Technology Planning

Technology Planning A technology plan is the single most important ingredient to effectively using technology in your organization. The technology planning process will help minimize technology-related crises, use staff time efficiently, and avoid wasting money on equipment. Create a plan to help you think through your priorities in order to use technology in a way that directly furthers your mission.

Technology Planning? Central component of corporate business planning. Different from strategizing. Systematic and follows established methodologies. Essential for successful strategy implementation and evaluation.

Differences between… Strategizing Planning Discovering Creative and revolutionary Determines formula by which the firm intend to win Programming Systematic and follows established methodologies Charts the procedures and action to be followed Essential for successful strategy implementation & evaluation

Process of Planning Examining all points of view in the organization. Setting clear, realistic objectives. Charting a path or paths toward achieving those objectives. Obtaining commitment for execution. Executing and following up on the plan

Strategic Planning Time Horizon Short-range - - - - - - - - - > 1-3 years Mid-range - - - - - - - - - -> 3-5 years Long-range - - - - - - - - - > more than 5 years.

Technology Planning Framework Forecast the technology Analyze and forecast the environment Analyze and forecast the market / user Analyze the organization Develop the mission Design organizational actions Put the plan into the operation

Various Technological Planning Levels Policy Planning Provides clarification of scientific technological elements that determine future development boundary conditions Strategic Planning The development of useful strategic plans requires a recognition and comparative evaluation of alternative options Operational/Tactical Planning Probabilistic assessment of future technology which technology forecasting can provide offers the technology manager the ability to anticipate potential positive and negative impacts Marketing/Corporate Profit Planning To provide a clarification of scientific technology needed to expand market share

Technology forecasting- Bright, 1968 Technology forecasting can be defined as the prediction of the future characteristics of useful machines, procedures or technique. A system of logical analysis that leads to quantitative conclusions or a limited range of possibilities about technological and associated economic attributes. Its related to the tasks which emerge in connection with medium and long-range planning.

Forecasting Technology Forecasting provides vision of future to guide action of the present in anticipation of future state. Those who forecast well can seize opportunities in timely manner and reap the reward of future change. Technology forecasting (TF) is based on following established methodologies to forecast the character and role of technological development.

A good forecast must have.. Credibility and utility An accurate information base Clearly described methods and models Clearly defined and supported assumptions Quantitative expression whenever possible A stated level of confidence in the forecasted information

Forecasting Method Monitoring - process of scanning the environment for information about the subject of a forecast - sources of information are indentified and the information is gathered, filtered, and structured for use in forecasting. Uses : To maintain current awareness of an area and the information with which to forecast as needed Expert Opinion The opinions of experts in a particular area are obtained and analyzed Uses : To forecast when identifiable expert in an area exist and where data are lacking and modeling is difficult or impossible

Forecasting Method Trend Analysis Uses mathematical & statistical techniques to extend time series data into the future Uses : To project quantifiable parameters and to analyze adoption and substitution of technologies Modeling A model is a simplified representation of the structure and dynamics of some part of the real world. The dynamics of model can be used to forecast the behavior of the system being model. Uses : To reduce complex systems to manageable representations

Forecasting Method 5) Scenarios - Scenarios are sets of snapshots of some aspect of the future and/or future histories leading from present to the future. The scenario set encompasses the plausible range of possibilities for some aspect of the future Uses : to integrate quantitative and qualitative information when both are critical, to integrate forecasts from various sources and techniques into coherent picture, and to provide a forecast when data are too weak to use other techniques.

Technology Audit Is a tool used to evaluate the conditions or the existing status of a certain sector in a organization. Accountant use to evaluate the financial status of companies. A technology audit is an analysis performed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the technological assets of an organization.

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