%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2016 %T A Proposed Approach for Idea Selection in Front End of Innovation Activities %A Andrew N. Forde %A Mark S. Fox %K FEoI %K front end of innovation %K idea selection %K innovation %K multi-criteria decision making %K possible worlds %K real options %K stochastic models %X Current research indicates that the idea evaluation processes of many firms are ad hoc or intuitive, with very few firms having defined methods. We propose a new approach to select the best ideas to pursue amidst different probable versions of the future. In support of "front end of innovation" processes, the approach emphasizes the formation of requirements for any idea that can be prioritized and measured against possible future worlds. This approach is currently conceptual; future work will develop the approach into a methodology that can be tested using real-world problems. This article will be relevant to those who are exploring novel methods and approaches to selecting the best idea within their particular domains. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 6 %P 48-55 %8 08/2016 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1011 %N 8 %1 University of Toronto Andrew N. Forde is a PhD student in Industrial and Information Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada. His research focuses on using possible-world analysis and engineering ontologies to establish utility functions that can accurately predict the usefulness of an idea in the future. His work is being co-sponsored by Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS) and a Toronto-based technology firm, IMC. %2 University of Toronto Mark S. Fox is the Distinguished Professor of Urban Systems Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is a Professor of Industrial Engineering with a cross appointment in the Department of Computer Science, Director of the new Centre for Social Services Engineering, and Head of the Enterprise Integration Laboratory. Dr. Fox received his BSc in Computer Science from the University of Toronto in 1975, and in 1983 received his PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, United States. In 1979, he was a founding member of the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University as well as the founding Director of the Intelligent Systems Laboratory within the Institute. He is a past AAAI councillor and co-founder of the AAAI Special Interest Group in AI in Manufacturing. Dr. Fox has published over 200 papers. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1011