Created Date:
Product innovation is an inherently cross-functional process involving a range of internal and external players. This process needs to be managed from a number of perspectives - product & business strategy, product & project portfolios, individual projects and external relationships. An important aspect of all of these is the management of risk - whether technical, market, commercial or project-related. This element assists innovation managers in reviewing how their own processes deal with these challenges.

Although success can come through good fortune (or heroics), repeated success is harder to achieve, without having some sort of established process in place. This ensures that key activities are performed consistently across all projects, and that projects are selected and prioritised with regard to the overlying business and product strategy.

Learning outcomes

After completing this element you should:

• Understand key issues in product strategy and planning
• Understand the principles of phase-gate systems and cross-functional teams
• Understand the importance of managing external collaborations and suppliers
• Recognise typical sources of risk and how to manage them
• Understand how to assess product and process performance
• Know about sources of Government help (and others)

The element is available available here.

Please Send feedback on this e-Learning element.