Evolution of User Driven Innovation
The source and driver of user driven innovation is a profound understanding of customer needs. Three main approaches to user driven innovation exist: a traditional sequential approach, a lead user approach and customer co-creation. The overall trend is toward increasing user participation throughout the innovation process. Today the leading companies successfully engage users into creative processes of their innovation activities starting in the early stages. In the energy sector user driven innovation methodologies appear promising, in particular as a mean to improve energy efficiency and save energy. This paper focuses on the evolution of user driven innovation. We present an ontology of user driven innovation. It is followed by a state-of-the-art analysis of traditional and new approaches. Finally we try to predict whether a user driven innovation approach could aid the energy sector in overcoming challenges related to global warming and oil shortage.