Faculty & Research
Alan D. MacCormack

Alan D. MacCormack

MBA Class of 1949 Adjunct Professor of Business Administration

MBA Class of 1949 Adjunct Professor of Business Administration

Technology and Operations Management
+1 (617) 495-6856
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Alan D. MacCormack
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(617) 495-6856
Publications Research Summary Awards & Honors

Journal Articles and Peer-Reviewed Publications
Journal Articles and Peer-Reviewed Publications

Book Chapters
Book Chapters

  • MacCormack, Alan, Carliss Baldwin, and John Rusnak. "Evaluating the Impact of the Mozilla Software Redesign Effort." In Design Structure Matrix Methods and Applications, edited by S. D. Eppinger and T. R. Browning. MIT Press, 2012. View Details
  • Brunner, D., L. Fleming, A. MacCormack, and D. Zinner. "R&D Project Selection and Portfolio Management: A Review of the Past, a Description of the Present, and a Sketch of the Future." In The Handbook of Technology and Innovation Management. Edited by Scott Shane. Blackwell Publishing, 2009. View Details
  • MacCormack, A. D., and M. Iansiti. "Developing Products for the Internet." In Sense and Respond: Capturing Value in the Network Era, edited by Stephen P. Bradley and Richard L. Nolan. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998. View Details

Working Papers
Working Papers

Cases and Teaching Materials
Cases and Teaching Materials

Presentations
Presentations

  • Trabucchi, Daniel, Antonella Moretto, Tommaso Buganza, and Alan MacCormack. "Disrupting the Disruptors or Enhancing Them? How Blockchain Re-Shapes Two-Sided Platforms." Paper presented at the 26th Innovation and Product Development Management Conference, European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, Leicester, UK, June 9–11, 2019. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Exploring the Links Between Product and Organizational Architectures: An Empirical Study of Open and Closed Source Software." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Milan, Italy, June 11–13, 2006. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. Exploring the Relationship between Product Architecture and Organizational Form: A Test of "Conway's Law". In Empirical Studies of Software Development (Session Chair). Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Production and Operations Management Society, Boston, MA, April 28–May 1, 2006. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Exploring the Architecture of Complex Software Products." In Design Structure Matrix Applications. Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 5–8, 2005. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Exploring the Structure of Complex Software Designs: An Empirical Study of Open Source and Proprietary Code." Paper presented at the Wharton Technology Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 01–04, 2005. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Managing Innovation and Product Development...Under Uncertainty." Paper presented at the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November 19–22, 2004. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Empirical Research in Software Deveopment: Lessons from the Field." In Empirical Research in New Product Development. Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, October 24–27, 2004. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Achieving Flexibility in NPD: New Processes and New Ways of Organizing." In Better, Faster Innovation: Leading the Flexible Organization Conference. Paper presented at the Better, Faster Innovation : Leading the Flexible Enterprise, Boston, August 01, 2004. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Flexibility in New Product Development: Evidence, Insights and Obstacles from the Field." In Annual Metrics for Portfolio and Resource Management Conference. , Chicago, IL, October 01, 2003. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Agile Software Development: Evidence from the Field." Paper presented at the Agile Development Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, June 25–28, 2003. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Conference Organizer, Session Chair." Paper presented at the HBS-MIT Sloan Free/Open Source Software Conference, Boston, MA, June 19–20, 2003. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan, and Marco Iansiti. "Intellectual Property, Architecture, and the Management of Technological Transitions: Evidence from Microsoft Corporation." Paper presented at the Global Acquisition, Protection, and Leveraging of Technological Competencies, Katz Graduate School of Business, October 01, 2002. View Details
  • McAfee, Andrew, and Alan MacCormack. "To Beta or Not to Beta?: The Pedagogy and Execution of a Web-based New Product Development Exercise." Paper presented at the Production and Operations Management Society Annual Conference, San Francisco, April 01, 2002. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Developing Products on Internet Time: Managing Innovation in Turbulent Environments." Paper presented at the European Doctoral Summer School on Technology Management, Como, Italy, August 26–30, 2001. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan, and Roberto Verganti. "Managing the Sources of Uncertainty: Matching Process and Context in New Product Development." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Belgium, May 05, 2000. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Running Product Development at Internet Speed." Paper presented at the Product Development and Management Association Annual Global Conference, FL, October 10, 1999. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "A Comparative Study of Product Development Process Design." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, May 5, 1999. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan, M. Iansiti, and R Verganti. "Rapid Learning and Adaptation in Product Development: An Empirical Study of the Internet Software Industry." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Italy, May 01, 1998. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Responding to Changing Customer Needs: The Design of a Flexible Development Process." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Montreal, April 4, 1998. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Managing Product Development in Rapidly Changing Environments." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, October 10, 1997. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan David. "Developing Products on Internet Time." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Dallas, October 10, 1997. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan David, and M. Iansiti. "Product Development Flexibility." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, May 01, 1997. View Details

Other Publications and Materials
Other Publications and Materials

All Publications

Alan MacCormack is the MBA Class of 1949 Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, a member of the HBS Digital Initiative, and a core faculty member in the new MS/MBA joint degree program. He is an expert in the management of innovation and new product development, with a focus on the design and deployment of digital technologies.  He is best known for his pioneering work on software development, where his research reveals the benefits of agile processes and the value of modular designs.

Professor MacCormack’s work has been published in a variety of leading journals, including Management Science, Research Policy, Production and Operations Management (POM), IEEE Software, Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review.  His publications have been recognized on multiple occasions for their contributions to innovation management scholarship.  He received the 2016 Wickham Skinner Award for the best paper published in POM; the 2013 Maurice Holland Award for the best paper published in Research-Technology Management; and was a finalist for the best paper in Technology and Innovation Management at the 2010 Academy of Management Conference.                                                

Professor MacCormack teaches extensively in both the MBA program and Executive Education.  He helped to design and subsequently chaired RC FIELD, a new style of MBA course that develops students’ teamwork abilities through experiential learning.  He created Entrepreneurship Lab, an MBA elective in which student teams work on customer discovery projects for local startups.  His innovations in teaching and course development have been recognized several times.  He received the Greenhill Award for Outstanding Service to the HBS Community in 2013; the Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching in 2011; and the Outstanding Teacher Award from MIT’s Sloan School of Management in 2009.

Professor MacCormack has authored over 50 Cases and Teaching Notes that explore how organizations like Intel, Microsoft and NASA effectively manage innovation.  These cases are used extensively by educators around the globe. He has advised and consulted with a variety of technology-based companies and has provided expert testimony on behalf of firms like Amazon, with respect to their software design and development practices.  In 2013, he co-founded Silverthread, a startup that provides commercial tools to help organizations assess and improve the quality of their software systems and services.

Professor MacCormack received his Doctor of Business Administration from HBS, where he was a recipient of the George S. Dively award for outstanding dissertation research.  He holds an SM degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management and a BSc from the University of Bath in England.  While studying at MIT, he was a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Scholarship.  He joined the Technology and Operations Management unit at HBS in 1998.  From 2008 to 2011, he was a Visiting Professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

Journal Articles and Peer-Reviewed Publications
Book Chapters
  • MacCormack, Alan, Carliss Baldwin, and John Rusnak. "Evaluating the Impact of the Mozilla Software Redesign Effort." In Design Structure Matrix Methods and Applications, edited by S. D. Eppinger and T. R. Browning. MIT Press, 2012. View Details
  • Brunner, D., L. Fleming, A. MacCormack, and D. Zinner. "R&D Project Selection and Portfolio Management: A Review of the Past, a Description of the Present, and a Sketch of the Future." In The Handbook of Technology and Innovation Management. Edited by Scott Shane. Blackwell Publishing, 2009. View Details
  • MacCormack, A. D., and M. Iansiti. "Developing Products for the Internet." In Sense and Respond: Capturing Value in the Network Era, edited by Stephen P. Bradley and Richard L. Nolan. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998. View Details
Working Papers
Cases and Teaching Materials
Presentations
  • Trabucchi, Daniel, Antonella Moretto, Tommaso Buganza, and Alan MacCormack. "Disrupting the Disruptors or Enhancing Them? How Blockchain Re-Shapes Two-Sided Platforms." Paper presented at the 26th Innovation and Product Development Management Conference, European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, Leicester, UK, June 9–11, 2019. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Exploring the Links Between Product and Organizational Architectures: An Empirical Study of Open and Closed Source Software." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Milan, Italy, June 11–13, 2006. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. Exploring the Relationship between Product Architecture and Organizational Form: A Test of "Conway's Law". In Empirical Studies of Software Development (Session Chair). Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Production and Operations Management Society, Boston, MA, April 28–May 1, 2006. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Exploring the Architecture of Complex Software Products." In Design Structure Matrix Applications. Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 5–8, 2005. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Exploring the Structure of Complex Software Designs: An Empirical Study of Open Source and Proprietary Code." Paper presented at the Wharton Technology Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 01–04, 2005. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Managing Innovation and Product Development...Under Uncertainty." Paper presented at the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November 19–22, 2004. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Empirical Research in Software Deveopment: Lessons from the Field." In Empirical Research in New Product Development. Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, October 24–27, 2004. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Achieving Flexibility in NPD: New Processes and New Ways of Organizing." In Better, Faster Innovation: Leading the Flexible Organization Conference. Paper presented at the Better, Faster Innovation : Leading the Flexible Enterprise, Boston, August 01, 2004. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Flexibility in New Product Development: Evidence, Insights and Obstacles from the Field." In Annual Metrics for Portfolio and Resource Management Conference. , Chicago, IL, October 01, 2003. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Agile Software Development: Evidence from the Field." Paper presented at the Agile Development Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, June 25–28, 2003. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Conference Organizer, Session Chair." Paper presented at the HBS-MIT Sloan Free/Open Source Software Conference, Boston, MA, June 19–20, 2003. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan, and Marco Iansiti. "Intellectual Property, Architecture, and the Management of Technological Transitions: Evidence from Microsoft Corporation." Paper presented at the Global Acquisition, Protection, and Leveraging of Technological Competencies, Katz Graduate School of Business, October 01, 2002. View Details
  • McAfee, Andrew, and Alan MacCormack. "To Beta or Not to Beta?: The Pedagogy and Execution of a Web-based New Product Development Exercise." Paper presented at the Production and Operations Management Society Annual Conference, San Francisco, April 01, 2002. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Developing Products on Internet Time: Managing Innovation in Turbulent Environments." Paper presented at the European Doctoral Summer School on Technology Management, Como, Italy, August 26–30, 2001. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan, and Roberto Verganti. "Managing the Sources of Uncertainty: Matching Process and Context in New Product Development." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Belgium, May 05, 2000. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Running Product Development at Internet Speed." Paper presented at the Product Development and Management Association Annual Global Conference, FL, October 10, 1999. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "A Comparative Study of Product Development Process Design." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, May 5, 1999. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan, M. Iansiti, and R Verganti. "Rapid Learning and Adaptation in Product Development: An Empirical Study of the Internet Software Industry." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Italy, May 01, 1998. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Responding to Changing Customer Needs: The Design of a Flexible Development Process." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Montreal, April 4, 1998. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan. "Managing Product Development in Rapidly Changing Environments." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, October 10, 1997. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan David. "Developing Products on Internet Time." Paper presented at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Dallas, October 10, 1997. View Details
  • MacCormack, Alan David, and M. Iansiti. "Product Development Flexibility." Paper presented at the International Product Development Management Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, May 01, 1997. View Details
Other Publications and Materials
Research Summary
Managing Product Development in Rapidly Changing Environments
A consistent finding in many studies of innovation is the repeated failure of established firms when faced with radical changes in their core markets or technologies. Professor MacCormack's research takes the view that many of these failures can be attributed to the design of the new product development process within these firms, and specifically, a process which can deal effectively with radical change. His work explores how successful firms manage the product development process in environments like internet software and computer workstations, industries in which rapidly changing technologies and customer needs are a fact of life. MacCormack's results suggest that in these types of environment, a more "adaptive" approach to developing products is required, based upon the ability to respond to new information throughout a development cycle. His work identifies the underlying mechanisms through which such an approach can be built. At a broader level, MacCormack's research begins to explore the elements of a contingent view of product development process design. With such a view, the concept of product development "best practice" is no longer as relevant. Instead, the process that is most appropriate for a given project must be designed to reflect the realities of the environment which that project faces. The challenge for researchers is therefore to identify the mediating factors which dictate the fit between environment and process. MacCormack's current work focuses on exploring these relationships in greater depth.
Awards & Honors
Runner-up for the 2019 Christer Karlsson Best Paper Award at the Annual International Product Development Management Conference for “Disrupting the Disruptors or Enhancing Them? How Blockchain Re-Shapes Two-Sided Platforms” with Daniel Trabucchi, Antonella Moretto, and Tommaso Buganza.
Winner of the 2016 Wickham Skinner Award for the best paper published in Production and Operations Management for “Managing the Performance Tradeoffs from Partner Integration: Implications of Contract Choice in R&D Projects” (October 2015) with Anant Mishra.
Winner of the 2013 Maurice Holland Award from the Industrial Research Institute for his paper with Alan W. Crandall, P. Toft, and P. Henderson, "Do You Need a New Product-Development Strategy?" (Research Technology Management, 2012).
Received the 2013 Greenhill Award for Outstanding Service to the HBS Community.
Received the Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching in 2011 for his role in designing the new first-year FIELD (Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development) course.
Finalist for the Best Paper Award from the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management for the paper “The Architecture of Complex Systems: Do Core-Periphery Structures Dominate?” (2010).
Received a Siemens Corporate Research Grant ($80k) in 2010 for exploring the impact of software design choices on the level of defects and productivity in software projects.
Won the Outstanding Teacher Award at MIT Sloan School of Management in 2009.
In 2009, Software's editorial and advisory boards selected his 2003 article “Software Development Worldwide: The State of the Practice” (with Michael Cusumano, Chris Kemerer, and Bill Crandall) as one of the magazine's all-time best peer-reviewed articles.
Received an IBM Corporate Research Gift in 2010.
Received a Siemens Corporate Research Grant in 2009.
Received a grant from the MIT Energy Initiative Seed Fund Program in 2009.
Received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Software and Hardware Foundation Grant in 2008.
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