Extreme Customer Innovation in the Front End: Learning from a New Software Paradigm
Journal
International Journal of Technology Management
ISSN
0267-5730
ISSN-Digital
1741-5276
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2006
Author(s)
Abstract
The front-end phase of the innovation process constitutes up to two-thirds of the total cost of new product development (NPD). In response to the new open innovation paradigm, new ways to integrate customers' knowledge into the innovation front-end must be explored. In an attempt to learn from analogous situations in which the interface between developers and customers has been managed successfully, this article analyses the Extreme Programming (XP) approach of software engineering. Through its iterative but disciplined probe-and-learn cycles, the approach helps companies effectively develop advanced products with the help of their customers. Using case studies from interviews with R&D directors of 16 technology-intensive companies, the applicability of successful practices from XP to traditional NPD is analyzed. The authors identify four determinants for front-end management that reside between creativity and resource efficiency. These determinants dictate the potential for front-end effectiveness improvement and enable the maximum amount of knowledge generation and absorption from the customer.
Language
English
Keywords
innovation process
front-end management
new product development
NPD
open innovation
customer integration
knowledge absorption
extreme programming
XP
probe and learn process
innovation management
software engineering
technology management
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Publisher place
Geneva-Aeroport
Volume
33
Number
1
Start page
46
End page
66
Pages
21
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
39349
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Name
Gassmann et al., 2006, IJTM.pdf
Size
1.25 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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