R&D plays a crucial role in developing new products, the commercialisation of which can drive corporate growth. Over three decades, research has focused the new product development (NPD) process and it is known that developing new products is a knowledge-intensive, risky activity. Since industry surveys show that many NPD projects, particularly software-based ones, fail to meet their schedules and objectives. Consequently, today’s R&D managers still need ways to plan and conduct NPD more effectively. Project-based Learning (PBL) – the generation of specific technical and process knowledge during and after a project – is a potential way to improve NPD. Therefore, this paper investigated the research question: Does PBL enhance the quality of planning in subsequent software development projects? The study used a sample of 47 software development projects at three multinational organisations. Significantly, the findings show that PBL does enhance the quality of planning of subsequent software development projects. In particular, the quality of planning is increased in projects with high levels of uncertainty; where team members work in a project-based structure with strong collaboration; and when the pressure to deliver projects is high. The contribution of the research at a theoretical level is that it identified an important link between learning and the quality of planning in subsequent NPD projects. At a practical level, the study identifies specific steps R&D managers can take to improve the performance of software development projects, with all their associated challenges.

中文翻译：

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通过基于项目的学习和规划质量来加强软件开发

研发在开发新产品方面起着至关重要的作用，新产品的商业化可以推动企业增长。三十多年来，研究的重点是新产品开发 (NPD) 过程，众所周知，开发新产品是一项知识密集型、高风险的活动。由于行业调查显示，许多 NPD 项目，尤其是基于软件的项目，未能满足其时间表和目标。因此，今天的研发经理仍然需要更有效地计划和实施 NPD 的方法。基于项目的学习 (PBL) - 在项目期间和之后生成特定的技术和流程知识 - 是改进 NPD 的潜在方法。因此，本文对研究问题进行了探讨：PBL 是否提高了后续软件开发项目的规划质量？该研究使用了三个跨国组织的 47 个软件开发项目的样本。值得注意的是，研究结果表明 PBL 确实提高了后续软件开发项目的规划质量。尤其是在具有高度不确定性的项目中，规划质量得到提高；团队成员在基于项目的结构中工作，并具有很强的协作能力；当交付项目的压力很大时。该研究在理论层面的贡献在于，它确定了后续 NPD 项目中学习与规划质量之间的重要联系。在实践层面，该研究确定了研发经理可以采取的具体步骤，以提高软件开发项目的绩效，