A cross-discipline team at ASAE is inventing a new product development process for associations so that you don’t have to. Here's a summary of how ASAE evaluates new product proposals, who makes the decisions, and with what criteria. This presentation to the Kansas City Society of Association Executives (KCSAE) also explains how to encourage innovation, fill the idea pipeline, and analyze and balance an organization’s entire portfolio of programs, products, and services. The final slides pose questions designed to help you create a process for making decisions about what programs, products, and services to offer—and which to discontinue, and when. This step-by-step process will help you put ASAE's new product development principles into practice at your own association - based on your size, resources, and needs. By Mariah Burton Nelson, VP, Innovation and Planning, ASAE

1. Making Go/No-Go Decisions &
Generating Fresh Ideas
Mariah Burton Nelson, MPH, CAE
VP, Innovation & Planning, ASAE

3. Where
oh where
is the
Annual
Meeting
Program?

4. Agenda
1) Share ASAE’s
disciplined, strategic
process
for deciding
what to create,
what to discontinue,
and how to balance
the whole portfolio.
2) Help you create your
own process.

5. Order. Space. Beauty.

6. Alignment

7. Embracing new ideas together

8. New Product Development (NPD)
Product Development & Management
Product Lifecycle Management
Portfolio Management
Product Innovation Process
Stage-Gate
Whatever You Want to Call It

9. Good Decisions
about what to do – and not do

10. What’s the Purpose?
Spark Innovation.
Serve Members.
Strengthen the Organization.

11. What Are the Benefits?
• Better products
• Better ROI
• Happier members

12. Interconnected Parts
Product
Review
Portfolio
Analysis
Idea
Generation

13. Product Review
• Green-light products that…
– Serve members AND
– make good business sense…
• “Sunset” products that…
– have outlived usefulness
– OR generate low ROI

14. What Counts as a “Product”?
Anything
ASAE
produces &
distributes,
for a fee or
for free

15. What Does NOT Count as a Product?
• “Support and Enablers”: Governance,
Executive Management, Finance, IT, Web,
Social Media, Marketing
• Projects (plans, undertakings, tasks) e.g. Web
updates, research, presentations, meetings.

16. What Criteria Does ASAE Use?
Innovation (not required, but desired)
Value (Strategic Fit, Member
Needs, Market Viability, Feasibility)
Financial Net (Projected $)
Red Flags (potential problems)

17. Scoring
1) If Value <3.5 = RED*
2) If Value = 3.5+, review $Net
a) If $Net >0 = GREEN.
b) If $Net <0, discuss
3) If Red Flags >3.5, discuss.
4) *If Innovation >3.5 -> R&D

18. How Was Our Process Created?
1) Corporate best
practices, especially
Robert G. Cooper’s
Stage-Gate, modified
for ASAE
2) Staff input via
“Listening Tour”
3) Pilot testing

19. Staff Requests
1) Inclusion
2) Transparency
3) In-person communication
4) Departmental trainings
5) Clear information in variety of formats
6) Systems thinking
7) Research and data-based decision-making
8) Simple software design
9) All info in one easily accessible place
10) Streamlined, fast process
11) Decouple discontinued products from staff
performance. Don’t say "Product X is being
discontinued because it was run poorly."

20. Who’s on the NPD Team?
9 Review Team staff members
with expertise in business,
fundraising, innovation,
membership, programs,
publications, & partnerships.
6 Resource (budget) Team : IT,
Web, HR, Meetings, Research,
Marketing, Finance

21. APPLICATION STEP ONE
Staff/Members Develop Idea

22. STEP TWO
Applicant Proposes Idea to NPD Team

23. STEP THREE
NPD Team Reviews Proposal
with input from CEO

24. Two Possible Decisions
Green: Approved
(with recommendations)
Red: Declined
(with explanation)

25. Unintended Benefits

26. 1) Product Title
2) Status (proposed, new, legacy)
3) Department
4) Category (book, online course, etc)
5) Level (intro, applied, strategic)
6) Revenue (recent FYE or proposed)
7) Expenses (recent FYE or proposed)
8) Net (recent FYE or proposed)
9) GL Code
10) Lead Staff Person
11) Member need (content, community, career)
12)Target audience (senior staff, managers, etc)
13)Target staff size (small, medium, large)
14)Volunteers involved?
15)Projected reach
16)Evaluation scores from attendees
17)Evaluation scores from NPD Team
SAMPLE PORTFOLIO DATA

27. Quiz: What Drives Innovation?
A) Innovative leaders
B) Innovative products
C) Environments that foster
innovation
--Jim Collins,
Leading for Innovation

28. Relentless Creativity
How can we get better?
What else might we try?
What if…
What did we learn from that?

29. Innovation Formula
Study Portfolio and Market
Choose Strategic Buckets
Solicit LOTS of ideas
Beta-Test, Revise, Launch

30. 1) Online consultation?
2) Webinar?
3) One-day workshop?
4) Four-day course?
5) Workbook?
Beta Tests

31. Complaints and Challenges
1) “Who gets to be on the NPD Team?”
2) “Will decisions be fair?”
3) “We’re losing autonomy.”
4) “Hurry up – but everyone must be
included & happy.”
5) “We were already successful without this.”
6) “Why focus on money?
7) “How many products DO we have?”
8) “How many products SHOULD we have?”
9) “How can we be truly innovative?”

32. How Can You…
Spark Innovation,
Serve Members,
& Strengthen Your
Organization?

33. Three Key Steps
1)People
2)Priorities
3)Process

34. People: Build the Team
a) Who will be the decision-makers?
b) What expertise should they have?
c) Who will be in charge?
d) How can you obtain and
communicate CEO support?

35. Priorities: Decide What’s Important
a) What review criteria will you use?
b) Begin with Product Review, Portfolio
Analysis, or Idea Generation?
c) Review all products, or just new?

36. Process: Create an Efficient Method
a) How often will you meet?
b) What goals will you set?
c) How will you involve other
staff and members?
d) How can you measure – and
ensure – success?

37. Let’s stay in touch
MNelson@asaecenter.org
ASAE Member Collaborate
Group: Ideas & Innovations
Twitter: TallMariah
Innovation is always unfinished:
a work in progress!