Technology roadmapping: Industrial roots, forgotten history and unknown origins

Technology roadmapping has an established and proven track record for helping organizations with their strategy, long-term planning, innovation and foresight activities. Technology Forecasting & Social Change has played a leading role in disseminating research on roadmapping and, so, for its 50th anniversary issue, this paper provides a historical account of the emergence of roadmapping from the practices developed and deployed by technological-based organizations. Motorola, BP, Philips, EIRMA, Lucent Technologies and the Semiconductor Industry Association have all made significant contributions leading to the modern form that embodies a temporal, multi-layered, systems-based approach underpinned by the ‘market-product-technology’ structure (i.e. why-what-how). However, the industrial roots of technology roadmapping can be traced back to an earlier period, which is, as of yet, unacknowledged in the technology and innovation management literature. There is the overlooked or, perhaps, forgotten history where organizations such as NASA, Boeing, GE, Lockheed, USAF, Rockwell International and the U.S. Department of Energy initiated and advanced the practice of roadmapping – through this publication, their contributions will now be given the credit they so rightfully deserve

Visualizing roadmaps: A design-driven approach

Because they are highly visual, roadmaps can be a strong enabler of communication between different stakeholder groups and across organizations. However, the visual design of roadmaps has been largely overlooked, with little attention given to their graphic design, undermining their value as communication tools. A design-driven approach to developing a roadmap template can help practitioners create a roadmap whose visual elements support their communication goals. The design process methodology begins by eliciting the key information that needs to be conveyed by the roadmap, so that content can be aligned to audience requirements. This distills a common voice and a set of consistent messages. The approach finishes with the design of tailored visual representations that can be used to present clear and meaningful narratives to specific stakeholders.Electronic version of an article published in Research-­Technology Management (RTM), Vol. 58, No 4 (2015), pp. 45-54. Available online http://dx.doi.org/10.5437/08956308X580425

Financing early stage innovation ventures – a value-oriented roadmapping framework

This practice-oriented paper describes a value-oriented roadmapping (VRM) framework, which helps entrepreneurs improve the investor readiness of their ventures through developing better business models. As investors tend to perceive risks where entrepreneurs only have eyes for the opportunities, this value-oriented roadmapping framework is a practical tool to help bridge the gap between investors and entrepreneurs. From the daily practice of the lead author as an IP value strategist the lesson has been learned how important it is that entrepreneurs develop a business case from the perspective of potential investors. The value-oriented roadmapping framework is a practical tool for entrepreneurs and was developed through a series of 8 case studies. The tool is a template-based approach, or so-called ‘canvas method’. In a workshop setting, led by an experienced moderator, participants critically assess the venture’s and or product’s market, capabilities, application, revenue model, capital investment, IP-position, from an investor’s point of view. Next, this qualitative assessment is translated into a quantitative assessment, incorporating finance and valuation theory and methodology. The end result is a roadmap for value creation, where in the end both investors and entrepreneurs require a reward for financial risks taken

Technology management as a profession and the challenges ahead

This paper is aimed at current and future managers in the field of technology management (TM), and those who train and educate them. After briefly describing TM as a management discipline, the potential challenges likely to rise in the field are introduced according to three processes given in the TM framework: innovation, operation and strategy. Then, a set of propositions are developed regarding the potential impact of those challenges on TM professionals. Concentrating on a long term perspective provides TM professionals with the opportunity to consider their existing knowledge and skill base so that they can prepare for the challenges they will face in the future. The paper ends with implications for professionals and educators.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2016.05.00

Scoring methods for evaluating and selecting early stage technology and innovation projects

In the early stages of technology or innovation projects it is often necessary to make decisions about which projects to pursue and which to shelve when only scant information is available. This practiceoriented working paper provides guidance on how to make the best use of the information that exists by assessing projects against a number of appropriate factors and allotting scores to each. We show how to design an appropriate scoring tool for any particular case, including: the importance of treating measures of Opportunity and Feasibility separately; how to choose the factors; how to ensure that the scoring is as logical and objective as possible; how to include the inevitable uncertainty; and how to manage the process, including the treatment of portfolio-level considerations such as ‘balance’. It is important to manage the scoring process carefully to avoid cognitive biases. The results can be plotted in different ways to help the decision process

Integrating Multiple Stakeholder Interests into Conceptual Design

The engineering design process transforms stakeholder needs into design specifications. This study focuses on the engineering design process for systems of products and services known as product-service systems (PSS) and proposes a novel way to analyze PSS ideas by four characteristics: customer perceived value level, connectivity number, type and degree of connectivity, and configuration type. The process to apply this characterization scheme examines the inter-dependencies within a PSS and between the PSS and its environment and holistically incorporates the interests of customers, end-users, and social and environmental stakeholders early in the development process. This process clarifies design specifications in seven cases across five industries

Characterizing product-service systems in the healthcare industry

Since the 1970s, marketing and innovation management communities have been investigating how to incorporate customer-desired functions into new product and service designs. These wide-ranging enquiries have shed light on the impact of lead-user engagement in new product development, demonstrated ways to examine service production and delivery, such as the use of ‘line of visibility’ in service blueprints and the modeling of ‘service encounters’, and have created new terms such as ‘value co-creation’. Despite these efforts, recent reviews have identified the lack of an holistic approach to new product-service system (PSS) development. This deficiency needs to be rectified, especially for complex PSS developments in regulated industries such as healthcare, as often there are multiple stakeholders posing conflicting priorities to the development team. This paper describes a PSS characterization approach that supports the early-stage new PSS development process. The approach is generated from eleven healthcare case studies, involving twenty-five new products, services and PSSs. Following the methodology of action research, further cases are selected for the application of the approach to a new product, service or PSS concept in facilitated workshops. Initial implications of employing this approach in three cases are discussed in this paper.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IEEE at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6921091

Characterising product-service systems in the healthcare industry

Since the 1970s, marketing and innovation management communities have been investigating how to incorporate customer-desired functions into new product and service designs. These wide-ranging enquiries have shed light on the impact of lead-user engagement in new product development, demonstrated ways to examine service production and delivery, such as the use of „line of visibility‟ in service blueprints and the modelling of „service encounters‟, and have created new terms such as „value co-creation‟. Despite these efforts, recent reviews have identified the lack of an holistic approach to new product-service system (PSS) development. This deficiency needs to be rectified, especially for complex PSS developments in regulated industries such as healthcare, as often there are multiple stakeholders posing conflicting priorities to the development team. This paper describes a novel PSS characterisation approach that supports the early-stage new PSS development process. The approach is originated from eleven healthcare case studies, involving twenty-five new products, services and PSSs. Following the methodology of action research, further cases are selected for the application of the approach to a new product, service or PSS concept in facilitated workshops. Initial implications of employing this approach in three cases are discussed in this paper.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2015.05.01

Characterizing product-service systems in the healthcare industry - An internal stakeholder perspective

This paper presents a preliminary productservice system (PSS) classification framework, which challenges the existing schemes that have not distinguished between service and intangible product. Two recently completed cases in the health information and communications technology (ICT) sector have revealed new dimensions for PSS classification from the perspective of internal stakeholders, that is those within the company who are directly involved in the new PSS development. These new dimensions are volume, value, and quality. Volume is the relative number of product / service elements in the PSS. Value is the relative product / service contribution to the worth of the PSS. Quality is the features, knowledge, skills and attitudes that affect the successful usage of the PSS. The findings also suggested that a PSS configuration might remain constant when the product and service proportions change. The results from these two cases have provided important directions for further work in PSS classification. KeywordsThis is the final version. It was first published by IEEE at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=6838044

Value co-creation in early stage new product-service system development

This is the final version. It was first published by Linköping University Electronic Press at http://www.ep.liu.se/ecp_article/index.en.aspx?issue=067;article=030.The need to develop systems that comprise medical equipment and services to improve healthcare service efficiency and availability has become a pertinent concern in developed countries, as governments continue to focus on controlling healthcare expenditure. This research intends to explore value co-creation with multiple stakeholders at early stage new product-service system (PSS) development in regulated industries such as the medical equipment industry. This paper identifies the literature gap of stakeholder involvement in the process of new PSS development and compares the identified gap with the experience of industry practitioners. The fields relevant to the research focus are described and the characteristics of a new PSS are proposed as the basis of the research. This paper concludes with an initial proposition, that there is a need for an holistic approach to new PSS development and to have early multiple stakeholder input