Innovation in a single dimension of experience can be a great way to turn a challenge (aka problem) around and see it from a fresh angle.
Out of home dining is a great place to look at examples of this.
Traditional restaurant dining works along these lines: see a master server (maitre d'hotel), get seated, see menu, order food, food is delivered, eaten, bill presented, bill paid, exit restaurant
Quick service, like a McDonald's, tends to look like this: see menu, order, pay, get food, find a table, eat, leave
Then there are a range of other variants, where servers might bring things to your table after you order at a central station. Nando's chicken is one of these. You order at a central window, then pay, then find a table, then get your food.
There are also places that let you order remotely (hello pizza delivery!), or order remotely for pick up.
Another industry that did this was general insurance. It used to be that you had to have the adjuster deal with your claim before you got any money. Then some innovators decided to give you at least some of the money right away, before the adjudication process.
A lot of process innovation comes from adjusting the sequence of events.
Takeaway tip
Consider the sequence of delivery of the elements in your consumption chain. Write them on a piece of paper. Mix up the papers. Describe a sequence for each random mix you come up with. Try not to reject it out of hand ... see if you can think of a way to make it work.
