innovare's tech explorer - technology discovery service

Copyright © 2000-2012, Innovare, Inc. All rights reserved.

InnovareInnovare’’ss Technology Discovery ApproachTechnology Discovery Approach

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What Is the Tech Explorer?What Is the Tech Explorer?

• The Tech Explorer is an R&D driven process for technology discovery with support from marketing

• It provides a facilitated forum for the innovation team plus invited technology experts and lead users

• We explore current and emerging technologies, define how they can impact customer needs, and map how the technologies can enable defensible innovation

• It provides input for technology planning and helps focus concept development to be consistent with the technology possibilities while addressing customer needs

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The Core Premise of the Tech ExplorerThe Core Premise of the Tech Explorer

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Technology and Customer Needs Interact

Advances in science and technology have a dynamic Advances in science and technology have a dynamic relationship with customer needsrelationship with customer needs

•

They can be used to create solutions that satisfy existing needs

•

They can change the environment creating new sets of needs

•

They can drive latent needs the customer doesn’t even know they have

Customer NeedsCustomer Needs TechnologyTechnology

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• To achieve sustain competitive advantage innovators should understand:– How customer needs and advancing science and technologies

interact and evolve over time– Which technology can enable differentiating products with

features that excite customers

Innovator’s Challenge

As innovators we need to anticipate emerging needs and define how technologies can enable solutions that provide future performance and

delighters characteristics

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The Innovation TripartiteThe Innovation Tripartite

• During Tech Explorer projects we consider the 3 key domains of the innovation tripartite to build our knowledge foundation and basis for our technology recomendations

Need

SolutionTechnology

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Three Phases of the Tech ExplorerThree Phases of the Tech Explorer

Phase 1 Secondary Research – identify intriguing technologies that might address customer needs and conduct background research

Phase 2 Discovery with the Experts – invite selected experts to work with us and explore the state of the art and future trajectory of their technologies

Phase 3 Synthesis – define the need/technology/solution relationship, create technology application concepts, and build a road map for bringing in the technology to drive innovation

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Phase 1 Tech Explorer Phase 1 Tech Explorer –– Secondary ResearchSecondary Research

• Begin with a customer need

• Brainstorm / hypothesize scientific principles that might be applied to deliver product attributes at desired levels

• Generate a list of technologies that relay on the scientific principles

• Select the most intriguing technologies to research

UV Resist20 years Delighter ???Categorized

Requirement levelTechnology

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Individual Team Member Assignments Individual Team Member Assignments -- Tech BriefingsTech Briefings

• Each team member takes one or two topics• Explores topics using secondary sources – internet, reports… etc.

• Creates briefings– what is the technology, the IP landscape– how might the technology evolve– how might it be applied to create solutions– who are the experts

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Socializing the Tech BriefingsSocializing the Tech Briefings

• Workshop environment - 8 – 10 topics• Team members present their briefings• Team create a synthesis of findings with implications & next steps• Select experts to work with in Phase 2

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Phase 2: Discovery with the ExpertsPhase 2: Discovery with the Experts

• Brainstorm implications, applications, and impact on needs

• Create beginning technology application concepts

• Reach out to external experts representing targeted science & technology areas

• Hold workshops with experts, exploring the state of the art and anticipated trajectories of their technologies

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Phase 3: SynthesisPhase 3: Synthesis

Requires incubation time for technology application concept refinement• Research and problem solving to build concept feasibility• Vet the list of opportunities to a few feasible solutions• Prototype and test solutions

Building the case for the technology• Outline the development or acquisition approach, timing, costs• Define the technology’s impact on the customer & competitive

environment• Show anticipated connections of the technology to future product

lines • Estimate the impact on the business

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Phase 3 Outputs Phase 3 Outputs –– Concepts and Road MapsConcepts and Road Maps

• Technology application concepts – Not fully fleshed out solutions but a representation

of what we could do with the technology– How the technology impacts customer needs

• Road maps relate the technologies to future product lines

– Shows timing when technologies could be ready and the enabled new products

Current TechnologyExtrusion Thermal

Distillation

2010Time Line

2008 2009 2011

Product Lines

New Market Product Line and Technology

2007 2012

Advanced New Platform

UVNew T1

Gen 1 Gen 2 Gen 3 Gen 4

Potential Technologies

New T2Advanced Design Green T

New Products Enhanced Design First Generation Enhanced

Second Generation

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Foundations of a Successful Tech Discovery Approach Foundations of a Successful Tech Discovery Approach

• Well connected to customer needs

• Engaged multidisciplinary team

• Strong external perspective

• Broad opportunity space

• Diligent use of synthesis process to identify value paths

• Embrace well considered sciences and pursue opportunities outside the comfort zone

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What Will the Tech Explorer Provide?What Will the Tech Explorer Provide?

• A perspective of the technology landscape for the business or product area – Based on internal and external experts, both short and long term

• Descriptions of relevant technologies– How they could interact with customer needs and be deployed

• Visions for applying each technology– At different levels of customer satisfaction using a Kano model

• Needs/technology/product maps– Provides a framework for the strategic dialog, helping with R&D and

product line planning

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How Innovare Supports the Tech ExplorerHow Innovare Supports the Tech Explorer

• Tech Explorer Process Facilitation and Content Contribution– Project management– Concept Development– Product / Technology Mapping– Hands-on Science, Technology and Policy research– Training

Product Attributes

Technology Solutions

CustomerNeeds

Design Freedom Energy Weather Clouding Life Cycle

Low E

Wind Low Weight

Blast20 year

UV Resist

IGU PC layer AcquisitionAdhesive Core

GLAZING PRODUCTS

Thinner

Tolerance

Curves

EconomicalSafety

Key Point:•Needs unsupported by technology initiative - issues in yellow blocks

Key Point:•Needs unsupported by technology initiative - issues in yellow blocks

In Progress

PC Chem

Existing

Not Supported

Fire Low Build $

Moisture

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Copyright © 2000-2012, Innovare, Inc. All rights reserved.Grounded in Research, Driving for Innovation

®RIN N O V A E

In no vate: (in' ə – vate) v.

- vated, -vating, - vates.

To begin or introduce

something new; be creative.

[Latin INNOVARE

(in' ə – vär - ē)

to renew; from novus, new.]

Contact: Donald Ross Ph.D. MBA President

617-479-3818

[email protected]

www.innovare-inc.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.innovare-inc.com/

innovare's tech explorer - technology discovery service

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