Dr. Robert Cooper	Dr. Scott Edgett

An interview with Dr. Scott Edgett on the latest in Portfolio Management for New Products.

Recently I sat down with Dr. Scott Edgett to learn more about the keynote presentation he delivered at the PDMA’s 12th Annual Strategic & Operational Portfolio Management event in Florida on February 26-28, 2007. His presentation “Portfolio Management: Optimizing for Success. The APQC Benchmarking Results” outlined important findings from the most recent benchmarking study he conducted in partnership with the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC).

1.  Why is benchmarking such a popular topic in product innovation these days?

Numerous industry analysts and pundits have recently reported innovation as the single most important goal of the modern CEO for this decade.  This media coverage together with the recent product blockbusters launched by companies such as; Apple, Motorola, P&G, RIM and Google have created a visible ‘benchmark’ for companies to aspire to.  It is logical that business executives and innovation professionals would be interested in learning how their company’s innovation program compares with the performance and practices of top performing innovators.  Benchmarking accelerates the improvement process and increases the likelihood of high quality, high impact changes. Read More

What is the Best Method for Generating New Ideas?

One of the greatest challenges faced by innovation executives is a shortage of game-changing ideas for new products. Only 21% of businesses indicated their development portfolios contained enough high value-to-the corporation projects.

In the latest book, Generating Breakthrough New Product Ideas: Feeding the Innovation Funnel, Dr. Cooper and Dr. Edgett simplifies this business dilemma by summarizing key strategies and benchmark analysis of the pros and cons of idea generating techniques, charts and plan of action to help you establish a proactive idea-generating machine for your organization.

To navigate your road to success included in this book: Read More

Dr. Robert G. Cooper and Nine Leading Companies Address Business Executives at the 1st Annual Stage-Gate Leadership Summit

Stage-Gate Inc., in partnership with The Management Roundtable, hosted the First International Stage-Gate® Leadership Summit on February 20-21, 2007 in St. Petersburg, FL. The sold-out event was chaired by world-renowned product innovation expert, Dr. Robert G. Cooper, and focused on the innovative practices of organizations (of all sizes and industries) that use the Stage-Gate system to drive successful new products to market.  Read More

How to Audit Your Product Innovation Program
Dr. Ken Huskins, Senior Consultant, Stage-Gate Inc.

Fact-based self-awareness, sought and given in an environment of trust, is the key first step in the journey to improvement. Even a basic audit of your product innovation process is an excellent way to expose areas ripe for improvement to better ensure desired project and business outcomes. By audit, we mean a snapshot assessment of current practices and performance with a particular focus on the critical factors most likely to drive performance.

Step 1: Design Your Audit

Dr. Cooper and Dr. Edgett’s well documented and peer reviewed research leads many innovators to focus first on the 10 critical success factors. These factors, embedded into (and, very importantly, when adhered to) your process profoundly drive product innovation in-market success. Consider the following questions for your audit and collect both quantitative and qualitative responses from your cross-functional stakeholders. Then, do an external benchmark with at least two companies similar in size and business model and known for their innovation prowess, whether in your industry or not.  Read More

Stage-Gate Inc. Innovation Seminars: Must Attend For Senior Managers

2.  Technology Developments, Platforms & Fundamental Research

3.  Successfully Designing and Implementing the Stage-Gate Process