This document summarizes a presentation on managing innovation projects. It discusses two types of innovation: small incremental innovations and big transformative innovations. Big innovations include discovery projects and acquiring other innovative companies. When managing innovative projects, predictability is not possible as the outcome is uncertain. However, large organizations still seek predictability through control functions. This increases bureaucracy and risks stifling innovation. To protect innovative projects, managers must negotiate independence from control functions and ensure resources are spent innovating rather than reporting. The principles for enabling innovative projects include setting boundaries instead of structure, redefining success metrics, and allowing innovative cultures to form without excessive bureaucracy.

1. UMD Project Management Symposium
May 7-8, 2020 Slide 1
Richard Wyatt
2020 Project Management Symposium
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF
INNOVATION

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Small ‘i’ innovation:
A pervasive culture of innovation
• Incremental
• Cultural
• Process or Product
• ‘Happy little accidents’
Big ‘I’ innovation:
• Discovery projects
• Acquired innovation

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Discovery ‘Projects’
A project team that can innovate within the boundaries of predefined project
A bounded effort against a known issue (Tiger team)
Planned Innovation or Research and Development
Acquired Innovation
Acquisition of an organization that has an innovative capability
An acquisition’s value proposition includes an innovative culture
Acquisition of a small organization/team by an established large company

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Predictability:
Traditionally projects deliver pre-defined
deliverables, at a pre-determined cost, on a
specified date with an agreed level of Quality.

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• People depend on predictability in every-day life.
• Organizations depend on supply chain predictability.
• Shareholder want predictable returns
• Control Functions exist to ensure predictably.
• Project managers deliver predictably.
However, Innovation is not a predictable outcome from a defined set of inputs.
Predictability
Predictability and Innovation

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TIAA PUBLIC
Core
Operating
Business Streamlined
Minimized bottlenecks and constraints
Well understood Value Streams
Repeatable best practice
Predictable
Risk Averse
Bottom line
Developed
Innovation
Acquired
Innovation
Creative, not established process
Break the rules
Out-side the box thinking
Fail fast
Uncertain pay-back
Rapidly changing circumstances
Innovation

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Organizational reaction to Uncertainty

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• Large organizations typically react to uncertainty with a rigid structure of
control functions
• Empower committees to establish operating requirements and validate
compliance
• Aggregated control function resources can outnumber total resources in
Innovation projects or Innovation acquisitions
Biggest risk to Innovation projects/acquisition is the suffocating demands of
control functions seeking line of sight into uncertain innovation activity
Organizational reaction to Uncertainty (a lack of predictability)

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Protect the innovation Ecosystem

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Project Managers can play a critical role in protecting resources within an Innovation Project or Innovative subsidiary
• Negotiate agreement with control function on guard rails that give
the Project/Subsidiary space to innovate
• Ensure culture of personal risk taking
• Filter and minimize impact all control function requests
Main priority for the Project/Program Manager is to ensure the members
of the team spend their time innovating not administrating.

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Principles for enabling managing Innovation projects
• Set boundaries, don’t set structure
• Redefine success without traditional project predictabilities
• Ensure time is spend creating
• Co-locate, facilitate happy little collisions (break affiliations to corporate structures)
• Coordinate at the corporate level not with inefficiency at the project/subsidiary level
• Enable innovation culture to form, thinking out of the box, fail fast, fail often
Ensure the Project/Subsidiary has the freedom to act differently

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Questions?
Contact:
Richard Wyatt
TIAA
rwyatt@tiaa.org
267-980-2061