Scouting and questioning

A scouting question or topic helps you to find suitable keywords as input for the AI-Scouts. Depending on the wording and scope, more general or more specific keywords are generated.

Scouting questions can be kept general or formulated specifically:

"High-level" questions

These serve to obtain an overview of current developments, identify new trends and, if necessary, derive strategic goals or search fields.

Possible procedure

1. Start with an open perspective and "scan" the environment to discover new topics and inspiration.
2. Start with a general topic, e.g. "The future of the packaging industry" or "What could the packaging of the future look like?"
3. During the process, you can focus on specific topics and scout them in more detail.

Examples

• How will AI revolutionize agriculture?
• What are the most important developments in the planning of buildings?
• What will the future of motorized two-wheelers and mobility look like?
• What could the packaging of the future look like?
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"Focused" questions

These are used to identify and monitor new developments on a specific topic based on a predefined framework or question.

Possible procedure

1. Start with a specific topic such as" Packaging solutions to optimize efficiency" or "We are looking for new packaging solutions in the logistics industry to minimize the environmental impact and optimize the efficiency of the supply chain."
2. Research and monitor relevant trends and signals on this topic. You can use the results to further refine and focus the question and topic as required.
3. Analysis of the results and their possibilities and effects.

Examples

• What are the most important developments relating to our product, e.g. heat pumps and energy storage systems?
• What opportunities does Power-to-X technology open up for our product?
• How can AI be used for the planning and simulation of sustainable buildings?
• What does "Climate Adaptation" mean and what opportunities are there for our Business Unit?
• We are looking for new packaging solutions in the logistics industry to minimize environmental impact and optimize supply chain efficiency.
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💡 Foresight tip

Developments and existing solutions from other sectors or industries can provide valuable information on the development of your own sector.