Front-end Sustainability: Initiating the right sustainable projects
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Advice and frameworks for managing front-end innovation and sustainability is summarized here in 4 steps of increasing complexity. | Advice and frameworks for managing front-end innovation and sustainability is summarized here in 4 steps of increasing complexity. | ||
| − | ===1. | + | ===1. Know to challenge initial ideas and manage the search for impactful concepts=== |
[[File:Fuzzy Front End.png|400px|thumb|right|Figure 2: Illustration of the exploration and uncertainty of the fuzzy front end. Through searching and selecting project concepts, the fuzzy front end is concerned with the organisation efficiency ('doing the right things'), whereas later project stages are more about efficiency (doing things right).]] | [[File:Fuzzy Front End.png|400px|thumb|right|Figure 2: Illustration of the exploration and uncertainty of the fuzzy front end. Through searching and selecting project concepts, the fuzzy front end is concerned with the organisation efficiency ('doing the right things'), whereas later project stages are more about efficiency (doing things right).]] | ||
Realizing the potential and the common pitfalls in front-end innovation management, and allocating resources to manage the front-end, is the very foundation of sustainable project impact. | Realizing the potential and the common pitfalls in front-end innovation management, and allocating resources to manage the front-end, is the very foundation of sustainable project impact. | ||
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The very foundation of initiating the right sustainable projects is to recognize that the 'fuzzy' front-end can in fact become less fuzzy, if managed with flexibility with appropriate tools and by people with the appropriate skillet and experience. Designers and design engineers are increasingly utilized for their competencies and methodologies in meaningfully managing and facilitating concept exploration and the complexity and uncertainty of front-end innovation<ref name=Hernandez2018> Hernández, Ricardo J., Rachel Cooper, Bruce Tether, and Emma Murphy. 2018. “''Design, the Language of Innovation: A Review of the Design Studies Literature.''” She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation 4(3):249–74.</ref>. It is suggested that companies could prevent many down-stream sustainability issues from arising by reallocating ressources towards front-end innovation, which could effectively 'design out' sustainability issues from the future portfolio<ref name=Sherwin2017/><ref name=Bocken2014/>. | The very foundation of initiating the right sustainable projects is to recognize that the 'fuzzy' front-end can in fact become less fuzzy, if managed with flexibility with appropriate tools and by people with the appropriate skillet and experience. Designers and design engineers are increasingly utilized for their competencies and methodologies in meaningfully managing and facilitating concept exploration and the complexity and uncertainty of front-end innovation<ref name=Hernandez2018> Hernández, Ricardo J., Rachel Cooper, Bruce Tether, and Emma Murphy. 2018. “''Design, the Language of Innovation: A Review of the Design Studies Literature.''” She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation 4(3):249–74.</ref>. It is suggested that companies could prevent many down-stream sustainability issues from arising by reallocating ressources towards front-end innovation, which could effectively 'design out' sustainability issues from the future portfolio<ref name=Sherwin2017/><ref name=Bocken2014/>. | ||
| − | To exemplify, it is a common strategy for the building departments of organizations to base all their sustainability projects on how to build new buildings, parking lots, etc. with minimal environmental impact, but not to consider initiating projects that map which buildings they could entirely avoid building based on e.g. increased digitization of work, or optimization of the utilization of current space. | + | To exemplify, it is a common strategy for the building departments of organizations to base all their sustainability projects on how to build new buildings, parking lots, etc. with minimal environmental impact, but not to consider initiating other types of sustainability projects, for example ones that map which buildings they could entirely avoid building based on e.g. increased digitization of work, or optimization of the utilization of current space. For a manager in such an organization to simply become aware of this scoping bias could have a significant potential in reducing the organizations' emissions and resource consumption. |
| − | ===2. Create conditions for explorative | + | ===2. Create conditions for explorative Front-End Innovation=== |
| − | If you as a manager have been convinced of the potential value of prioritizing front-end eco-innovation, next step is to figure out how to do so | + | If you as a manager have been convinced of the potential value of prioritizing front-end eco-innovation, next step is to figure out how to systematically do so<ref name=UNCompass> |
====2.a Setting value-based priorities and goals==== | ====2.a Setting value-based priorities and goals==== | ||
Revision as of 17:47, 8 May 2023
Developed by Kristine Fisker
Projects shape society and our world permanently, by shaping the impact of the products, buildings, infrastructure, policies and systems designed within them. One of the most critical questions for project management going forward will be how to aid in tackling the large, complex, and interlinked sustainability challenges that need to be solved for societies worldwide to survive and prosper[1].
The Front-End of Innovation (sometimes referred to as the Fuzzy Front-End), when project ideas and concepts are searched for, defined, and a concept is finally selected for further development, is the stage which is most critical in determining the impact of a project, yet the Front-End of Eco-Innovation has received little attention by the field of project management [1] [2] [3].
This article will provide a high level overview of considerations and frameworks that project, program and portfolio managers can apply to transform front-end processes for increased sustainability impact of their projects, which can increase resilience and opportunity creation for their organizations. As the link between front-end innovation and sustainability is an emerging field of study, this article can be read as a combined summary of current best practices within front-end management- and sustainability management.
Contents |
The Front-End: An Overlooked Key to Sustainable Impact
Companies that develop solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can discover new growth opportunities and reduce risk to their continued operation. As governments and international organizations keep increasing efforts to deliver on the SDGs, it will strengthen the financial value of corporate sustainability, e.g. as taxes and pricing mechanisms are introduced to internalize externalities [5]. Eco-innovation will thus become an increasing source of competitive advantage, and mastering the front-end of environmental innovation could be crucial for business success and longevity [2].
The Front-End is the most uncertain, challenging part of projects, while at the same time being the part of the project that has the largest influence on final project impact[4][6](see Figure 1). Investing in the front-end project development is generally described as having one of the highest payback of possible investments [6]. To achieve a high level of sustainability rather than a lower level, companies must integrate sustainability considerations into the early stages of the innovation process, as this is the phase where fundamental project requirements are defined, that will often not be possible to be changed later[2].
Application
Advice and frameworks for managing front-end innovation and sustainability is summarized here in 4 steps of increasing complexity.
1. Know to challenge initial ideas and manage the search for impactful concepts
Realizing the potential and the common pitfalls in front-end innovation management, and allocating resources to manage the front-end, is the very foundation of sustainable project impact.
In numerous projects, the initial solution idea goes unchallenged and eventually becomes the chosen project concept [1] [2][7], and the common practice of today is to apply downstream analysis of a given alternative, rather than upstream evaluation of alternative concepts based on needs, goals and priorities[7]. This tendency to define projects based on a preconceived idea of solution to the problem at hand is understandable, as the front-end can otherwise seem to have too few constraints to be managed. Going with a preconcieved solution from the beginning can however be highly problematic, as the initial solution idea often is based on a large amount of assumptions, and not ideal in terms of appropriateness or impact towards the desired outcomes [8]. This is especially problematic in a sustainability context, [7].
The very foundation of initiating the right sustainable projects is to recognize that the 'fuzzy' front-end can in fact become less fuzzy, if managed with flexibility with appropriate tools and by people with the appropriate skillet and experience. Designers and design engineers are increasingly utilized for their competencies and methodologies in meaningfully managing and facilitating concept exploration and the complexity and uncertainty of front-end innovation[9]. It is suggested that companies could prevent many down-stream sustainability issues from arising by reallocating ressources towards front-end innovation, which could effectively 'design out' sustainability issues from the future portfolio[3][2].
To exemplify, it is a common strategy for the building departments of organizations to base all their sustainability projects on how to build new buildings, parking lots, etc. with minimal environmental impact, but not to consider initiating other types of sustainability projects, for example ones that map which buildings they could entirely avoid building based on e.g. increased digitization of work, or optimization of the utilization of current space. For a manager in such an organization to simply become aware of this scoping bias could have a significant potential in reducing the organizations' emissions and resource consumption.
2. Create conditions for explorative Front-End Innovation
If you as a manager have been convinced of the potential value of prioritizing front-end eco-innovation, next step is to figure out how to systematically do soCite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag.
Open Innovation: Going beyond the individual organization
Limitations
"The tools required for this can perhaps be mastered more easily in big, resourceful companies, but larger companies may have difficulties in allowing the eco-innovation process to be open, informal and creative, aspects which contributed positively to the success of novel eco- innovations." ([2])
The Sustainable Innovation Early Phase Model
Tool [10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Morris, Peter W. G. 2017. Climate Change and What the Project Management Profession Should Be Doing about It - a UK Perspective. APM, UCL.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Bocken, N. M. P., M. Farracho, R. Bosworth, and R. Kemp, 2014. The Front-End of Eco-Innovation for Eco-Innovative Small and Medium Sized Companies, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management 31:43–57. Available at: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/245338/The-front-end-of-eco-innovation_final__open-access.pdf?sequence=1 )
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sherwin, Chris, 2017. The Fuzzy Front-End of Sustainability, Edie. (https://www.edie.net/the-fuzzy-front-end-of-sustainability/) )
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Figueiredo, João, N. Correia, I. Ruivo, and J. L. Alves. 2015. “A Cross-Functional Approach for the Fuzzy Front End: Highlights From a Conceptual Project.” in International Conference on Engineering Design ICED15. Milan, Italy. (https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-CROSS-FUNCTIONAL-APPROACH-FOR-THE-FUZZY-FRONT-A-Figueiredo-Correia/717996dc452bfc56468287064373c468d8de282b)
- ↑ United Nations, FRI, and wbcsd. n.d. “SDG Compass - The Guide for Business Action on the SDGs (https://sdgcompass.org/).”
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dewulf, Kristel. 2013. "Sustainable Product Innovation: The Importance of the Front-End Stage in the Innovation Process." in Advances in Industrial Design Engineering. IntechOpen.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Olsson, Nils O. E., and Knut Samset. 2006. “Front-End Project Management, Flexibility, and Project Success.” in PMI® Research Conference: New Directions in Project Management, Montréal, Québec, Canada. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
- ↑ Cross, Nigel. 2000. Engineering Design Methods: Strategies for Product Design. 4th ed. John Wiley And Sons Ltd.
- ↑ Hernández, Ricardo J., Rachel Cooper, Bruce Tether, and Emma Murphy. 2018. “Design, the Language of Innovation: A Review of the Design Studies Literature.” She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation 4(3):249–74.
- ↑ Stock, Tim, Michael Obenaus, Amara Slaymaker, and Günther Seliger, 2017. A Model for the Development of Sustainable Innovations for the Early Phase of the Innovation Process, Procedia Manufacturing 8:215–22. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351978917300331?via%3Dihub
