How do you get from a good idea to a finished product?

In the diagram shown here, we have recorded the path from the idea to the finished product as a spiral, in which it is easy to see which stations are to be passed through and in which order.

The time required, the costs incurred and the growing impact can also be estimated:

• the longer the distance travelled on the spiral, the more complex the project becomes, and
• the larger the diameter, the greater the responsibility or impact.

On the following pages we describe different ways on this project spiral to explain why different starting situations also mean different expenditures.