Idealized Front End Process and Maturity Matrix: ATool for Self-Assessment of Process Maturity LeadingUp to Product Launch Decisions

摘要

To better characterize the processes used to generate requirements for newrnproducts (a.k.a., the “fuzzy front end” of product development), product development literaturernwas extensively reviewed to identify best practices. An idealized front-end process model wasrndeveloped from this literature review and then through an iterative process involving empiricalrnfield research, used to create a maturity-based assessment tool. 17 enterprises engaged in newrnproduct development provided data for case studies on the front end of product development andrnthe processes used in requirements generation. Using these case study data, the 17 organizationsrnwere scored using the assessment tool to identify the organizations that had the most maturernfront-end processes in place. The highest-performing organizations were compared with thernlowest-performing organizations to identify specific practices that differentiated theirrnperformance.