Accelerating Innovation: Some Lessons from the Pandemic
Robert G. Cooper
kHUB post date: April 14, 2021
Originally published: February 10, 2021
Read time: 25 minutes
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The Pandemic taught us that accelerated new‐product development is more important than ever, and provided examples of firms developing breakthrough products in record time. This article outlines five approaches to accelerated development. The first two deal with adequately resourcing new‐product projects, namely the use of focused teams; and effective portfolio management to prioritize projects and reallocate resources. Newer digital tools are outlined that speed new‐products developments. Finally, two development methods are described that move development projects faster: Lean development and Agile development. Accelerated development also has hidden costs: undertaking less innovative projects, and cutting too many corners. Although important, the topic is under‐researched, and the limited research has yielded inconclusive results about acceleration’s expected benefits.