An interesting publication in the International Journal of Technology Management (Vol. 50, No. 1, 2010, Gassmann et al.)* gives valuable guidance on how to avoid negative side effects that may occur when companies integrate their customers in product development in an early stage.
The innovation phase can be divided in many ways, here it’s split into the five phases:
- Opportunity Identification and Analysis
- Idea and Knowledge Creation
- Idea and Functionality Selection
- Concept Definition
- Prototype Testing
In every stage, companies can involve their customers and profit from the various advantages such as better fit to market, less change cycles, lower costs, etc. However, each phase in the innovation process also bears some risks, as shown in the picture. (weiterlesen…)