INNOVATION: IMPROVEMENT OF PROJECT PILOTING METHODOLOGIES

摘要

Innovation is a top management major concern when elaborating development strategies. As any process, it requires control and evaluation operations in order to improve the innovation management practices, reduce risks and optimize the corresponding investments. Four operational innovation processes may be distinguished considering the four following levels (Ben Rejeb, 2008): the global enterprise process, the project level, the product level and the cognitive process (individual and design group level). This research focuses on the product and project levels (from idea to launching).rnIndeed, literature attests of numerous productions in the field of project management and many software are available. A benchmark realized on the most successful software attests that the main functions assumed are: tasks planning, resources consumption, manpower supervision, risk evaluation and cost control. These functions are useful to innovative project managers. But few elements are at project manager's disposal relatively to the characteristics of innovation, among others: newness, uncertainty and learning. As a consequence this research fills the gap in the field of innovation project reporting and evaluation.rnThe outcomes of the research are a list of variables to be followed by innovators all along a project (in particular during the fuzzy front ends). These variables are justified thanks to the theory about Innovation and Management of Technology. Indicators are also suggested with interpretation approaches.