Enhancing the Fuzzy Front-End Through the Ideation Roadmapping Framework

The starting point of successful innovation is the generation of creative ideas. Managing and controlling ideas is imperative for organizations as it enables them to save on research costs, shape future developments, especially in sustainability, and maintain their unique capabilities. As a result, idea management is recognized as a critical component of the Fuzzy Front End (FFE) process, as it assists organizations in effectively capturing and evaluating a wide range of good ideas and opportunities for innovation. By employing idea management tools (for example, idea management systems) and procedures, organizations can manage the FFE in a more structured manner, reducing the risk of spending resources on ideas that do not align with their strategic objectives or customer needs. The significance of the FFE and idea management is exceptional in academia (numerous publications) and in practice (application of various software solutions). Consequently, this paper aims to introduce a roadmapping framework for idea management, which might serve as the basis for comprehending and implementing the process and for conducting in-depth research on individual components of the idea management process. The framework is based on a literature review and interpretation of existing idea management systems.