2Why Existing Approaches Fall Short

The field already offers powerful tools. The shortfall lies in how they are used.

• Techniques without a path. Brainstorming, SCAMPER, TRIZ and the Six Thinking Hats are taught as standalone exercises, with little guidance on when in a project each one should be used.
• Stories without method. Case studies inspire, but without a method readers cannot repeat what the story describes.
• Process without flexibility. Stage-gate and linear models give structure but punish iteration, which is exactly how real innovation proceeds.

InnovaForge was designed to close these three gaps at once: to give techniques a place, give stories a method, and give structure the freedom to loop.