%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2018 %T A Framework for Field Testing in Living Lab Innovation Projects %A Lynn Coorevits %A Annabel Georges %A Dimitri Schuurman %K context research %K field test %K living labs %K testing %K user innovation %X Within innovation research and, more specifically, living lab projects, a crucial component is to test an innovation in a real-life context with potential end users. Such a field test can validate assumptions by combining insights on behaviour and attitudes towards the innovation. This allows for iterative tailoring of the innovation to the needs and wants of the potential end users. Moreover, relevant insights can be gathered to stop or rescope the innovation project before big investments are made. Although studies indicate that testing innovations (or prototypes) in real-life contexts improves the innovation process, there is no specific framework on how to conduct a field test for an innovation. This is important because, in living lab field tests, users are actively involved in co-creating the solutions, which impacts the operational side of setting up living lab projects. Therefore, within this article, we propose a framework for field testing based on the degree to which it reflects reality and the stage within the living lab process. We distinguish four types of field tests: concept, mock-up, pilot, and go2market field test. Based on this framework, we propose some practical guidelines for setting up living lab field tests. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 8 %P 40-50 %8 12/2018 %G eng %U https://timreview.ca/article/1204 %N 12 %1 imec.livinglabs Lynn Coorevits is an Innovation Manager at imec.livinglabs, where she is responsible for tools and methodologies that improve testing in living labs. She is also affiliated to the imec-mict-ugent department Ghent University in Belgium as a Senior User Researcher. She holds master degrees in Psychology and Marketing Analysis from Ghent University and has over 10 years of experience in innovation research and consultancy. %2 imec.livinglabs Annabel Georges is a User Specialist at imec.livinglabs. Within this “living-lab-as-a-service” she conducts user research to structurally support innovation development for SMEs. Next to this, she is also involved in several smart city projects. Her main research topics are drop-out and user engagement within field tests and working on the processes of current living lab practices. Annabel holds a Master in Communication Sciences degree with a specialization in New Media and Society at Ghent University. %3 imec.livinglabs Dimitri Schuurman is the Team Lead of the Business Model and User Research Team at imec.livinglabs. He holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Ghent University in Belgium. Together with his imec colleagues, Dimitri developed a specific living lab offering targeted at entrepreneurs in which he has managed over 100 innovation projects. He is also active in the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) and in the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) as a living labs specialist. His main interests and research topics are situated in the domains of open innovation, user innovation, and innovation management. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1204 %0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2017 %T Overcoming Barriers to Experimentation in Business-to-Business Living Labs %A Ruben D’Hauwers %A Aron-Levi Herregodts %A Annabel Georges %A Lynn Coorevits %A Dimitri Schuurman %A Olivier Rits %A Pieter Ballon %K B2B %K experimentation %K living labs %K testing %K user research %X Business-to-business (B2B) living lab projects have been mentioned in different areas of academic research, but the innovation management literature requires deeper analysis of their potential opportunities and challenges. Real-life experimentation is a key requirement for living labs as it enables deeper insights in the potential success of innovations. However, the literature has not provided insights on how living lab projects can implement real-life experimentation in B2B innovation projects and does not describe appropriate conditions for experimentation in these settings. In this study, we identified three main barriers preventing real-life experimentation in B2B living lab projects: the technological complexity, the need for integration, and the difficulty in identifying testers. The barriers are discussed in detailed and potential solutions are provided to help overcome these barriers and stimulate the adoption of real-life experimentation in B2B innovation projects. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 7 %P 20-26 %8 02/2017 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1054 %N 2 %1 imec – SMIT – VUB Ruben D’Hauwers is a Researcher at imec-SMIT-VUB in Belgium. He holds a master’s degrees in Business Engineering (2011) and Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2013). He has also worked in the field of business development in two different organizations. He joined imec in 2014 and focuses on business-to-business research, business modelling, and on capturing and validating the assumptions throughout the innovation process. %2 imec – MICT – Ghent University Aron-Levi Herregodts is a User Expert at imec.livinglabs and an affiliated researcher at imec – MICT – Ghent University in Belgium. He holds master’s degrees in Communication Sciences (2013) and Complementary Business Economics (2014). As a user expert, his role is to translate user behaviour, needs, and wants into tangible recommendations to provide structure to the innovation process of both SMEs and large organizations. His main research interests include open innovation, user innovation, organizational learning, intermediary activities, and user-centric design and methodologies. He is also preparing a PhD on the configuration of intermediary user-oriented activities with innovation-relevant actors for distinct types of entrepreneurs and innovations. %3 imec – MICT – Ghent University Annabel Georges is a Junior Researcher in the research group at imec – MICT – Ghent University in Belgium. She holds a master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Ghent University, with a specialization in New Media and Society. Her main interests are domestication theory, field tests, and improvements to living lab practices. %4 imec – MICT – Ghent University Lynn Coorevits is a Senior User Researcher for imec – MICT – Ghent University in Belgium, where she focuses on tools and techniques for open and user innovation, such as sensors and design thinking. Her current research focuses on the adoption and attrition of wearables as well as optimization of context integration in living lab projects. She works on several SME living lab projects ranging from the financial to social industry. She holds master’s degrees in Psychology and in Marketing Analysis from Ghent University and has 9 years of experience in innovation research and consultancy. %# imec – MICT – Ghent University Dimitri Schuurman is the Team Lead in User Research at imec.livinglabs and a Senior Researcher at imec – MICT – Ghent University in Belgium. He holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Ghent University. Together with his imec colleagues, Dimitri developed a specific living lab offering targeted at entrepreneurs in which he has managed over 100 innovation projects. Dimitri is responsible for the methodology and academic valorization of these living lab projects and coordinates a dynamic team of living lab researchers. His main interests and research topics are situated in the domains of open innovation, user innovation, and innovation management. His PhD thesis was entitled Bridging the Gap between Open and User Innovation? Exploring the Value of Living Labs as a Means to Structure User Contribution and Manage Distributed Innovation. %$ SMIT Olivier Rits holds a master’s degree in Applied Physics (Engineering) from the Ghent University in Belgium. Previously, Olivier worked as a business developer for Alcatel-Lucent, where he was involved with many different technologies. Within SMIT, Olivier is leading the business modelling practice in the context of SME living lab innovation projects. With a team of researchers, he is organizing business model workshops and stakeholder interviews to apply business model methodologies to link the user feedback and insights to the business model aspects of the SME’s strategy. Olivier is also involved in business modelling efforts in research projects dealing with ICT in general, with a specific interest in M2M and IoT and mobile telecommunications. %] imec.livinglabs Pieter Ballon is the Academic Lead of imec.livinglabs, the International Secretary of the European Network of Living Labs, and Director of the research group imec-SMIT at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. He specializes in business modelling, open innovation, and the mobile telecommunications industry. Formerly, he was Senior Consultant and Team Leader at TNO. From 2006–2007, he was the coordinator of the cross issue on business models of the Wireless World Initiative (WWI), which united five integrated projects in the European Union’s 6th Framework Programme. Pieter holds a PhD in Communication Sciences from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and an MA in Modern History from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1054 %0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2017 %T Taking Real-Life Seriously: An Approach to Decomposing Context Beyond “Environment” in Living Labs %A Lynn Coorevits %A An Jacobs %K context %K innovation process %K Living lab %K real-life %X The maturity of living labs has grown over the years and researchers have developed a uniform definition by emphasizing the multi-method and real-life, contextual approach. The latter predominantly focuses on the in situ use of a product during field trials where users are observed in their everyday life. Researchers thus recognize the importance of context in living labs, but do not provide adequate insights into how context can be taken into consideration. Therefore, the contribution of this article is twofold. By means of a case study, we show how field trials can be evaluated in a more structural way to cover all dimensions of context and how this same framework can be used to evaluate context in the front end of design. This framework implies that living lab researchers are no longer dependent on the technological readiness level of a product to evaluate all dimensions of context. By using the proposed framework, living lab researchers can improve the overall effectiveness of methods used to gather and analyze data in a living lab project. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 7 %P 26-36 %8 01/2017 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1047 %N 1 %1 imec-MICT-Ghent University Lynn Coorevits is a Senior User Researcher for imec-MICT-Ghent University, where she focuses on tools and techniques for open and user innovation, such as sensors and design thinking. Her current research focuses on the adoption and attrition of wearables as well as optimization of context integration in living lab projects. She works on several SME living lab projects ranging from the financial to social industry. She holds master’s degrees in Psychology and in Marketing Analysis from Ghent University in Belgium and has 9 years of experience in innovation research and consultancy. %2 imec-SMIT-VUB An Jacobs is an Assistant professor at imec SMIT (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Belgium. Since 2005, she has participated in and coordinated various European Union and Flemish projects with a focus on digital innovations, human-centred design, and living lab methodologies. As a methodologist, she supports the Care Living Labs Flanders. One of her current research interests is on human–robot collaboration, with current and finished projects in hospital, care, and manufacturing settings. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1047