Structuring the early fuzzy front-end to manage ideation for new product development

This paper presents the creation of a reference stage-gate process model for ideation activities in the early fuzzy front-end of new product development (NPD). The work is based on a unique empirical approach that combines the results from NPD research with insights gained from expert interviews of key innovation stakeholders in industry in order to come up with a list of key success factors for the ideation process. These factors provide the pillars for the design of an ideation reference process model from which company-specific ideation processes can be derived taking into account the organisationʹs specific context and innovation culture.