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Technology readiness assessment: smoothing the path from product concept to delivery
JS Thompson
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies Inc
Abstract
Conventional approaches to new product planning and management focus on the tasks that are to be done and on the customer needs to be met. An alternative view is to recognize that the new product development process is actually a flow of new technology transfer and creation through every step in the value chain. Technology is the critical element that may complicate or simplify the new product development value chain. Success is more likely if each stage of the value chain is ready to accept the technology increments required for every new product. This technology-based perspective provides insight not only into the tasks that must be performed to successfully develop a new product but also sheds light on the readiness of each link in the chain to perform them. Likewise, customer needs and requirements take on a new meaning when they are viewed in terms of the new capabilities the customer has as a result of using the product.
Keywords
technology transfer, new product development, technology ownership, technology readiness
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