Abstract
This paper revisits the key success factors of new product development by investigating a software-intensive product development project, which is presented in form of a detailed qualitative case study. The result reconfirms the existing wisdom that factors like top management sponsorship, presence of a heavy-weight project manager, close cross-functional collaboration and communication, skill routines and supporting tools used during the project execution as well as unambiguous and systematic product concept are essential enablers for the product development project to become a success. The case study has also revealed a number of additional aspects such as management competences in geographical coordination, complementary incentive system and contract management which, if managed insufficiently, may lead to unsatisfactory performance of the product development. Innovation managers in software industry may therefore pay attention to them, in order to improve the product development quality.
Highlights
Product innovation is a crucial source for wealth creation at both firm and national levels
This paper revisits the key success factors of new product development by investigating a software-intensive product development project, which is presented in form of a detailed qualitative case study
The result reconfirms the existing wisdom that factors like top management sponsorship, presence of a heavy-weight project manager, close cross-functional collaboration and communication, skill routines and supporting tools used during the project execution as well as unambiguous and systematic product concept are essential enablers for the product development project to become a success
Summary
Product innovation is a crucial source for wealth creation at both firm and national levels. Once a country’s innovation-driven markets are shaped by local firms, these firms are able to generate dynamic growth rates for themselves, and greatly increase the national wealth Striking cases abound, such as Apple and Samsung as the two dominating mobile phone vendors originated from the United States and South Korea respectively, Germany’s IT giant SAP, Cisco and Huawei as the global producers for telecommunications equipment which stem from the United States and China respectively. Innovative products are often systems consisting of developed software, manufactured hardware and natural materials such as rare earth elements. Studies investigating the success factors of software-intensive innovation can deepen the understanding of more general product development
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