Managing Innovative Projects and Programs

Using the ISO 56000 Standards for Guidance and Implementation

H. James Harrington, Sid Ahmed Benraouane

• Editorial: Productivity Press
• Año: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000615487
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Negocios y empresa
• Categoría: Operaciones

It has been estimated that over 75% of the innovative projects that begin through the Innovation Management System (IMS) are either failures or they failed to produce the desired results. The biggest wastes most medium- to large-size organizations face are the waste of money, time, reputation, opportunity, and income that these failures are costing them. Following this book's recommendations could reduce this failure cost by as much as 70%.

The purpose of this book is to provide a step-by-step procedure on how to process a medium- or large-size project, program, or product using an already-established IMS that considers the guidance given in ISO 56002: 2019 – Innovation Management Systems Standard. Often the most complicated, complex, difficult, and challenging system used in an organization is the IMS. At the same time, it usually is the most important system because it is the one that generates most of the value-adding products for the organization, and it involves most of the key functions within the organization.

The opportunity for failure in time and the impact on the organization is critical and often means the difference between success and bankruptcy. Throughout this book, the authors detail the high-impact inputs and activities that are required to process individual projects/programs/products through the innovation cycle. Although this book was prepared to address how medium to large projects, programs, and products proceed through the cycle, it also provides the framework that can be used for small organizations and simple innovation activities. Basically, the major difference between large- and small-impact innovation projects is that the small projects can accept more risks, require less formal documentation, use simpler communication systems, and require fewer resources. It's important to remember that the authors are addressing an existing IMS rather than trying to create an entirely new one.

Currently, this is the only book geared for professionals responsible for managing innovative projects and programs using ISO 56002: 2019 – Innovation Management – Innovation Management System – Guidance to provide a comprehensive management strategy and step-by-step plan and ISO 56004 Innovation Management Assessment –Guidance. It provides a comprehensive analysis of what is required from the time an opportunity is recognized to the time the customer is using the innovative product.

The book also introduces a new Process modeling cloud service that allows you to drill down 5 levels from the system level to the job description level and includes free access to many of the book's best practice Process models.

1
Introduction to Project Innovation Cycle

DOI: 10.4324/b22993-1

Introduction to Project Innovation

Julie Sweet, Accenture’s CEO, manages a half-million employees that generate more than $40 billion in revenues from servicing large organizations in over 120 countries. In her role as CEO of one of the world’s most respected consulting firms, she provides a unique window into what’s going on in the world of business. From her unique knowledge database, the major changes in a world disrupted by a global pandemic are:

• “The first is a shift around the value of tech. We are no longer spending time asking is technology good or bad and the potential risks. Tech became the lifeline for individuals, societies, business and government.”
• “The second big shift has been about speed. The most successful economies, countries, companies are those whose speed is as fast as possible. We are seeing that every day.”

These statements reinforce our position that organizations around the world need to focus on generating more innovative offerings whose revenue-generating lifecycle will be shorter and shorter as new innovative offerings replace them. No organization can be content thinking that they are doing enough to keep their offerings viable. It may just be enough to squeak by today, but it is going to fall far short of meeting the needs of tomorrow. Every organization needs to look at what it is doing today to keep its offerings attractive enough to bring back customers that have already been serviced as well as attract potential new customers. We can no longer survive by only trying to steal customers from our competitors. We need to focus on growing the market rather than competing for larger shares in the present market (see Figure 1.1).

FIGURE 1.1
Competing for Customers versus Growing the Market

Most organizations today focus on getting a bigger percentage of the market, but in the future, we are going to see a closer harmony between competing organizations working together to grow the market, rather than competing with each other to grow their market share. Growing the market provides a win–win situation for all organizations, for when you grow your market share in a stagnant market, someone else is losing his or her market share.

Basic research has become so expensive that it has forced the private industry to break away from basic research and apply their R&D resources to applied research. More and more the only ones that can afford to do basic research are universities and the government. The failure rate of new innovative product/system endeavors is estimated to run as high as 75%. I realize that from an innovation standpoint, failures are considered learning experiences. But God, do you have to make us smart that way? We need to learn more from sharing our knowledge with other people rather than depend upon self-learning by failing. There is a new saying:

• One failure – Poor management
• Two failures – Learning experience
• Three failures – Spend your time looking for a new job

What does all this mean? It means you’ve got to improve your PIC to significantly increase the number of new opportunities that enter your portfolio, and you have to move each innovative entity through your portfolio much faster, resulting in a higher percentage of successful projects.

Today’s Dilemma

• Everyone’s Talking about It
  You can’t pick up a magazine, newspaper, business book, or attend a conference without a primary part of it being dedicated to the importance of improving innovation within the country and every business.
• Everyone Feels It’s Necessary
  Customers want the newest, brightest, and leading-edge products and services. Companies that are the first to market continuously are the ones that are most profitable and most admired. People stand in line for hours waiting for the latest Apple products to go on sale.
• Every Organization Wants to Do It
  There’s an old saying, “If you build a better mousetrap, customers will flock to your door.” Certainly, all organizations realize that if they are the early leaders in their field, they will have a tremendous advantage over their competitors. The big “but” is, “How do we do it?” We are coming up with new ideas all the time but the important question is, “What do we stop doing in order to fund the resources to develop the potentially good ideas that may or may not provide value-added return?” Management wrestles with

How much of my discretionary resources should I invest in developing new products, improve processes, artificial intelligence, basic research or in my people in order to optimize the organization’s short- and long-range performance? My Board of Directors wants me to do more with less but that can only go so far until all the fat is off the bones and you are down to pulling off needed muscle.

But few agree on what innovation is. When is an organization innovative? I’m ISO 9000 certified by an independent organization that validates an organization as implementing continuous improvement. Does that mean we are already an innovative organization? Who do I want to feel that our organization is innovative – just my customers and my investors? If so, is it primarily product related? For productivity innovation, does it have to be something that the customer hasn’t seen before or cannot get from another source? Or are you innovative when you reverse engineer your competitor’s design and performance to produce your own?

Addressing the “Unaddressable”

Start out by addressing the issue that is most debated by the leaders who are documenting, teaching, advising, and implementing IMS. It certainly is very obvious that you first need to define what innovation is if you’re going to improve your organization’s innovation activities.

To help us get our arms around defining innovation, let us define some of the common terms that are frequently associated with the definition of innovation.

• Definition of unique: Oxford dictionary defines it as being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else. Particularly remarkable, special, or unusual.
• Definition of value added: Cambridge dictionary defines it as the total output (= value of all the products, services, etc.) in a particular region, economy, etc. after taking away the value of inputs (= materials, labor, etc.).
  To provide the reader with a more innovation-oriented definition of value added, I define it as the following: “Value added is the total combination of positive and negative impacts that a change or a new entity has on an organization and its stakeholders. It includes both tangible and intangible impacts and effects.”
• Definition of creative: Being creative is using the ability of individuals to make or think of new things involving the process by which new ideas, stories, products, etc. are created.
• Definition of create: Create is the act of making something: to bring something into existence (Figure 1.2).

There are some words in the English language that are difficult, if not impossible, to get everyone to agree about their definition. Typical examples would be “pretty,” “quality,” and “innovation.” Scholars have debated what innovation is for years. Almost without exception every book you pick up, every consultant you talk with has a different definition of innovative. Definitions run from “any time an individual does anything different, he/she is being innovative” to things such as “something that is so unique and different than anyone has done before. Innovation occurs when a new and unique idea is developed that creates positive value added to all of the organization’s stakeholders.”

The following are some more typical examples:

1. Innovation is a unique creative idea that is marketable.
2. Innovation is the process of creating a unique idea that is marketed.
3. Innovation is a unique creative idea that adds value to the organization’s external customers.
4. Innovation is a unique creative idea that adds value to the organization’s stakeholders.
5. Innovation is a unique creative idea that generates profit.
6. Innovation is a unique creative idea that when implemented provides value to the receiver of the output that is greater than the resources required to produce.
7. Innova...