Define the system and unit of analysis
Specify process, population, product, time window, boundaries and aggregation level. Without a defined unit of analysis, measures and comparisons may represent different phenomena.
TECHNICAL GUIDE · STRUCKEL TOOLS
INN-06 · Innovation
Explore / Exploit Portfolio Map
Positions initiatives between exploration and exploitation of the existing business, crossing risk and return to balance the innovation portfolio.
portfólio · explore · exploit · riscoFormulários Struckel
01
MANAGEMENT QUESTION
The problem the tool must make decidable.
Before opening a form, define the question that must be answered. A management tool is useful when it reduces ambiguity, exposes assumptions and makes clear which decision will be made from the evidence produced.
INN-06Does the portfolio balance exploration of new possibilities and efficient exploitation of the current business according to risk, horizon and capacity?
Innovation operates under uncertainty. The tool should organize hypotheses, evidence and choices without creating an illusion of certainty around what still needs to be tested. The aim is to learn faster and allocate resources with better information.
Use it to explore models, customers, value propositions and portfolios, separating assumption, evidence and investment decision.
02
METHOD ARCHITECTURE
Technical construction: from operational definition to evidence.
A map reveals relationships that are difficult to see in lists. First define the object and the boundary; then position elements using one consistent criterion. Mixing levels of detail or different criteria destroys readability.
Define criteria before evaluation
Translate abstract concepts into operational definitions, scales, classification rules and data sources. Criteria should exist before the result to reduce retrospective interpretation.
Preserve traceability
Link each conclusion to data, observations, assumptions and owners. When a score is used, retain its components; when a hypothesis is used, record how it will be tested.
When analyzing, look for gaps, concentration, conflicts, loops and disconnected elements. The value of the map is not aesthetic; it lies in the questions it makes possible about the system.
03
WORKED EXAMPLE
How the method behaves in a real situation.
A portfolio includes checkout improvement, a new channel and a subscription-model experiment. The map does not prescribe a universal allocation; it shows whether all capital is concentrated in short-term exploitation or whether exploration lacks hypotheses and learning milestones.
The example is intentionally specific. Numbers illustrate the reasoning and are not universal benchmarks: limits, scales and targets must be defined for the process being analyzed.04
MEASUREMENT AND INTERPRETATION
What to observe so the document does not become mere form filling.
Measures should serve reasoning. Whenever possible combine outcome, process and contextual evidence. For time series, look for patterns and variation rather than only point-in-time before/after comparisons.
01% resources explore/exploit
02horizon
03risk
04learning per investment
05continuation options
Consistency test
Ask whether another person, using the same definitions and evidence, would reach a similar interpretation. If the answer depends heavily on individual judgment, refine the operational definition, scale or data source.
05
LIMITATIONS AND GOVERNANCE
The tool supports decisions; it does not replace judgment, context and validation.
Established method/tool in professional and academic literature; exact implementation should be tailored to context.
Explore and exploit are organizational tensions, not just chart quadrants. Different incentives, governance and metrics may be required.
Define an owner, review frequency, official data source and condition for reopening the decision. Link actions to deadlines and indicators, hypotheses to tests, and risks to treatment and follow-up.
DefinitionEvidenceInterpretationDecisionReview
06
METHODOLOGICAL BASIS
References for deeper study of the method.
The references below support the methodological family or principle used. Struckel’s digital implementation operationalizes application, documentation and traceability; it does not change the conceptual limits of the original sources.
MARCH_1991
Open reference March JG. Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning. Organization Science. 1991;2(1):71–87.
ISO56002
Open reference ISO 56002:2019. Innovation management — Innovation management system — Guidance.
USE IT IN PRACTICE
Turn the method into a document ready for real work.
Struckel Forms offers a free way to structure this methodology with guided fields, contextual help and print/PDF preparation. Use the tool to organize reasoning; use consulting when the challenge requires design, implementation, facilitation or executive follow-up.