What is PROMISE?

PROMISE

PROject Management of product Innovation in Smaller Enterprises

BACKGROUND

Since January 1997 we've been looking at what works and what doesn't when improving the management of product innovation in companies across Europe and how these techniques can best be adapted to meet specific needs of smaller enterprises.

The PROMISE project has:

	looked at what has proved successful in larger companies to provide the structure for managing the product development life-cycle
	examined why and how these processes work
	selected those best practice approaches most suitable for adaptation to meet the flexible needs of much smaller organisations
	undertaken significant adaptation
	tested the findings in a number of smaller companies across Europe
	refined outputs into a set of supported tools (the PROMISE GateWay Toolkit) for widespread usage

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS AND THE SMALLER COMPANY

Bringing successful new products to the marketplace is key to company prosperity and their efficient and effective development should be matters of significance and urgency for senior management. Yet product innovation is a notoriously risky business, demanding the most effective use of organisational and management skills. In recognition of the value of this specific knowledge and experience to smaller companies, and of the need to keep them informed of latest best practise, the PROMISE project was developed with support from the EC's Innovation Programme. It's purpose being to investigate ways of making these skills more readily and widely available.

THE PURPOSE OF PROMISE

PROMISE aims to assist smaller European companies benefit from the implementation of proven project management procedures in the product innovation process with the intention of encouraging the competitiveness and success of these companies on the global stage.

EFFECTIVE 'BLUEPRINT' TOOLS

Through its group of partners PROMISE will identify, evaluate and disseminate proven management structures best suited to the activities of smaller companies thereby offering senior management an informed choice of 'Blueprint Tools' with which to manage their product innovation.