Design funnels that filter uncertainty fast while preserving upside for bold bets. This quiz covers funding patterns, gate criteria, evidence and portfolio balance.
What is the core purpose of an innovation funnel with gates?
Guarantee every idea gets funded
Reduce uncertainty by advancing only ideas that meet evidence‑based criteria
Replace portfolio strategy entirely
Maximize the number of features shipped
Which funding pattern best balances risk and reward in 2025 guidance?
All‑in funding upfront for every idea
Time‑boxed tranches tied to milestones, with a few longer‑horizon bets
Funding only low‑risk incremental work
Equal funding across all projects
What metric pair best describes funnel health?
Total ideas submitted only
Number of steering meetings held
Throughput/yield by stage and cycle time between stages
Budget spent to date
Which evaluation improves decision quality early in the funnel?
Executive opinion only
Lab demos unrelated to the need
Design polish without users
Problem–solution fit tests with early willingness‑to‑pay or usage signals
How should portfolios balance horizons in a modern funnel?
Fund only short‑term fixes
Mix near‑term wins with higher‑risk ventures to diversify outcomes
Focus solely on moonshots
Switch entirely to M&A
Which gate criterion is most useful before scaling?
Repeatable demand with unit economics that meet threshold
Prototype cosmetics alone
A viral launch video
A long patent list without usage
Where does Agile typically sit in an innovation funnel?
Inside stages to iterate fast; gates remain investment decisions
Only after launch
Outside the process entirely
At the gates replacing decisions
What is a practical way to protect capacity for high‑risk, high‑reward bets?
Ring‑fence a portion of budget and talent with tailored milestones
Use leftover capacity after low‑risk projects
Wait for a single customer to fund it
Rely on weekend hackathons
Which signal suggests an idea should exit the funnel early?
Engineering asks for more tools
Stakeholder enthusiasm remains high
Failing to meet pre‑agreed gate criteria after time‑boxed experiments
A competitor mentions a similar idea
Which artifact aligns evaluation across functions?
A scored criteria rubric with weights tied to strategy
A backlog with no priorities
Unstructured brainstorming notes
A slide of inspirational quotes
Starter
You grasp funnel basics; add milestone funding and clear kill rules.
Solid
Good on evidence and throughput; refine horizon mix and ring‑fenced capacity.
Expert!
You run selective, fast funnels that balance risk with disciplined options.
