How to design smart business experiments
Article Type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 25, Issue 8
Davenport T.H. Harvard Business Review (USA), February 2009, Vol. 87 No. 2, Start page: 68, No. of pages: 9
Purpose – To encourage businesses to undertake more research and testing to ensure that new ideas are not implemented without any real evidence to back them up. Design/methodology/approach – The lack of effort on the part of many businesses to undertake any real research and testing of new ideas and the tendency of many businesses claiming to undertake such testing to do so without the scientific rigour that is stated is discussed. Describes how companies have achieved success by implementing suitable testing programmes,citing Sears Holdings and CKE Restaurants as typical examples. Findings –The approaches that can be used for developing testing processes are outlined,with particular details of building a testing capability through managerial training, learning capture, regular revisiting, and the use of a core resource group. Illustrates the points made in the article with particular reference to the online testing process developed by eBay and an adaptation of the “Test and Learn” Wheel approach to testing, from Applied Predictive Technologies. Originality/value – Draws attention to the urgent need for businesses to pay more attention to the dangers of implementing new schemes without the necessary research and testing to provide the firm foundation for success.Article type: Viewpoint ISSN: 0017-8012 Reference: 38AF263
Keywords: Business development, Innovation, Management techniques, Managerial strategy, Organizations, Product innovation, R&D,Technology-led strategy, Tests and testing
