Open AccessREASONING IN THE FUZZY FRONT END OF INNOVATION: FRAMING THE PRODUCT DNA
Author(s) -
Louise Møller Haase,
Linda Nhu Laursen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of innovation management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.572
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1757-5877
pISSN - 1363-9196
DOI - 10.1142/s1363919618400017
Subject(s) - framing (construction) , product innovation , computer science , front and back ends , fuzzy logic , innovation management , product (mathematics) , new product development , knowledge management , frame (networking) , process management , business , artificial intelligence , marketing , engineering , mathematics , telecommunications , geometry , structural engineering , operating system
Designing a remarkable product innovation is a difficult challenge, which businesses today are continuously striving to tackle. This challenge is particularly present in the fuzzy front end of innovation, where the main product concept, the DNA of the innovation, is determined. A main challenge in the fuzzy front end is the reasoning process: innovation teams are faced with open-ended, ill-defined problems, where they need to make decisions about an unknown future but have only incomplete, ambiguous and contradicting insights available. We study the reasoning of experts, how they frame to make sense of all the insights and create a basis for decision-making in relation to a new project. Based on case studies of five innovative products from various industries, we propose a Product DNA model for understanding the reasoning in the fuzzy front end of innovation. The Product DNA Model explains how experts reason and what direct their reasoning.