See why many innovation reports fall short of driving actionable, and how your team can maximize innovation reporting.
In the modern world of business, it often feels like teams are bombarded with different reporting tools. Status update notifications, spreadsheets, clunky dashboards, and more. So, why are teams of innovators still moving blindly? There’s a simple answer to this question… Reporting doesn’t equal insight.
More often than not, innovation reporting is treated as the final destination, and not the source of clarity and momentum. In this guide to innovation reporting, we’ll reveal why reports fail teams day in and day out, and what your team can do to ensure reporting is used correctly.
Top tip: To get the full picture, we recommend catching up on our Learning Lab session focused on reporting, with Head of Operations Jack!
The Reporting Trap: Data Without Decisions 📊
Picture this… Your team spend all week pulling various insights, timelines, dependencies, risks, and charts together into a slide deck.
It’s extensive! Things are colour-coded, owners are assigned, progress is detailed. It’s presented to key stakeholders, yet nothing happens.
No decisions are made, no priorities are identified, and momentum is non-existent. Why? Because most reports aren’t built to drive action, they’re built to summarize.
This turns innovation reporting into more of a mundane, routine task, and not something resourceful, action-driven, and practical.
During our Learning Lab session, Jack makes this very clear by saying “Reporting isn’t the goal. It’s about enabling the right conversations with the right people.”
Three Tell-Tale Signs Innovation Reporting is Broken ⛓️💥
Many organizations carry out reporting in the wrong way. Their reports aren’t sources of action, and that needs to change. Take a look below at three of the most common signs of broken innovation reporting.
Psst… ready to take innovation reporting to the next level? With edison365, innovation reporting doesn’t need to be routine. It can be revolutionary! Our Power BI integrations give global innovators the tools they need to see their ideas come to life in an end-to-end environment.
Some teams create innovation reports that simply overwhelm key stakeholders. This one-size-fits-all approach almost guarantees to serve nobody in a practical way.
Typically, these reports create confusion, complicate things for delivery teams, and leave everyone else unsure of the next steps.
Jack describes this perfectly, explaining how some organization he has worked with need the right support to build the right reporting system in edison365.
“We often see teams setting up reports that are over-complicated or too detailed for senior audiences. That doesn’t drive action—it creates noise.”
It Doesn’t ask “Now what?” ❌
As we’ve already discussed, many innovation reports don’t ask “now what?”, there is no bigger picture, despite many columns, rows, comments, and tasks being coloured green! To put it simply, it’s not clarity, it’s cosmetic.
Reporting needs to be decision and drive change, action, and momentum. If action isn’t encouraged, reporting isn’t necessary. Jack explains this well in our Learning Labs sessions by saying the following…
“Good reporting prompts decisions. It doesn’t just summarize activity.”
Data Doesn’t Reflect Roles ❌
Reporting should speak to different teams in different ways. PMOs want to understand pipeline visibility, while executives want the full picture. The problem is most reports, especially for innovation, show everything all at once.
In edison365, admins have the power over visibility. From internal teams to external partners, everyone can be given the right access to the right information, at the right time. Say goodbye to messy innovation reporting!
“It’s important to show the right things to the right people. A delivery team shouldn’t be looking at pipeline progress, and execs don’t need sprint-level status.”
Unlocking Smarter Innovation Reporting 🎯
We’ve learnt many lessons from helping teams around the world level-up their innovation reporting. So, what do you need to do moving forward to revolutionise the way you report? Look at these quickfire tips!
Simplify, Simplify, and Simplify
If a data point doesn’t serve a purpose, don’t track it. The data that powers your innovation reports should inform your next decisions.
It’s as simple as that! By simplifying your reports, not only do you make things more accessible and clearer, but you also help steer momentum towards action.
Tailor Your Reporting
Using things like filters, labels, and custom metrics and fields, you can tailor your reports to different roles within your team and ensure the right data is presented to the right people! Clarity means everything with innovation reporting.
Real-time is a Winner
Reports should always update in real-time. It shouldn’t be something you create and forget about. We found static innovation reporting to be one of the biggest setbacks when teams look to move accurately, confidently, and with momentum.
Ask Questions
Different teams require different insights. For instance, delivery teams should be asking what’s blocking progress, while executives should ask where the portfolio currently stands.
By encouraging open communication around innovation reports, more action can happen, and ideas can move forward moving smoothly from team to team.
Final Thoughts: Reporting Made Simple
Innovation reporting isn’t about having the perfect dashboard with detailed colour-coding left, right, and centre. The focus of your reporting should be on driving data-driven decisions, created shared visibility, and stronger delivery overall!
Moving forward from this guide, ask yourself the following questions:
Do our reports spark conversations or just go unnoticed?
Are we enabling action from our innovation reports?
Do our reports help us see what works, and what doesn’t?
Want to try out edison365’s innovation management software? Book a free trial and see how innovation reporting can be dynamic, real-time, and purposeful all in one place! Our team can show you everything you need to capture the best ideas and turn them into ROI-driven initiatives.
Send this article to someone who’d like it.
Subscribe
Never miss an opportunity again! Receive exclusive tips to maximize your ideas and transform your business
Jordan is responsible for all things content at edison365. From developing insightful whitepapers to crafting helpful guides on the latest tips and strategies every business leader, project manager and innovator could ever need to transform their business.
Skip to content 
