Idea Charter
An idea nobody can compare is an idea nobody can decide on. The idea charter puts every idea in your portfolio into the same shape – from target group and pain points to uncertainties and business opportunities. Learn what goes into each field and download the template for your team.
Danny Locher
Business Design Coach
1. Overview
The idea charter is a standard template for describing a single idea before it is evaluated against all others. Document every idea in your Portfolio the same way. This template covers the essential elements of an idea description. It has four sections:
Organisational information: name of creator, motivation
Idea description: Target Groups, pain points and solution space
Descriptive attributes: information that categorises ideas without valuing them
Evaluation criteria: information that helps you compare and value ideas within the portfolio
Optionally, visualise the problem and solution space. This reduces room for personal interpretation.
2. Layout & Download
3. Key Elements
Element | Question | Comments |
Name of the idea | ||
Creator of the idea | Who is the "father" or "mother" of this idea, and are they ready to work on it? Which department do they work in? | |
Motivation for pursuing the idea | Why should the organisation pursue this idea? What gives it the right to play? | |
Type of innovation | What type of innovation is it?
| |
Innovation horizon |
| |
Potential customer segment | What customers are in scope here? What do we know about them? | Can be
|
Pain points and their relevance | What pain points or problems does this idea address? How relevant are they to our target group? | |
Solution space | What solution do we have in mind to address these pain points? | You don't need all the details here. At this stage, the idea usually isn't mature enough for a full solution with all the bells and whistles. We're looking for a rough direction. |
Evaluation criteria | Check out the page Portfolio for further information. Typical examples:
| |
Types of uncertainties | What kind of uncertainties do we see in executing the idea? Which ones are success-critical? | |
Types of business opportunities | What kind of business opportunities do we expect in this idea? | Examples:
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Internal and/or external experts | Which internal or external experts might be helpful for further steps (Step 2: Deep Dive, Evaluation)? |
4. Usage Scenarios
Documenting results from an Ideation Workshop
Evaluating ideas on a Portfolio matrix
Preparing a Step 2: Deep Dive or Phase IV