Invention Machine takes another step in quest to make innovation standard procedure

Upgraded software platform reconstructs product designers' thought processes

Sidney Hill -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 9/23/2009 11:27:07 AM

Invention Machine, a supplier of software to help companies improve product innovation processes, says the new version of its Goldfire platform can boost the average product designer's productivity by 20 to 30 percent.
Goldfire 5.5, released September 22, contains a "knowledge navigator" capability that Invention Machine contends will foster improved collaboration among product developers by accurately reconstructing the thought processes and research methods that lead innovative thinkers to develop specific designs. This is a continuation of Goldfire's primary objective, which is to help companies develop standard processes for generating and nurturing innovative ideas for new products.
The solution guides product developers through specific innovation tasks and appropriate workflows with the goal of delivering products that can be both marketed and built on the first pass.
The knowledge navigator in Goldfire 5.5 contains enhanced semantic technology that automatically categorizes concepts and ties relevant intelligence to current innovation initiatives in near real-time.
The Goldfire upgrade also includes a new configuration that allows for the intelligence related to product innovation to be captured by Goldfire and then shared with a broader range of users across the enterprise. This new configuration-called Goldfire Insight-enables the easy sharing of information about the status of new products in the pipeline with business development, strategic planning, and competitive analysis teams.
"At Boston Scientific, we are committed to delivering innovative medical technologies, and Invention Machine Goldfire is integral to our innovation and product design process," said Randy Schiestl, VP R&D, Boston Scientific. "The new software will allow us to expand deployment and empower more people so they can research customer needs efficiently and identify the right solutions quickly, increasing our ability to ‘deliver what's next'."