Categories of Product Innovations – A Prospective Categorization Framework for Innovation Projects in Early Development Phases Based on Empirical Data

Most of the categorization frameworks for innovation projects in early development phases are not designed for supporting the product engineer in decision making and leave space for further improvement. Based on empirical data from 13 innovation projects, the authors introduce a novel categorization framework for innovation projects and discuss the relevance of identified key criteria. The focus is to provide a fundamental understanding of the varieties of product innovation projects and establish a basis for decision support frameworks regarding the adoption of tools and methods.