Your next bad project is already in your pipeline. Find it before it starts.
Most organizations, when they first apply the IpOp Model to their existing project portfolio, discover that several approved initiatives would not survive a rigorous pre-project analysis. Stopping or redirecting them early is always less expensive than finding out late. One conversation is usually enough to identify where your project governance is most exposed.
Back the right projects. Every time.
The rigorous pre-project methodology to back only the initiatives worth backing.
Most projects fail before they even start. The decision to back them was the mistake.
Budget overruns. Missed deadlines. Initiatives abandoned halfway through. The standard diagnosis blames execution. The real cause is almost always earlier: the project should never have been approved as it was, or should never have been approved at all.
We give your organization the methodology to make better project decisions — before a single resource is committed. Rigorous, structured, and field-proven across hundreds of projects in organizations ranging from global multinationals to public institutions.
What It Is
Most organizations approve projects based on the strength of the pitch, not the quality of the analysis. Resources flow toward initiatives that are politically well-supported or enthusiastically presented — not toward the ones with the highest likelihood of delivering real value on time and within budget. The result is a project portfolio chronically burdened with initiatives that were improperly calibrated from day one.
The IpOp Model is the world's most comprehensive framework for pre-project analysis. Endorsed by ISO 56007 — the international standard for managing opportunities and ideas, adopted by 42 countries in 2023 — it gives organizations a structured, no-mercy process to assess any project before committing to it: whether the project involves IT, infrastructure, product development, process redesign, HR, or strategic transformation.
It works by systematically outlining the critical unknowns affecting all the critical dimensions of the project before approval:
- The customers/users' buy-in
- The funders' reason to commit resources
- The context
- The stakeholders' support
- The resources required
- The risks involved
- The action plan needed to actually deliver
Nothing is assumed. Nothing is glossed over. Every dimension that could derail the project is surfaced and addressed while there is still time to act on it.
The output is a rigorous standardized Opportunity Case — a decision-ready governance document that gives your leadership team the information it needs to back a project with confidence, redirect it, or stop it early before it drains budget and teams.
Used by organizations including Nestlé, Airbus, Sanofi, SICPA, Swiss banks, public hospitals, and governmental institutions. Developed at the University of Geneva. Recommended by ISO 56007 as the leading pre-project analysis methodology.
Go deeper
Videos & Podcasts
Books
Pre-Project Excellence: Unleashing the Power of IpOp Model and ISO 56007 for Superior Project Outcomes and Selection
Raphaël H Cohen — Springer, 2024 (English)
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Winning Opportunities: Proven Tools for Converting Your Projects into Success
Raphaël H Cohen — Apress/Springer, 2016 (English)
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Concevoir et Lancer un Projet — De l'idée au succès
Raphaël H Cohen — Eyrolles, 2006/2011 (French)
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Exzellenz schon in der Vorprojektphase: Das Potential von IpOp-Modell und ISO 56007
Raphaël H Cohen — Springer (German)
View bookArticles & Research
ISO 56007: How to Slow Down the Flood of Projects
ISO 56007 pour ralentir la déferlante de projets
Uncertainty in Innovation
Effectiveness of the IpOp Decision Tree
Reducing Innovation Failures and Resource Waste
Pour réduire les échecs en matière d'innovation et le gaspillage de ressources
Methods & tools
IpOp Tools — Professional Web Software
The optional software built directly on the IpOp Model to accelerate pre-project analysis, significantly reduce the workload of project teams, and provide decision-makers with the most comprehensive view of project feasibility and challenges. It guides project teams through the full pre-project analysis process, producing a complete, ISO 56007-compliant Opportunity Case in a fraction of the time a manual process requires. Used by project teams in industrial companies, banks, healthcare institutions, and public sector organizations.
IpOp Model Canvas — Free Download
A structured PDF form to capture and organize the full output of an IpOp Model analysis. Ready to use immediately, without software. The right starting point for teams being introduced to pre-project discipline for the first time.
Testimonials
Raphael H Cohen has been instrumental in the success of the Nestlé Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. With 10 cohorts representing about 230 people, we now have a community of agile and audacious change agents. The program has delivered close to 50 real bottom-up innovations. Thanks to these projects, the program pays for itself.
Our intrapreneurs who have been trained with the IpOp Model confirmed that it has improved their ability to analyze innovation projects in a more holistic manner and that it has changed the way they look at their projects. I recommend Raphaël Cohen to any type of organization wishing to increase innovation capacities and empower intrapreneur profiles.
Raphael H Cohen has definitely introduced the concept of Intrapreneurship in our organization. By using the IpOp Model that he has designed, he has brought a tangible and effective process which is now identified as a key contribution to our company innovation practice. I recommend without restriction Raphael H Cohen to any organization wishing to increase its agility.
What We Do For You
Training
We deliver workshops and executive seminars that equip project sponsors, innovation leads, and project managers with the full IpOp Model methodology — so they can apply it immediately to real projects in your organization.
Participants leave with:
- A working knowledge of the IpOp Model and its seven analytical dimensions
- The ability to run a full pre-project analysis independently
- A completed or partially completed Opportunity Case for a real project
- A shared language for project governance decisions across their team
Consulting
We work directly with your leadership or project governance team to apply the IpOp Model to your existing project portfolio or pipeline:
- Pre-project audit of approved or candidate projects
- Design of an IpOp-based project selection and governance process
- Training of internal facilitators to run IpOp analyses independently
- Integration of the IpOp Model into your existing PMO or innovation governance framework
Keynote Speaking
A direct, evidence-based talk on why most projects fail before they start — and what a rigorous pre-project methodology changes in practice. Illustrated with real cases across industries. Not a theoretical framework presented from a comfortable distance.
Facilitation
We run structured project assessment workshops using the IpOp Model as the operating framework. Each session produces ranked, fully analyzed project candidates — decision-ready for your governance review. Suitable for strategic planning cycles, innovation portfolio reviews, or any moment when your organization needs to make better choices about where to invest its resources.