Managing cycles in development processes - Analysis and classification of external context factors

Industry is facing diverse challenges initiating from the dynamic temporal behavior and interdependencies of the elements within the innovation process as well as in its context. One central element underlying these intense variations and uncertainties is the development process, experiencing various cyclic variations and influences from the process interior as well as from process- and company-external factors. Consequently, research is aiming at a sophisticated management of these cycles and dependencies. Paving the way for a holistic management of cycles and correlations, this paper addresses the specific aspect of influencing factors from the external development process context. Based on an evaluation of established approaches characterizing the product development context, an integrated concept is synthesized, providing a classification of the various specific influencing factors. Thereby, an enhanced, structured understanding of the dynamics, dependencies and implications of the external influencing factors can be supported, thus laying the ground for an empirical validation in industry.