energizing innovation in integrated project delivery final report - SPUR

• How well does the new technology meet the firm’s strategic technical goal?
• How well does the new technology fit in with such goals as new marketing in core
business, strengthening of core business, licensing of technology, finding new areas
for manufacturing, and enhancing the firm’s image as a technology leader?
• How well does the new technology relate to current technologies?
• How innovative is the new technology?
• What is the current market size of existing or similar technology?
• What will the growth of the market be over the next five years?
• What are the group’s abilities based on past performance?
• How clear is the proposed new technology development process?
In addition to measures to assess the potential for an innovation to be successful, possible metrics
for assessing the outcome of an innovation are identified in the literature. The following metrics
for assessing the success and impacts of innovation in the construction industry have been
suggested (Egbu 2001; Turrell 2006; Tucker 2004):
• The percentage of profit/sale derived from the innovation
• The number of new products/solutions introduced (rate)
• The number of innovative ideas generated
• The number of man hours put into an innovation
• Time to market
• The level of client satisfaction
• The average failure rate
• Linkage of innovation planning to overall business strategy
• The extent to which the workforce is involved with innovation
• Revenue growth of new products
• Patent submissions
• Idea and submission flow through and organization
• Percent of current year sales due to new products released in the past N-years
Dikmen et al. (2005) identify leading indicators and trailing indicators of innovation. The
leading indicators include: objectives of the firm, required and available resources, and
government incentives. Trailing indicators include: technological advancements, improvements
in schedule, budget, and quality, client satisfaction, monetary gains, social benefits, and
increased effectiveness of the firm.
The Construction Industry Institute (CII) and National Science Foundation (NSF) identified five
factors that need to be present in order for change (innovation) to occur in engineering and
construction through the implementation of new technologies and transfer of information
(CII/NSF 1997). These five factors are:
1. Change must have value to the owner. Most changes happen when demanded by the
project owner. The owner, who allocates and controls funding, must see financial
value in any change.
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