What is this for?
The tool is actually made by COCD. The how-now-wow matrix helps you categorize business ideas according to:
Ease of implementation: how easy or difficult are these ideas to be implemented within the current structure, assets, and capabilities of your organization? From a technical and organizational perspective, are these incremental or disruptive ideas? Level of newness: are these ideas expected to disrupt the user experience of your final users? From a customer perspective, are these incremental or disruptive ideas? With this matrix, you’ll be able to narrow down your ideas, categorize them, and select the WOW ones, aka. those ideas that are both innovative and easy-to-implement.
Step-by-step guide
Step 1
Download this PDF and print it on an A2 sheet of paper. You can also draw the graph on a flipchart if you can’t print.
Step 2
Grab all your post-its with ideas on them from a previous ideation exercise. Plot the ideas into the wow-now-wow matrix.
Step 3
Take 3 voting-dots for each person (or use a marker), and vote 3 favorite ideas. After the voting session, select the 3 ideas which received the most votes.
Step 4
Step back and analyze the results. In an ideal scenario, your “wow” and “how” fields should have the most ideas – and the most valuable ones.
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Other relevant tools and guides
AI Disruption Exposure Index
AI Scaling Blockers
AI Readiness Radar
AI Leadership Bundle for Executives
AI-Driven Adaptive Interfaces
