Operating in highly competitive environments a growing number of companies must regularly launch new products speedily and successfully. Research has found that developing and launching new products are inherently risky endeavors: about 40 percent of such projects fail (Edgett/Shipley/Forbes 1992, Page 1993). In an effort to enhance the success of new product development projects, firms increasingly use formalized and structured processes. Griffin concludes that the companies, which perform best in new product development (NPD) focus on improving performance not just in any one aspect of NPD, but on simultaneously improving several managerial aspects of NPD (Griffin 1997, p. 452). Among these managerial aspects, researchers have paid relatively little attention to the topic of risk management. The concept of risk has been only loosely defined and little effort has been made to the development and empirical validation of models, metrics and tools to identify, evaluate and manage risks in product development.