Decision-aiding tools in innovative product development contexts

The complexity and uncertainty that exist in New Product Development (NPD) processes require a comprehensive approach to deal with a problem that involves people, technology and organisations. An effective approach should integrate tools that facilitate communication, the interpretation of different individual visions and collective problem structuring with tools that analytically study the process activities of NPD. This paper presents the results of a study that began from an observation of the phenomena involved in an NPD process and from the analysis of some tools from different domains (Product Lifecycle Management, Management Science/Operation Research, and Knowledge Management). The analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of the tools suggested a general framework, the Hybrid Approach, for the systematic integration of tools, from different perspectives, where typological decision-aiding situations are recognised and modelled and where context and communication in design are considered.