Successful invention management: Formalizing the generation and validation of new product ideas
✍ Scribed by Bryan A. Lukas; Glen H. Brodowsky
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Weight
- 180 KB
- Volume
- 9
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1058-0247
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The new product development process can be divided into two fundamental sub-processes: invention-bringing new ideas into being, and innovation-bringing new ideas into use. This study presents an investigation of the first subprocess-invention management, an area where little systematic research is available and much management folk-lore abounds. Some of the observations and recommendations may lead to healthy debate. However, any manager with a stake in new product development should find them helpful.
The article is organized as follows. After present and future challenges facing invention management are exam-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study addresses the management of invention, a process centered on the development of new product ideas. Based on quantitative and qualitative data from 194 manufacturing companies (SIC 20-39), the authors suggest managing the invention process as a core capability to ensure success. The survey results add up to a clear message to managers striving to establish invention capability: Management must formalize the steps involved from idea inception to idea validation. The study begins with a discussion of present and future challenges facing invention management. This is followed by a three-step approach to formalizing the invention process. Next, common obstacles constraining formalized invention processes are addressed. The study concludes with a discussion of four principles focused on overcoming these obstacles.