Reducing the risk of failure in new product development
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Project delays, cost overruns, misalignment with company strategy – these are just some of the things that can go wrong with new product development and they are often directly attributable to the very earliest stages of the innovation process.
The Centre for Technology Management (CTM) at the IfM has just published a new Practice Guide: 'Reducing the risk of failure in new product development: getting it right at the front end of innovation'. It provides insights and guidance for everyone involved in the innovation process so that they can avoid common pitfalls and improve their innovation pipelines.
Issues at the project front end - before new product development formally begins - can be the cause of some of the most common problems such as project delays, cost overruns and misalignment with company strategy.
The Guide considers two main types of innovation front end: idea-driven and opportunity driven. The former occurs when an innovative idea is generated either inside or outside the firm, and idea management systems and online communities can be valuable here. Opportunity driven front ends are initiated when new commercial opportunities are recognised; concepts considered here include ethnographic studies and ‘living labs’.
CTM Practice Guides are short practical guides on topics aimed at technology management practitioners, derived from work undertaken by CTM at the IfM.
