0 Introduction

0.1 General

An organization’s ability to innovate is recognized as a key factor for sustained growth, economic viability, increased well-being, and the development of society.

The innovation capabilities of an organization include the ability to understand and respond to changing conditions of its context, to pursue new opportunities, and to leverage the knowledge and creativity of people within the organization, and in collaboration with external interested parties.

An organization can innovate more effectively and efficiently if all necessary activities and other interrelated or interacting elements are managed as a system.

An innovation management system guides the organization to determine its innovation vision, strategy, policy, and objectives, and to establish the support and processes needed to achieve the intended outcomes.

The potential benefits of implementing an innovation management system in accordance with this document are:

a) increased ability to manage uncertainty;
b) increased growth, revenues, profitability, and competitiveness;
c) reduced costs and waste, and increased productivity and resource efficiency;
d) improved sustainability and resilience;
e) increased satisfaction of users, customers, citizens, and other interested parties;
f) sustained renewal of the portfolio of offerings;
g) engaged and empowered people in the organization;
h) increased ability to attract partners, collaborators, and funding;
i) enhanced reputation and valuation of the organization;
j) facilitated compliance with regulations and other relevant requirements.

0.2 Innovation management principles

This document is based on innovation management principles. An innovation management principle includes a statement of the principle, a rationale of why the principle is important for the organization, some examples of benefits associated with the principle, and finally examples of actions the organization can take to improve performance when applying the principle.

The following principles are the foundation of the innovation management system:

a) realization of value;
b) future-focused leaders;
c) strategic direction;
d) culture;
e) exploiting insights;
f) managing uncertainty;
g) adaptability;
h) systems approach.

The principles can be considered as an open set to be integrated and adapted within the organization.

0.3 Innovation management system

0.3.1 General

An innovation management system is a set of interrelated and interacting elements, aiming for the realization of value. It provides a common framework to develop and deploy innovation capabilities, evaluate performance, and achieve intended outcomes.

The elements can be gradually adopted to implement the system according to the particular context and circumstances of the organization. Full benefits can be gained when all the elements of the innovation management system, are adopted by the organization.

Ultimately, the effective implementation of the innovation management system relies on the commitment by top management and the ability of leaders to promote innovation capabilities and a culture supporting innovation activities.

0.3.2 Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle

The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle enables continual improvement of the innovation management system to ensure that the innovation initiatives and processes are adequately supported, resourced, and managed, and that opportunities and risks are identified and addressed by the organization.

The PDCA cycle can be applied to the innovation management system as a whole or its parts. Figure 1 illustrates how Clauses 4 to 10 can be grouped in relation to the PDCA cycle. The cycle is informed and directed by the context of the organization (Clause 4) and its leadership (Clause 5).

Figure 1 — Representation of the framework of the innovation management system with references to the clauses of this document

The cycle can be briefly described as follows:

a) Plan: Establish the objectives and determine the actions needed to address opportunities and risks (Clause 6);
b) Do: Implement what is planned in terms of support and operations (Clauses 7 and 8);
c) Check: Monitor and (where applicable) measure results against objectives (Clause 9);
d) Act: Take actions to continually improve the performance of the innovation management system (Clause 10).

0.3.3 Managing uncertainty and risk

Innovation activities need to address high degrees of variation and uncertainty, particularly during the early creative phases. They are explorative and characterized by search, experimentation, and learning. As the process progresses, knowledge is gained and uncertainty is reduced.

Innovation initiatives involve risk-taking and not all of these will result in innovation. Discontinued initiatives are an integral part of the processes and sources of learning as input to future innovation initiatives.

The acceptable degree of risk is dependent on the innovation ambition, the organization’s capabilities and the types of innovations addressed by the organization. Managing risk can be addressed by different approaches, e.g. iterative learning, partnering, or portfolio diversification with different risk levels. A systems approach is critical for understanding interdependencies and managing uncertainties.

Innovation initiatives can be implemented by processes that identify opportunities, create and validate concepts, and develop and deploy solutions. These innovation processes are implemented iteratively and often in a non-linear sequence. They need to be flexible and adaptable to the types of innovations the organization seeks to achieve.

Organizations can establish unified or separate structures, to implement innovation activities. These may require different leadership styles, competencies, and cultures. Implementing an innovation management system can encourage the organization to challenge the status quo and established organizational assumptions and structures. This can help the organization to manage uncertainties and risks more effectively.

0.4 Relationship with other management system standards

This document applies the framework developed by ISO to improve alignment among its International Standards for management systems (see ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Consolidated ISO Supplement, Annex SL). This framework enables an organization to align or integrate its innovation management system with the guidance or requirements of other management system standards.

This document relates to the ISO 56000 family of standards, developed by ISO/TC 279, as follows:

a) ISO 56000 1 Innovation management — Fundamentals and vocabulary provides essential background for the proper understanding and implementation of this document;
b) ISO TR 56004 Innovation management assessment — Guidance provides guidance for organizations to plan, implement and follow-up on an innovation management assessment;
c) ISO 56003 Innovation management — Tools and methods for innovation partnership — Guidance;
d) and subsequent standards provide guidance on tools and methods to support the implementation of the innovation management system.

The implementation of an effective and efficient innovation management system can have impact on, or be impacted by, other management systems and can require integration at several levels.

Management system standards complement each other but can also be used independently. This document can be implemented together with other management system standards, helping organizations to balance the exploitation of existing offerings and operations, with the exploration and introduction of new offerings. Organizations can find a balance between innovation management guidance and other management system standards.

Organizations that have not adopted other management system standards can adopt this document as stand-alone guidance within their organization.

BS EN ISO 56002:2021

Innovation management. Innovation management system. Guidance

Current

Published:

31 Jan 2021