S.M. Forbes

MANAGING THE TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION PROCESS

Abstract Technology acquisition plays a key role in the management of technology in industrial organisations. To provide a competitive advantage to organisation whose primary business focus is on product development, change management and market success, a conceptual model was developed which provides a formalised approach to technology acquisition, involving a staged process for identifying a technology; a methodology for acquiring the technology, and a decision-making process for sourcing the technology. To ensure widespread application and ease of operation, the model is realised in a groupware environment — MANTRA — a structured resource that represents a decision-making process integrating product attributes and marketplace requirements with the technology acquisition process.

Managing the product development process - (Part I: an assessment)

Recent studies have indicated that a companys chances of success in launching new products is dependent upon the management of the new product development process. The increasing rate of technological change coupled with increasing global competition, means that a high rate of new product development and introduction in the marketplace is vital to a companys continued growth and long-term survival. In this part, methodologies for new product development, including (a) Phased Development, (b) Stage/Gate Models, (c) Product and Cycle -time Excellence - PACE and, (d) Total Design, are investigated. The strengths and weaknesses of each methodology are assessed and proposals for improved management of the new product development process in manufacturing are discussed.

An integrated approach to technology acquisition management

Research on the electronics industry in Scotland by the authors has indicated that while many companies have focused on improving their product development and process innovation procedures, they have, in general, not formalised the management of the technology acquisition process to the same extent. To fulfil this need, the authors propose a new, holistic approach to technology acquisition that integrates a number of strands of technology management. The approach leads to a generic Technology Acquisition Model that can be employed at both a strategic level and an operational level. The model provides a structured framework to identify the most appropriate technological solution to a market need, and the most suitable source for acquiring the chosen technology that best matches the strategic objectives of an organisation. A software package which implements the model has been developed to provide decision-makers with a user-friendly tool for implementing the technology acquisition process. Case studies are included to verify the conceptual framework and its applications.

Managing the product development process. Part II: case studies

In part I, the management of product development was studied, and a number of methodologies were assessed. The work identified the principle strengths and weaknesses contained within structured product development processes in use in industry today. These methodologies have been credited with a fair degree of success in improving the productivity and quality of the product development process. The aim of this paper is to describe how these methodologies are applied in a number of case study organisations, and to present proposals for the improvement and continued development of the product development management process. A proposed framework for product development is presented that may act as a guide for companies seeking to advance the quality of their current product development process.

Extending the balanced scorecard for technology strategy development

The balanced scorecard represents a vehicle for turning strategy into a set of actions or operational requirements. This paper offers a framework that exploits and enhances the concepts of the balanced scorecard for the development of an organisations technology strategy. By providing a step-by-step process, this paper illustrates an approach to technology strategy development that retains the benefits of the balance scorecard in terms of performance measurement systems, and extends it by ensuring a close alignment between financial, marketplace and technology/innovation activities. The approach is illustrated via a case study on the palmtop computing industry.

Adapting manufacturing strategy models to assist technology strategy development

Since technology can be a vital source of competitive advantage, any method of developing a technology strategy should focus on the creation of competitive advantage. Although there is a sizeable literature on technology strategy in general, relatively few contributions directly address the subject from the perspective of achieving competitive advantage. However, within the manufacturing strategy field, there are several models which focus on achieving competitive advantage through consideration of order winning criteria. This paper presents a model for technology strategy development based on one of the most successful manufacturing strategy models. The paper introduces the conceots and describes the manufacturing strategy model. It then presents a new model for technology strategy development based upon the manufacturing strategy model. A case study illustrating the usefulness of the suggested model is presented.

Measuring management success

This paper presents a new tool for assessing the effectiveness of an organisation that uses a standards-based benchmark application to establish the organisations competitive position. The tool facilitates evaluation on a stand- alone basis, as well as comparison with others in the same sector of industry. Such a tool appraises the position of an organisation in nine key areas using both quantitative and qualitative measures of excellence, and facilitates the tracking of its current status and future directions. I. INTRODUCTION

Intellectual capital and technology strategy

In the new economy, exploiting the traditional factors of production is no longer sufficient. The key to success is huge investment flows into human capital as well as information technology and, stunningly, neither of these appear as positive values in traditional accounting. Rather, it is often just the opposite. Consequently, knowledge-based companies are undervalued by traditional accounting methods, sometimes this is by a relatively small percentage, but Market:book ratios are more commonly in single figures, however there is enough here to suggest that focusing too intently on financial data might be missing the point. This is the reason for the popularity of new concepts such as Intellectual Capital and the Balanced Scorecard. This paper reviews current issues concerned with Intellectual Capital as an essential ingredient of the knowledge economy, and through illustration, embeds these issues into a strategic framework that takes into account both tangible and intellectual assets in formulating a Technology Strategy for hi-tech companies.

Management tools for real options techniques and task analysis

This paper is concerned with the extension of work presented previously by A. Jagle et al. (see Proc IEMC, Albuquerque, NM, USA, IEEE, p.147-152, 2000), where a new methodology was proposed for the assessment and validation of the value delivered in the development of new products based on the use of real options techniques. It has become evident that the real options approach offers a more robust alternative to current project evaluation processes, and that there is a need for a user friendly, easy assimilated tool that can be used to implement these techniques. To assist managers in applying these techniques to project selection, management, and tracking, a set of tools is proposed. These include: a Project Real Options Management Tool (PROMT); a Resource Oriented Simulation for Task Analysis (ROSTA); and an Optional Path Planning Tool (OPPT).

An integrated technology strategy development process

The development of a robust and effective technology strategy forms an increasingly important element of the strategic management of an organisation. This paper is concerned with articulating a formalised approach to technology strategy development that provides close ties with corporate strategy, and ensures that both long range business objectives and short range business benefits are achieved. The paper covers details of the Strategy Development Model and its implementation, as a multi-stage process, where each stage is specified in terms of the input-outputs, information sources, decision criteria, related performance measurement systems, and the relevant tools. These activities are expressed as a series of matrices, one for each stage in the Strategy Development Process. The work is illustrated through a case example of the emerging technology strategies being developed to effect market growth and new product development in the highly competitive environment of the palmtop computer industry. I. MODELLING THE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS A. Technology Strategy Models Although interest in technology strategy has been growing in recent years, much of this has been manifest in general prescriptions concerning the strategic importance of technology, and of the need to align and integrate business and technology strategies. There have been comparatively few attempts to model the technology strategy formulation process at the firm level; some of the more detailed efforts in this area are now considered, as a preamble to proposing a formalised technology strategy development process. Ford and Saren [l] have approached technology strategy in terms of the development of corporate policies addressing the acquisition, management, and exploitation of the firm’s technological assets. At the centre of their strategy development process is the commissioning of a technology audit, which they describe as the “basis for technology strategy”. Goodman and Lawless [2] have offered a number of conceptual models and practical tools for integrating technology with strategy. Their Adaptive Rationality Model (ARM) develops technology strategy as an iterative process, involving the transition from macro/low rationality methods, to micro/high rationality methods, and back again. Goodman and Lawless have also offered a cybernetic model of the strategy process, in which the basic stages of strategy-making are linked together in a control system involving feedback and adjustment, divided into 5 stages. The model requires the strategy to incorporate performance standard-setting, monitoring, and variance identification. Stacey and Ashton [3] have proposed a 6-stage strategy formulation process, known as ‘ASSETS’, divided into three development stages (situation assessment, strategy specification, and portfolio selection) and three implementation stages (investment programs, deployment and transfer, and monitoring and feedback). A key outcome of the early stages of this process is the identification of the firm’s Strategic Technology Areas (STAs). Hax and Majluf [4] have presented an 8-stage strategic plan that integrates technology into the business strategy of the firm. The key phases of this model are: the identification of technology 0-7803-5082-0/98/