A step-based framework to combine creativity, project management and technical development in industrial innovation

Since the assessment of the novelty, feasibility and value of new product ideas is highly subjective and uncertain, it is hard for companies to successfully apply their innovation strategies and coming up with a final product which is able to concurrently and successfully embody both customers' needs as well as company requirements. Without forcing the innovation process in a more rigid and constrained structure, the implementation of selected formal approaches in specific innovation process stages may reduce and guide this uncertainty especially in design, managerial and decision-making activities. In this paper both a design and managerial step-based framework is proposed to help firms achieve greater success in their efforts to develop new products. Already existing and well assessed methods and techniques, together with more recent and under development ones, are employed in authors' framework, which moves from idea generation until the early steps of concept implementation. The main paper aim is then to persuade companies avoiding the classical and wasteful trial-and-error approach and make them more predictable and responsive to continuous change and uncertainty. A case study is discussed in order to demonstrate the framework effectiveness, specifically focusing on its last step, when the technical implementation of the new concept has to be performed. © Organizing Committee of TMCE 2010 Symposium