So the question is how do you get the most value from your innovation activities?

One way is found in a quote, often attributed to Albert Einstein:

'If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.'

The planning phase when thinking about a problem is key to innovation, and we wanted to create a framework to provide users with real value each time they came up against a challenge.

The role of the BSI IMS/1 – Innovation Management committee

In our committee, IMS/1 – Innovation Management, we were tasked with codifying the best learning across the globe into an innovation management system. It had to be understood by practitioners and quality professionals, be repeatable and be made up of the following process building blocks:

• having ideas;
• choosing ideas;
• protecting ideas;
• developing ideas; and
• launching ideas.

We created the new ISO 56000 family of standards, which provide guidance and support for creating value in your organization. Written by innovation experts from 49 countries, the collective knowledge has been brought together to set out best practice for managing ideas through to successful innovation.

The ISO 56000 standards are written for organizations of all sizes and maturity – from those wanting to initiate an innovation programme for the first time to those wishing to bring fresh impetus to their existing innovation system.

Find out more about the ISO 56000 innovation management series

If you, or your organization, is interested in achieving any of the following, then we would recommend investigating this series:

• an increased ability to manage uncertainty, sustainability and resilience;
• an increased social value, financial growth and competitiveness;
• reduced costs and waste, and increased productivity and resource efficiency;
• increased satisfaction of users, customers, citizens and other interested parties;
• engaged and empowered people in the organization;
• an increased ability to attract partners, collaborators and funding; or
• an enhanced reputation and value of the organization.

The currently available guidance standards from the ISO 56000 innovation management series are:

• BS ISO 56002:2019, Innovation management — Innovation management system — Guidance;
• BS ISO 56003:2019, Innovation management — Tools and methods for innovation partnership — Guidance; and
• PD ISO/TR 56004:2019, Innovation Management Assessment — Guidance.

We also look forward to bringing you the following standards as they are published in the future:

• BS ISO 56000, Innovation management — Fundamentals and vocabulary, due February 2020;
• BS ISO 56005, Innovation management — Tools and methods for intellectual property management — Guidance, due February 2021;
• BS ISO 56006, Innovation management — Strategic intelligence management — Guidance, due February 2021;
• BS ISO 56007, Innovation management — Idea management, due April 2022; and
• BS ISO 56008, Innovation management — Tools and methods for innovation operation measurements — Guidance, due August 2023.