From an online discussion group:
This academic article discussed the problems with structured process, and the types of informal practices that were adopted by internal communities in spite of process to accommodate the needs of projects. In some situations, informal practices also subverted well-constructed processes.
Jones, P.H. (2002). When successful products prevent strategic innovation. Design Management Review, 13 (2).
The research covered the range of process types which affect product design:
Organizational Management, Market Research, Product Lifecycle, Product Management, Project Management, Product Design and Development
Although I did not do an exhaustive survey of processes by name, I covered in-depth cases of software product development companies using 10 case projects. The thesis of the research was:
“As the successful firm embraces more conservative business values over time, they embed into management processes, from market research to human resources, from R&D to sales. As both customer intimacy and margin values unify with everyday project and product management practice, these values become implicit and more resistant to change. The same values that create team loyalty, organizational purpose, and a shared sense of identity also implicitly limit types of work practices, investments, and even customers. With values an ultimate source of decisions, people cannot easily see these constraints, let alone question their impact.”
Where we get into conflicts with process:
“In software product companies we typically find creative independence residing with designers and developers more than other functions. As members of expert-based competencies, they represent disciplines educated by professional values, and also their own community of practice values. While innovation values are typically espoused within design groups, research points to the prevalence of values conflicts between design and other organizational functions. The range of conflict manifests from everyday disagreements within project teams to management’s reorganization of design groups. The most common conflicts emerge as disputes over appropriate processes for product design, and over ownership of activities in design practice, from customer testing to product interface definition.”
I’m a strong advocate of growing your own process, and describe ways of doing that in my book Team Design, which also covers and evaluates development processes, especially those used by teams in collaborative practice.
Peter Jones
REDESIGN RESEARCH innovation insight
http://redesignresearch.com