On NPD processes-projects fit. Design principles and framework for building a decision-making tool through sensemaking

Despite the deployment of multiple New Product Development (NPD) methodologies, firms still rely heavily on a one-size-fits-all approach and tend to use a single process to carry out most NPD projects. Although the adoption of different methodologies reflects a firm's commitment to adaptability, their coexistence introduces complexity and ambiguity that becomes difficult to manage in the absence of formal activation guidelines. Against this background, this study informs the construction of a decision-making tool that any organisation can build to select which NPD process to activate for a specific project. Employing a Design Science Research approach over 8 years (2015-2018), based on in-depth case studies of four different firms and a workshop with managers from 21 different firms, we derived three design principles and a framework that enable the construction of such a decision-making tool. The design principles identify the role of individual and collective, sensebreaking and sensegiving, and retrospective and prospective sensemaking as key mechanisms to enable NPD process-project fit. By anchoring decisions in a shared understanding of methodologies, their applicability and strategic fit, organisations can optimise their NPD processes, ensure alignment with project goals, and maximise the potential for innovation success.