The fast transformation of technologies into new products or processes is one of the core challenges for any technology-based enterprise. From the different steps of the innovation process, the early phases (‘fuzzy front end’) have the highest impact on project outcome. The front end influences the design and total costs of the new product or process significantly. However, the ‘fuzzy front end’ is unfortunately the least-well structured part of the innovation process, both in theory and in practice.
The focus of the present chapter is on methods and tools for managing the ‘fuzzy front end’ of the innovation process. Firstly, the activities, characteristics, and challenges of the front end are described. Secondly, a framework to arrange different methods and tools is presented: since a product upgrade requires a different approach compared to radical innovation, where the market is unknown and a new technology is applied,
we believe such a framework to be useful for practitioners. Thirdly, a selection of methods and tools that can be applied to the ‘fuzzy front end’ is presented and allocated within the framework. The methods selected here address process improvements, concept generation, and concept testing. Finally, we present some examples of systematic front end processes in technology-based firms.