Diamond of Innovation

The 'Diamond of Innovation' model of classifying projects was originally introduced by Shenhar and Dvir (2007b) and was later enhanced to its present articulation (Shenhar at al. 2013). The model categorizes projects using four dimensions explained below—novelty, technology, complexity, and pace (abbreviated NTCP)—each categorized into four levels.

The diamond approach model of project management measures success at the four dimensions of novelty, technology, complexity, and pace of a project. The first novelty, as used by the authors, involves the uncertainty of the goal that is to be achieved and is an indicator of how clear or unclear the project goal and requirements are (). My group’s goal when it came to novelty was to develop a new derivative, as well as building upon an existing platform. The second dimension is technology, and it is described as the level of technological uncertainty involved and ranges from low to super high-tech. The project we worked on was low tech, due to the nature of the project. The complexity of the project, however, involved both the complexity of the restaurant and of the organization () involved, which is also described in the book(). The measures of complexity range from an assembly of components to an array (i.e., a complex system of systems). Finally, pace is the urgency required for the project, or its time frame for completion. It is interesting to note that pace along with complexity are parts of the diamond approach model, and they are also part of the triple constraint model pervasive in traditional project management methodology (comprising cost, scope, and time) advocated by the Project Management Institute().