Collaboration • Product Strategy • UX

Innovation Workshop

My responsibilities at UKG included facilitating innovation workshops to help Product Teams generate fresh ideas for their long-term roadmap. This is the story of one such workshop.

I redacted confidential information in this case study to comply with my NDA. All data in the study is mine and does not reflect the views of UKG.

Workshop Context

UKG’s Talent Product team faced mounting pressure from customers and stakeholders to deliver disruptive innovations. Recognizing the need for external facilitation, they engaged my services to conduct a two-day, immersive ideation workshop. The primary objectives were to:

  1. Immerse the team in emerging trends shaping the talent management landscape.

  2. Facilitate divergent thinking exercises to generate a diverse range of innovative concepts.

  3. Lay the foundation for the team's subsequent strategic roadmapping efforts.

The Process

Day 1: Trend Analysis and Understanding

The workshop began with a deep dive into emergent trends affecting the technology and talent landscapes. Participants engaged with research materials that highlighted competitor strategies and new technological capabilities. This session was crucial for setting the stage for subsequent divergent thinking by aligning everyone’s understanding of the market landscape.

Day 2: Divergent Thinking and Ideation

Leveraging the insights from Day 1, the second day focused on divergent thinking exercises designed to break conventional thought patterns and encourage innovative ideas. Participants used "empathy mapping" and "worst possible idea" to expand their creative horizons. The day culminated in a focused ideation session, distilling these ideas into viable concepts through activities like "dot voting" and "Crazy 8s" sketching.

Independent Roadmapping

Following the 2-day workshop, the team independently conducted a strategic roadmapping session. Utilizing the themes and ideas generated during the ideation day, they outlined a plan for integrating these innovations into the Talent Product’s development cycle.

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Outcomes

The workshop successfully injected a renewed sense of innovation into the Talent Product, with key outcomes including:

  • Adoption of AI and Advanced Analytics: Enhancing the product with predictive capabilities to forecast talent trends.

  • User Interface Improvements: Overhauling the user experience to make it more engaging and intuitive.

  • Adaptive Workforce Tools: Developing features better to support dynamic workforce management in remote and hybrid environments.

Conclusion

The use of divergent thinking helps align and create the vision for a Product Roadmap and energizes the people involved, equipping them with the creative confidence to execute a strategic roadmap on their own. This approach highlighted the importance of foundational understanding and creative freedom in driving meaningful product innovations.