Breaking Down Innovation: New Tools for Project Managing Innovative Projects
Olaf Diegel · 2005
Project Managers have a reasonably comprehensive toolbox of management techniques to tackle all but the most critical area of the project: That of the idea generation process. The idea generation process is still very much regarded as a ‘black-box’ from which a concrete solution to a problem will somehow emerge, and from which a Work Breakdown Structure can then be developed. Yet without a methodology to actively monitor and manage this idea generation process which, after all, is the key to the success of the project, how do we ensure that the project manager and the product development team can effectively do their jobs? The Design Breakdown Structure acts as a precursor to the traditional Work Breakdown Structure, and allows the idea generation process to be graphically mapped and monitored. The Design Breakdown Structure is proposed as the basis of effective project management and communication for collaborative projects.