Management of Innovation: Transforming a company from a user to a manager of technology.

A complete doctrine on New Product Development should include four major parts: 1. Basic Themes for Insight and Understanding 2. Examples based on actual new product launches to illustrate those themes 3. A summary of messages and any “take-away” from the themes 4. A Foundation of Rules from which specific advice and guidance can be derived for a given situation This handbook is designed for practitioners involved in new products and product improvements. This handbook addresses items 1 and 2 above. Of course the teaching of a subject where the rules are presented first and then supported with themes and many case studies would be much better and more familiar to the technical student. However there are numerous sources and ideas for describing and managing new product development and in fact the entire research and development activity. This handbook selects many of the leading ideas and frames them into a sequence of insights. Each chapter brings forward different themes. The order of the themes starts from an owners or corporation’s view, moves to the individual project, and finishes with strategic management. There are 11 actual new product developments illustrated in exhibits to re-enforce each of the major themes in this handbook. It is hoped the reader will find the technology and the new product ideas of these cases an entry to developing their own insights to the Management of Innovation. Each chapter has a summary of the major points of the chapter and some discussion questions are presented that can be used in group sessions to enhance the meanings from that chapter.