Much has been written and said about master data. Knowing which system has data, which system is responsible for maintenance of that data, which system is the gold source, which system is responsible for access control, and which approach is to be used to share, access, or replicate data across... Read More

Research of current practices among today's manufacturing companies has identified a number of critical points where innovation processes typically break down. The consequences of those failures are amplified for companies faced with the complexities of managing innovation resources and outcomes on... Read More

Innovation is something that cannot entirely be scheduled. It is possible to plan to do innovation work (the key word being work). One can allocate time to work on a strategic innovation plan, or a particular deliverable for a given product development project. But actual innovation cannot be... Read More

Most of us work in an environment where the objectives we have to deliver exceed our currently known initiatives. This happens at all levels of the company. The executive suite has to deliver to expectations set by its shareholders. A brand manager has to deliver to expectations set by divisional... Read More

There are several major business, economic and market circumstances and trends that have forward-thinking companies exploring innovation opportunities beyond traditional new product development initiatives. The major circumstance and trends driving these initiatives include: Read More

For over a decade, our sole focus has been to help our customers grow organically through the strategic use of innovation governance software solutions. Our track record of helping more than 250 of the world's leading companies to adopt innovation and product portfolio management (PPM)... Read More

Roadmapping is hardly new; Motorola introduced it in the U.S. during the 1980s and Philips was on a similar timescale in Europe. As a process, it has gained momentum in recent years for a number of reasons such as: Read More

In order to optimize the return on investment from new products, an organization must excel at managing its product portfolio(s). This requires good visibility into the value, risk, expense and resource requirements of individual projects. Unless resource planning is fully integrated into new... Read More

The pendulum has swung toward Lean and Agile methodologies, sometimes casting Stage-Gate ® aside. Optimal results are derived from the best of BOTH worlds as part of an integrated best practice innovation toolkit. Effective Innovation Management There are two primary goals of effective innovation... Read More

Bringing truly innovative products to market—on a consistent basis—has long been a challenge for consumer products companies. A recent SymphonyIRI study found that 90 percent of consumer products launched in 2010 were brand extensions as opposed to truly new brands. Only three percent achieved... Read More