A groupware system for virtual product innovation management

We are experiencing a radical shift in the way organizations are designed, structured, and organized. New organizational forms such as virtual strategic partnerships and networks are replacing traditional bureaucratic, hierarchical organizations. This is particularly evident in the area of product innovation, where organizations are adopting new approaches or ways of working in order to compete. Product innovation management is a complex process because of the range of technical issues that must be addressed and the variety of competencies that must be employed over the life of the development effort. Such initiatives require a substantial investment in terms of resources such as time, money, and effort, all of which are limited. This article focuses on product innovation management in a distributed or virtual environment. It reports on a qualitative case study targeted at product managers. The challenges are identified and discussed. From this analysis, a Web‐enabled groupware system is presented. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 17: 499–510, 2007.