Abstraction for Innovation
Abstracting problems through a human or emotional understanding facilitates innovation.
In the following example, Patrick Whitney draws a conceptual model of how a product typically moves from product idea 1 to product idea 2. He goes on to illustrate how Apple, by abstracting the problem to “The enjoyment of music”, was able to create more options. This model helped create the iPod / iTunes eco-system or “…the most iconic story of innovation in the country this decade.”
This simple model of abstraction for innovation combined with prototypes can propel next generation solutions, systems, and services.