Whatever development process you are using, discovering customer requirements is a key part of the product management role. Mostof ustakethestandardapproachofcustomermeetings,marketresearch andtalkingtosalesandsupport.Howevergettingrealcustomer insightsisusuallyachallenge. Innovationgamesareafunandeffectivewayofworkingwith customerstounderstandtheirneeds,wantsanddesires.Theyarean alternativetosimplisticquestioningwhichtendstoinfluencethe discussion,orcostlymarketresearchwhereanagencyinterpretsthe responsesforyou.Customersoftenhaveahardtimearticulatingtheir problemsorenvisioningsolutionsandthesegamesdrawoutinsights andnuancesthatcanbeextremelyvaluable. Thebook’staglinesummarisesitsgoalofcreatingbreakthrough productsthroughcollaborativeplay.Itcontains12differentgameswith adescriptionofeach,whyitworks,howtoprepareforitandhowto processtheresults. OneofthegamesiscalledProductBox.Youaskcustomersto imaginetheyaresellingyourproductatatradeshow.Yougivethem someblankcardboardboxes,pensandcolouredpaperandaskthemto designtheboxpackaging.Theboxmightshowmarketingslogans, features,pricingorpictures.Whenthey’refinishedtheyhavetopresent theboxbacktotheroomandpersuadetheotherplayersofthe featuresandbenefits.Thisgivesawayforcustomerstotapintotheir latentpreferencesandrequirementsandexpressthemastheysellyour productbacktoyou. Ofcourse,oneofthepotentialdrawbacksofthesegamesisgetting holdofthecustomerstoparticipate.Andthenextthingtoconsideris whetheryoufeelconfidenttoruntheinnovationgamesyourselfor wanttobringinsomeoutsideconsultantstohelp.Howeveronceyou’ve addressedtheseissues,thegamesarealowriskandengagingwayof gettinghighqualityinsightsintoyourcustomers’requirements. 20 ProductManagementJournalVolume 7  TheReview Reviewsandfeedbackforproductmanagers Innovation Games byLuke Hohmann (AddisonWesley, 2006) Book Review WiseWords “You’ll knowagame is going really well whenyour customersdon’t want to stop.... it’s this deeplevel of engagement that getspast any barriersto communications and producesthe most honestand useful feedback.” Luke Hohmann