Development and integration of winning technologies as key to competitive advantage

Abstract

Technologies are a critical issue within product development, since technologies are the foundation for successful products. Technology development has suffered from a fuzzy innovation process based on trial and error in a high-pressure product development environment, often leaving no time for real innovation. Technologies developed under these circumstances seldom become superior, robust, mature and flexible—the criteria that are critical for technologies to provide competitive advantage. In this paper the idea is developed of a steady technology stream that is both separated from and appropriately integrated with the downstream product development. This enables companies to supply their product development programs with winning technologies at the right time. A four-phase process framework to support and catalyze the technology development cycle is introduced and described. The proposed framework is based on an integration of six major development methodologies and aims at providing competitive advantage to companies by emphasizing superior, robust, mature, and flexible technologies. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Syst Eng 3: 180–211, 2000