Turning Challenges into Opportunities: How Our Innovation Lab Drives Client Value
When our team gathered virtually on Friday, March 14th, for our latest company-wide Innovation Lab, we weren’t just looking to tinker with new technologies—we were driven by a shared mission to tackle complex challenges head-on and develop solutions that deliver real value to our clients. This dedicated day of exploration showcased our technical expertise and our commitment to continuous improvement and client-focused innovation.
Setting the Stage for Collaborative Innovation
Our day began with the entire team connecting via Zoom, buzzing with anticipation about the challenges ahead. Rather than approaching innovation in silos, we strategically divided into three specific teams, each taking ownership of a distinct challenge:
- Analytics Team: Leveraging Google Looker Studio to extract meaningful data insights that drive business decisions
- Drupal Add-Ons Team: Streamlining Drupal development workflows to deliver client solutions faster and more consistently
- AI Team: Pushing the boundaries of our existing AI chatbot accelerator and web scraping capabilities
Each team approached their challenge with enthusiasm, focusing not just on the technology itself but on how these innovations could transform outcomes for our clients.
Analytics Team: Turning Data into Strategic Insights
Instead of simply exploring Looker Studio’s features in isolation, our Analytics team immediately applied the technology to real client scenarios. They asked fundamental questions like: What are our clients’ business objectives? How can data visualization help uncover opportunities to achieve these goals further?
The team created custom dashboards that went beyond basic metrics, delivering actionable insights including:
- Search behavior analysis to reveal what users are actively seeking
- Content engagement patterns showing which resources truly resonate
- Audience-specific insights tailored to different user segments
- Geographic and device usage data to inform accessibility improvements
What made this work particularly valuable wasn’t just the technical implementation, but the strategic lens applied. Each visualization answered a specific business question and pointed toward opportunities for website optimization that might otherwise remain hidden. The team demonstrated how thoughtful data presentation can transform raw numbers into strategic decision-making tools.
Drupal Add-Ons Team: Streamlining Drupal Projects
The Drupal Add-Ons team tackled a challenge many development teams face: standardizing project setups while maintaining flexibility. Rather than accepting the traditional time-consuming setup process, they envisioned a more efficient approach using Drupal Add-Ons (formerly known as Recipes).
Working collaboratively, they developed a system that starts with essential configurations and allows developers to add precisely the features needed through a series of intentional choices. This approach doesn’t just save time—it ensures consistency and quality across projects.
By the end of the day, the team had created and demonstrated 5 working Add-Ons that could immediately streamline our development workflow. What’s particularly exciting is how this innovation directly translates to client value: faster implementation times, more consistent quality, and the ability to focus development resources on solving unique client challenges rather than repetitive setup tasks.
AI Team: Building Human-Centered Intelligence Solutions
Our AI team didn’t just focus on testing the latest technology—they approached their challenge with a clear focus on practical applications that solve real problems. Splitting into two groups, they worked on enhancing an existing chatbot prototype and developing a flexible web content scraper to support it.
What distinguished their approach was their commitment to building solutions with flexibility at their core. Rather than creating single-use tools, they developed a framework that can be configured for any client’s needs and serve as an accelerator for future projects..
The team created three distinct chatbot prototypes leveraging cutting-edge tools like Claude, Pinecone, VoyageAI, and LangChain, and developed with Python and React. Each focused on different aspects of the user experience—speed, conversational depth, and user-friendliness—recognizing that different client contexts demand different approaches.
From Innovation to Implementation: The Path Forward
The true test of innovation isn’t what happens in a lab—it’s how these breakthroughs translate to real-world impact. Each team has charted a clear path forward:
Analytics Team: Customized Insights for Every Client
Moving beyond one-size-fits-all reporting, our Analytics team is developing templated dashboards that can be quickly customized for each client’s specific business objectives. This approach allows us to provide data and insights that directly inform strategic decisions about website improvements and digital strategy.
“These dashboards will help our clients see their digital presence through a strategic lens; it’s about transforming numbers into narratives that drive decisions.”
- Chelsea Shadowens
Drupal Add-Ons Team: Accelerating Excellence Through Standardization
The Drupal Add-Ons Cookbook represents a significant opportunity to deliver more value to clients faster. By standardizing our approach to common configurations while maintaining flexibility for custom needs, we can reduce development time and cost while improving consistency.
“We’re excited about how this will change our project kickoffs. Instead of rebuilding the foundation each time, we can focus our energy on the unique elements that make each project special.”
- Kyle Davis
AI Team: Responsive Solutions for Emerging Needs
With functioning prototypes already developed, our AI team is positioned to quickly respond to client requests for RAG solutions, chatbot features, and web scraping technologies. Their flexible architecture means we can implement custom solutions that integrate with clients’ existing technology infrastructures.
“We’ve built these tools with real-world applications in mind. When a client comes to us with a challenge that could benefit from AI, we’re ready to adapt these solutions to their specific needs.”
- Ben Hamelin
Building More Than Technology
Innovation Lab Day is about more than just technological advancement—it’s about strengthening our team’s culture of collaboration, mutual support, and continuous improvement. Throughout the day, team members shared knowledge, offered support, and celebrated each other’s achievements.
These experiences foster a working environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute ideas and take ownership of challenges. The result is not just better technology solutions, but stronger working relationships and a more cohesive team.
As we look ahead to future Innovation Lab Days, we’re energized by what we’ve accomplished and the opportunities these innovations create—both for our team’s growth and for delivering exceptional value to our clients. By embracing challenges, focusing on outcomes, driving for excellence, and keeping people at the center of our solutions, we’re not just building better technology—we’re building a better future for our clients and our team.
