A successful innovation project begins with an idea and ends in a resilient oligopoly. In between are uncertainties, inventions, complexity dynamics, financing dynamics, competitive dynamics and transition to the operative business. The innovation is similar to a pudding, which the innovation manager should nail to the wall. This is achieved if the four success factors for the constant innovation success are implemented in the innovation project.
In this way, mistakes in innovation projects can be corrected. Three examples illustrate this: complex innovation projects, pre-development and start-ups.
Augustine has shown that complex military and civilian innovation projects are taking longer and longer. The time drivers are not design and build, but the previous decisions and the subsequent getting the product fielded. Innovation quality has to be achieved, a success factor. However, this often fails because quality management is not suitable for innovation because of a dilemma. It needs requirements from the outset, which are often mature in the innovation project only after two thirds of the project duration. Agility helps, however, not much. As the duration of the project grows, the risk of financing, a further success factor, also increases.
The pre-development of technologies and products from various industries, such as automobiles and capital goods, often last very long. Development is done for a few weeks, then stops for some months. The time driver is the shortage of capacity and budget as customer projects have priority. The focus of the innovation projects is on the function, not only, but also because of the lack of experience of the pre-development engineers. Everything else remains unclear. There is no innovation quality management and innovation project management, elements of the success factor innovation system.
Start-ups are very fast in implementation. However, they often do not know how to create the most promising premises for their business plan. What are, for example, the most attractive markets, the fourth success factor? Is innovation quality more important than time-to-market? What kind of business plan do I need, a short term for banks or one with a huge potential for venture capital providers?
We advise you to focus resiliently individual innovation projects on innovation success through reviews or to achieve constant innovation success for all innovation projects.