Introduction

Innovation creates a benefit from an idea, a concept, an invention, or the application of a new technology. Technological innovation may involve "blue-skies" research, developing new products and new processes, and/or improvements to current products and processes.

Innovation projects are different than most other projects. Innovation projects will probably be stopped or fail, whereas practically all other projects are expected to be completed (Economist 1999). Success does not follow from compliance with predetermined objectives of cost, schedule, and quality, but instead from achieving profitable business outcomes. Further, the current value, health, and welfare of innovation projects cannot sensibly be judged against project prescriptions; they can only be assessed in relation to the remaining cost and effort and their updated predicted benefit. Innovation projects can expect continued support only if they maintain the promise of adequate return. Business purposes, therefore, overwhelm innovation project processes (Bartlett and Ghoshal 1994). Traditional project management tools, which make comparisons with plans and schedules, consequently appear to be largely irrelevant for monitoring and control.

The logic and simplicity of Gantt (bar) and program review and evaluation technique (PERT) network charts have made them enduring project management tools. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, "stage-gate" methods became popular for monitoring and controlling new product development (NPD) (Cooper 1993). More recently project portfolio appraisal systems provide a mechanism for regular...