Managing design in the extended enterprise Rachel Cooper 1 , Margaret Bruce 2 , Andrew Wootton 1 , David Hands 1 and Lucy Daly 2 1 University of Salford, Research Centre for Art & Design, Centenary Building, Peru Street, Salford M3 6EQ, UK E-mail: r.cooper@salford.ac.uk 2 UMIST, Department of Textiles, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK Design is a key driver of the innovation process. It is the creative engine underpinning a new product or service. Quite often, however, design is treated as the Cinderella of the innovation process and as such can be neglected and not managed as integral to the innovation process. Using examples from construction and manufacturing sectors, effective approaches to design management in the extended enterprise are identified. The process protocol has been developed for construction and, as shown here, can also be adopted for effective design management in manufacturing. Keywords: customer value, design, design management, design quality, innovation, supply chain management La conception est un e´le´ment moteur important du processus d’innovation. C’est le moteur de la cre´ation sous-jacent a ` un nouveau produit ou service. Or, la conception est tre `s souvent traite´e comme la Cendrillon du processus innovateur et, a ` ce titre, peut e ˆtre ne´glige´e et ne pas e ˆtre ge´re´e comme faisant partie de ce processus. S’appuyant sur des exemples pris dans les secteurs de la construction et des industries manufacturie `res, les auteurs exposent des approches re´elles de la gestion de la conception dans l’entreprise au sens large. Le protocole relatif a ` ce processus a e´te´ e´labore´ pour la construction et, comme on le voit ici, il peut e´galement e ˆtre adapte´ a ` une gestion efficace de la conception dans les industries manufacturie `res. Mots cle ´s: valeur pour le client, conception, gestion de la conception, qualite´ de la conception, innovation, gestion de la chaı ˆne d’approvisionnement Introduction Despite efforts by numerous governments and govern- ment agencies over the past 50 years at least, design remains a Cinderella subject in most industries, yet without design expertise more than 50% of what most industries do would not be achieved. Why does it remain elusive, why is design considered a problem and why are not there more senior management roles in companies dedicated to design management? These are frequently asked questions by researchers in the area of design management and the answer is that too often firms do not know how to measure the value of design and its contribution to the bottom line. However, the value of design is both financial and non-financial, it is tangible and intangible, and therefore all pervasive and a hard target to hit. What is known is that good design addresses stake- holder needs, feeds innovation, and contributes to con- sumer satisfaction and increased sales. There is also evidence of the design professionals’ ability to move across functional and organizational barriers and to drive innovation (Bruce and Bessant, 2002). Therefore, in an environment where outsourcing and supply chain management are essential elements of good business practice across all sectors of industry, it is critical to understand how to integrate design in the innovation process and to improve design quality, particularly in the extended enterprise. The present paper reports on research undertaken to understand how designers operate both in organiza- tions and through the supply chain to deliver innovation BUILDING RESEARCH &I NFORMATION (2003) 31(5), September–October, 367–378 Building Research & Information ISSN 0961-3218 print/ISSN 1466-4321 online # 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd http: / /www.tandf.co.uk /journals DOI: 10.1080 /0961321032000107555