Abstract

Grounded Innovation: Strategies for Creating Digital Products focuses on the innovation processes and technical properties of digital products. Drawing on case studies, the book looks at systematic ways to ground innovation in both technology and human needs, and it explores how digital products have become integrated in the real world. It provides guidelines to innovation in a new technical environment, including prototyping and testing, within the cultural or financial parameters of a business.

The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 discusses the history and the basic properties of digital products; the different approaches to innovation; the concept of grounded innovation; and concepts and processes that are important for creating successful innovations such as inquiry, invention, and prototyping. Part 2 demonstrates how the basic properties of digital products can be used as raw material for new innovations, including interaction, networking, sensing, and proactivity. There is also a discussion on recent technology, such as rapid prototyping and mobile mash-ups. A wide variety of examples show how novel technical and conceptual innovations became commercial breakthroughs.

Grounded Innovation is ideal for product designers, interaction designers, and design-oriented engineers. It will also be a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding how digital products are created and in a general approach to information technology.

• Wide variety of examples show how novel technical and conceptual innovations became commercial breakthroughs
• Provides guidelines to innovation in a new technical environment including prototyping and testing
• Discusses how to innovate within the cultural or financial parameters of a business

"Holmquist, principal research scientist at Yahoo!, offers compelling strategies for the innovation, design and development of digital products. Organized into two overarching pieces addressing methods and materials, sections include innovation, inquiry, invention, and prototyping as well as interaction, networking as product connectivity, sensing as context, and proactivity of products. Numerous real world examples and best practices are given in a larger conceptual framework of innovation within applicable business constraints." --Reference and Research Book News, August 2012