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Research Paper Review
Jugaad to Systematic, Frugal Innovation
February 2015
By
Anushka Shembekar
I am grateful to Dr. R. A. Mashelkar for his guidance on frugal innovation
Introduction
In
India it is observed that lots of innovations are taking place, however most of
them are not done systematically, which is popularly known as “Jugaad”. Sam Pitroda, chairman of India’s
National Innovation Council mentioned “Innovation is going to be critical for
India – not only for growth and competitive advantage, but also to ensure our
future development is sustainable and inclusive”.
This
review is based on how the Jugaad can be converted into systematic innovation.
The focus of this review is on use of Design thinking methodology for the
journey of Jugaad innovation to frugal innovation. Further to this how the
innovation can be done with design thinking methodology instead of Jugaad is
the point which needs an exploration.
Review of Literature
Jugaad
innovation is defined as “an innovative fix; an improvised solution born from
ingenuity and cleverness”. It refers to the ‘anything goes’, ’quick fix’ or
‘making do’ attitude—which has acquired a new meaning in management and is now
in the mainstream.
Frugal
innovation can be defined as “the design and development of products/services
with price rather than features as the starting point, but also focusing on the
end utility and value offered, rather than high-end sophistication”.
The first global debut of frugal innovation was in a special report by the Economist magazine. It described frugal innovation as “not just a matter of exploiting cheap labor, it is a matter of redesigning products and processes to cut out unnecessary costs”
The first global debut of frugal innovation was in a special report by the Economist magazine. It described frugal innovation as “not just a matter of exploiting cheap labor, it is a matter of redesigning products and processes to cut out unnecessary costs”
Jugaad
innovation to frugal innovation is the process of putting the Jugaad into
systematic way. This can be with reverse engineering method or solving the core
problem itself with systematic method.
Design thinking can
be the best method to move towards frugal solution. Design thinking has come to
be defined as combining empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the
generation of insights and solutions, and rationality in analyzing and fitting
various solutions to the problem (context Wikipedia). Design thinking includes
below broad level steps wherein we can define it in systematic innovation
terminologies
Observation
à Brainstormingà
PrototypeàImplementation
Observation –
This is the first step of design thinking in which you have
to identify the problem.There are things wherein we can just observe the things
and identify the problem.
According to me below options can be worked out for
identifying the problem –
·
Pick off the least interested customer,
discussing with him on available solutions and then finding out why he is not
interested .This discussion may give a problem statement further which can
become an innovation. For this innovation that time the target will be these
all least interested customers.
·
Constraint – Finding out the constraints for
particular product and then finding the problem statement out of it.
·
Availability of Solution with high cost –
looking for the solution which are high cost and then finding why it is high
cost. This finding may give a problem statement to find out cheap solutions or
alternatives.
·
Not easily available – Here finding out the
reason on why the products/solutions are not available easily and then forming
a problem statement wherein it will become easily available
·
Bad quality – Here finding the purpose of
bad quality and then framing a problem statement which can help product
enhancing its quality
·
Exclusive solutions –This is something
which says that finding the problem which is all together irrelevant and helps
in finding exclusive solution
After observation,identifying the exact problem statement and
define it systematic way is very important.This helps in reaching to exact root
cause and then coming up with solution/product.
Brainstorming -
Once the problem statement is defined,brainstorming on the
same in different ways is very important .This is the most important phase of
any innovation.The innovative solution comes out normally in this phase.The
time bound brainstorming is very effective to get better results.
While
brainstorming below points should be kept in mind 
Prototype -
Once
the brainstorming is completed the prototyping of that idea starts. The
solution development for complex problem becomes easy comparatively. This
includes non-affluent part of society. It delivers the product with high
quality at affordable cost. As the solution is inclusive large volume is cover.
Implementation -
Once
the prototype is ready and successful, actual implementation of product which
has come out of inclusive innovation becomes very easy. It is money saving,
efficient, robust, resourceful and user-friendly.
The
Observation is the first step of design thinking in which analysis of the
problem is completed and based on which the exact problem is identified.
Brainstorming is the second step and the most important step as it includes
actual idea generation. Thinking of something which is out of the box,
disruptive, something which is yet not established, attractive, value
proposition, competitive, game changer is the key of brainstorming for frugal
innovation. Once the ideas are shortlisted through brainstorming the prototype
is next step. The brainstorming should include all the details for moving
towards prototype. The testing and field trials can been done once prototype is
ready. This will help in smooth implementation of product/project. This includes
non-affluent part of society. It delivers the product with high quality at
affordable cost. As the solution is inclusive large volume is cover.
Data
presentation and Analysis
It
is been witnessed that India is the most innovative country, where Jugaad is
been observed on large scale and that also in rural areas. The idea behind this
review is to find out the options which can help to transfer from Jugaad
innovation into frugal innovation.
To
elaborate more on Jugaad innovation and frugal innovation the live examples can
be evaluated -
Examples of Jugaad:
Examples of Frugal innovation:
· India's Mars mission was made possible in very low-cost
· Retail business (e.g. Big bazaar)
· Arvind eye Surgery
·
“ChotuKool” is a compact cooling solution.
It is equipped to operate on battery or an inverter and uses high-end
insulation to stay cool for 2-3 hours without power. With a price tag of about
$50 it is about 50% cheaper than the next entry-level fridge available in the
market.
·
“Gramatellers” can be run by solar power
and consume only 10% of the total energy requirement of conventional ATMs. They
have an in-built fingerprint identification system. The total cost of ownership
for works out to be 50% less than for conventional ATMs.
· “Tata Swach” is the world’s most affordable household water purification system and complies with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. A global market seems to exist as about 894 million people worldwide lack access to clean water.
· “Tata Ace” is a small commercial vehicle (SCV) with a payload capacity of 0.75 tons. Launched for a price-tag of approx. $5,000 the Ace cost 50% less than any other four-wheeled commercial vehicle in India. Export markets include countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, and the USA.
The advantage of having systematic innovation can been seen in above cases whereas the disadvantages of Jugaad can be observed in the products came out of Jugaad.
We can go through few more examples those have come out of combination of Jugaad and frugal innovation:
Findings
While
analyzing the examples on Jugaad innovation and frugal innovation, few drawback
of Jugaad innovation are found. As per definition of Jugaad, most of the time
it is been executed as a temporary solution. Most of the time, lack of planning,
Hesitation in testing, No prototyping and overall absence of systematic
approach are the reason behind its failure. Due to this it becomes difficult to
extend it for large scale. It cannot be used to solve complex problems. Additionally,
as the solutions are not designed in proper way sustainability is very less.
If
the same innovations can been done in systematic way then we can see the better
results. As found out design thinking methodology is the popularly used problem
solving method.
Design
thinking reduces the time of implementation as the exact problem is taken care
of .It can eliminate the disadvantages came out of Jugaad innovation. It
provides the solution which is money saving, efficient, robust, resourceful and
user-friendly.
Conclusion
The comparative study of Jugaad
innovation and frugal innovation is very much required. There is a lack of
systematic approach in rural areas though lots of innovations are taking place.
If those innovations can be channelized and designed by targeting large market
and sustainability then it can become a frugal innovation which will touch
mass. At the same time systematic approach for innovation process may change
the viewpoint towards looking at that.
We can think of few points while
defining the process of systematic approach, those are Seek opportunity in
adversity, Do more with less, Think and act flexibly, Keep it simple, Include
the margin.
References
· · YouTube - Tea with Vijay Govindarajan economist.com -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYIwa3Y1KAo
·
YouTube Video - From Jugaad to Systematic
Innovation- By Rishikesha Krishnan at TEDxNITKSurathkal
·
Incremental
and Radical Innovation: Design Research vs. Technology and Meaning Change - http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/DESI_a_00250
·
YouTube Video - Dr. R.A. Mashelkar at the
Innovation Convention 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmXcpvRdB4
·
First Frugal Innovation Symposium at
Academy of Management Conference - http://www.frugal-innovation.com/category/research/
·
India Inclusive Innovation Fund -http://www.innovationcouncil.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=34
·
YouTube Video - Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar on
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu26plwy3vU
·
Inclusive Innovation: Definition,
Conceptualization and Future Research Priorities –by RICHARD HEEKS, MIRTA AMALIA, ROBERT KINTU
& NISHANT SHAH
·
Article on “The myth of frugal innovation
in India” – by Gangan Prathap
·
Full Text: David Cameron's
Conservative Conference Speech, BBC News, 5 October 2011;http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15189614
·
YouTube Video - Padma Vibhushan Dr. R.A.
Mashelkar deliberates IMI Kolkata’s first Distinguished Lecture for 2015 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UaTjvtmaoc
·
YouTube Video- Jugaad Innovation- By Jaideep
Prabhu at TEDxUCL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNhGbfljtq0
·
YouTube Video- Tea with Vijay Govindarajan
economist_com - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztna1lt_LZE
·
Frugal Innovations for the ‘Unserved’
Customer: An Assessment of India’s Attractiveness as a Lead Market for
Cost-effective Products – By Rajnish Tiwari and Cornelius Herstatt
·
Frugal Innovation and Analogies: Some
Propositions for Product Development in Emerging Economies – By Rajnish Tiwari
and Katharina Kalogerakis
·
John, S. & Thakkar, K. 2012. “Frugal
engineering is fine, but not jugaad, says Anand Mahindra”, India Times, Apr 12,
2012. Available at http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-12/news/31331403_1_r-d-facility-chrysler-s-r-d-r-d-centre
(Accessed 09 Jan, 2012).
·
Frugal innovation when doing less is
new - http://www.slideshare.net/yasserbhatti/yb-frugal-innovation23mar12
·
YouTube Video- Dr. R.A. Mashelkar's speech
at release of book “Romance of Innovation” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT-U75xEWCM
