Innovation Passport: The IBM First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) Journey from Research to Reality

Appendix: FOAK Process Overview

The FOAK process has 29 separate steps over three distinct phases. It is difficult to take in all the details in one sitting, so the process descriptions are covered in Chapters 2 (“The FOAK Process: Phase I”) and 6 (“The FOAK Process: Phases II and III”). However, it may be helpful to describe all the phases and steps in brief, in one place. Therefore, the whole process is described here. We hope this appendix provides a quick reference and an easy way to compare the FOAK innovation process with other innovation processes. Not all steps occur in this order for every project, and projects are enhanced by a measure of iteration, especially in steps such as Refine the Scope, Select the Client, Negotiate the Contract, ...