In business, strategizing for success often depends on striking the right balance between agility and precision. Imagine a symphony orchestra: the conductor ensures every musician plays their part flawlessly while soloists improvise, injecting creativity and flair. This dynamic interplay between structure and spontaneity mirrors how my team approaches IP and R&D searches, where speed and precision are equally crucial.
Just as an orchestra thrives on the harmony of diverse contributions, my team blends the strengths of two distinct approaches: the "Explorers," who embrace adaptability to uncover hidden gems, and the "Planners," who follow meticulous strategies to ensure nothing is overlooked. Understanding when to rely on each approach—and how to integrate them effectively—ensures we deliver exceptional results for our clients.
Let's dive deeper into these roles and explore how they harmonize to achieve excellence.
The Explorer's Journey
Explorers, driven by intuition, curiosity, and a knack for thinking outside the box, bring unique expertise to their approach to IP searches. Their flexibility and adaptability, rather than sticking to predefined methodologies, allow them to identify 'hotspots'—areas with a high likelihood of yielding results—based on their deep field knowledge.
For instance, when conducting a novelty search, Explorers define a "universe of results." This universe comprises all possible documents that could contain relevant findings. Instead of systematically combing through every document, they focus on crafting multiple narrow queries targeting specific areas. This approach allows them to quickly identify critical results and move on to the next project without expending unnecessary resources.
Explorers are exceptionally skilled at leveraging 'clues' to guide their searches. These clues may include citations, inventor names, or references uncovered in their initial findings. For instance, a citation from a well-respected patent in the field could lead to other relevant patents. Explorers can find pertinent additional results by following these leads, often serendipitously. Their ability to pivot and adjust their strategy on a case-by-case basis makes them indispensable for projects where time is of the essence.
The Planner's Method
Planners, on the other hand, are methodical and meticulous. Their approach is rooted in structure and a commitment to thoroughness. Before diving into a search, Planners invest significant research to define the 'universe of results.' Unlike Explorers, they aim to capture all potentially relevant documents in a single, broad query, often called the 'big query.'
While the big projects result in high recall, they often yield low precision, capturing many irrelevant documents. Planners address this challenge by systematically narrating the universe of results to a manageable set of documents. Once this subset is established, they meticulously analyze each document to identify relevant findings.
Planners follow a consistent methodology, adhering to checklists and standardized processes for each search type. This method ensures thoroughness and repeatability, making them well-suited for high-stakes projects where a missed result could have significant consequences. Their dedication to detail often requires more time and resources, but the results are comprehensive and reliable.
Comparing Explorers and Planners in Strategizing for Success
|
Aspect
|
Explorer
|
Planner
|
|---|---|---|
|
Search Focus
|
Hotspots within the universe of results
|
Manageable subset of the universe
|
|
Recall
|
Medium to low
|
High
|
|
Speed
|
Fast
|
Relatively Slow
|
|
Effort Investment
|
Low
|
High
|
Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, and the choice between them depends on the project’s specific needs.
Choosing the Right Approach
Deploying an Explorer or team hinges on three critical factors: the project’s objectives, the required recall level, and the available resources.
When Explorers Shine
Explorers excel in projects where speed and efficiency are paramount. Take novelty searches, for example. In these cases, the goal is often to identify whether an invention is novel by finding a prior art reference. Once such a reference is uncovered, additional results become redundant.
By focusing on hotspots and quickly identifying relevant findings, Explorers can complete novelty searches in a fraction of the time it would take a Planner. This approach saves time and optimizes resource allocation, allowing the team to handle more projects.
When Planners are Indispensable
Planners are the go-to choice for projects requiring comprehensive recall, such as Freedom to Operate (FTO) searches. FTO searches demand absolute thoroughness, as even a single overlooked result could lead to costly legal disputes or compliance issues.
Planners’ systematic approach ensures that no relevant document is missed. By meticulously analyzing every potential finding, they give clients the confidence and assurance they need to move forward.
Combining the Best of Both Worlds
Sometimes, the ideal solution is to leverage both Explorers and Planners to ensure Strategizing for success. For high-stakes projects such as validity searches or state-of-the-art studies, combining these approaches allows us to balance speed and thoroughness.
At Evalueserve, we often staff an Explorer and a Planner on the same search project using Searchstream. The Explorer identifies initial results quickly, providing a foundation for the Planner to build upon. This collaborative approach ensures we deliver speed and accuracy, offering our clients the best of both worlds.
Tailoring the Approach to the Search Type
|
Type of Search
|
Recall Needed
|
Explorer
|
Planner
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Novelty Search
|
Low
|
|
|
|
Validity/Opposition Search
|
Medium
|
|
|
|
State of the Art Studies
|
Medium
|
|
|
|
Freedom to Operate Search
|
High
|
|
|
Understanding the strengths of each approach allows us to tailor our strategy to the specific needs of each project. By aligning the right talent with the right task, we ensure optimal outcomes for our clients.
Striking the Perfect Balance in Strategizing for Success
Ultimately, the key to success lies in balancing agility and precision. By leveraging the complementary strengths of Explorers and Planners, we deliver unparalleled value to our clients. Whether it's a quick turnaround novelty search or a meticulous FTO study, our team is equipped to meet the challenge.
Much like a symphony orchestra, where each musician plays a vital role in creating a harmonious performance, our team thrives on collaboration and diversity of thought. By blending creativity with structure, we achieve exceptional results that resonate with our clients' needs.
Whether searching for a single answer or striving for comprehensive coverage, our approach ensures your goals are met with precision and efficiency.
