Stage Gate – Lecture 1
Technology Development
© 2009 ~ Mark Polczynski
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This Course:
Strategic
Technology
Management
Strategic Technology Planning
•
Scenario Planning
•
Voice of the Customer
•
Intellectual Property Generation
•
Ideation
•
Technology Roadmapping
Strategic Technology Development
•
Stage Gate Development
•
Stage Gate Review
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Scope of This Lecture Set:
• We focus on technology development,
• But the same basic principles apply to
product development.
• This is about technology development and
project review.
• It is about a system where project review is an
integral part of technology development.
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Integrating the development and review process
• Often, project execution and project review are two separate
processes.
• It is desirable to integrate these two processes, because you get:
- Better project results,
- Better project review decisions,
- Faster decisions – projects move faster,
- Happier people:
- Everyone knows the rules of the game beforehand,
- Everyone follows the rules all the time,
- Everyone’s expectations are kept realistic.
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Stage Gate Process:
1. What problem are we trying to solve?
2. Stage gate development process.
3. Stage gate review process.
4. Review process cultural issues.
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What Problem We Are Trying To Solve?
Example: Eaton Corporation -
• ~ 10,000,000,000 ~ $10 billion annual sales,
• Goal: 10% increase in sales per year,
• Driven by stock market expectations,
• And stock market is “main customer” in capitalistic system.
That equates to $1B in new products per year – every year!
(compounded!)
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What’s The Problem We Are Trying To Solve?
• Need new products that can “move the needle”.
• Hard to get to $1B by adding $1M at a time.
• You need 1,000 new products!
• Significant growth in many small increments is difficult to manage.
• Many low-impact products are difficult to support.
• Solution: Fewer high-impact projects.
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What about small businesses?
•
It doesn’t matter if you are one of
10,000 engineers trying to add
$1B in sales for Eaton Corporation.
•
Or Joe of Joe’s Garage Shop
trying to add $1,000 in sales.
•
Trying to grow by $1,000 in
$10 increments is hard to manage
and hard to support when you are done.
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What’s the MAIN Problem We Are Trying To Solve?
New Product Pipeline
Many Low-Impact Products Out
Many Small Projects In
Before: Difficult to
manage many
small projects.
After: Difficult to
support many
small products.
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What’s do we want to have?
New Product Pipeline
Many Small
Projects In
Few High-Impact
Products Out
Question: How do we figure out which projects to keep?
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Ideation Process:
1. Planning
2. Preparation
3. Ideation Event
Need to
keep only
the best
4. Post-Processing
Large
number of
good ideas
Project Proposals
Stage Gate Process
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Overall Goal: Weed out projects that have low impact.
Average IMPACT Per Project
Total NUMBER of Projects
Problem:
We don’t know the
winners at the start
of their life.
Goal:
Survival of
the best.
Early
Project Life
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We must kill many of these projects…
Many Small
Projects In
Few High-Impact
Products Out
…but how do we discover which are the best?
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Total NUMBER of Projects
Feed the
winners
well
Kill losers before
you spend lots
of money on
them
Early
Project Life
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Averagee COST Per Project
Overall Goal: Maximize Bang-For-The-Buck.
Late
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Possibly the biggest cause for failure of good projects:
• Under-funding  Lack of adequate resources.
Stage Gate
Development
Process
• Inability to ruthlessly focus on only the best opportunities.
• Inability to identify best opportunities early in life.
Stage
Gate
Review
Process
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Stage Gate Process:
1. What problem are we trying to solve?
2. Stage gate development process.
3. Stage gate review process.
4. Review process cultural issues.
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Product Development Stage Gate Process
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Technology Development Stage Gate Process
Balance
Opportunity (Why?)
and
Technology (What?)
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Note: This first gate could be
part of ideation process
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Ideation Process:
1. Planning
2. Preparation
3. Ideation Event
Stage Gate
Initial
Screen
4. Post-Processing
Project Proposals
Stage Gate Process
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Technology Development Stage Gate Process
Begin with the end in mind:
What do we need to
support stage gate
product development?
To Stage
Gate Product
Development
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Begin with the end in mind...
What do we need to support stage gate product development?
By the end of Stage Gate technology development, we will be able to
answer Yes or No to these questions:
1. Does our technology actually work under real world conditions?
2. Can products based on this technology actually be
designed and manufactured at an acceptable cost?
3. Can the technology provide a unique competitive advantage?
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Technology Development
Gate Process
End gameStage
:
• Technology works in field?
• Designable - manufacturable - profitable?
• Unique?
Moving to the basics:
Stage Inputs and Goals
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Questions to answer
at the end of Stage A
A: Problem Statement
• What problem are we
trying to solve?
• How would this provide
value for the customer?
A: Identification
• What technologies might solve the problem?
(long list)
• Which technologies will we investigate in Stage B?
(short list)
• Is there a chance to create Intellectual Property?
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B: Functional Requirements
• What is the specific application?
• What functions does the customer need?
B: Feasibility
• Which technology will we use?
(select one)
• Does technology work in the lab?
• What is our strategy to create IP?
Questions to answer
at the end of Stage B
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Technology Development Stage Gate Process
C: Demonstration
• Does technology work in
real world conditions ?
• Can we make/sell a product?
(tech transfer)
• What is our IP?
C: Physical Requirements
• Under what real world
conditions must the
functions be provided?
Questions to answer
at the end of Stage C
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Stage A Technology Development Work
• What technologies might solve the problem? (Make long list)
• “Ideation” sessions and literature search, including patents, to:
• Expand understanding of the Problem Statement.
• Reveal prior art.
• Identify possible technologies.
• Which technologies should we investigate? (Make short list)
• Analyze technical feasibility - why might these solutions work?.
• Assess technical risk - why might these solutions not work?
• Is there an opportunity to create Intellectual Property?
• “Ideation” sessions - to identify novel potential solutions.
• Document concepts - to establish prior art for all novel solutions.
Note: Stage A does not include experimental work.
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Stage B Technology Development Work
• Which particular technology will we use? (select one)
• Analyze technical feasibility - why should the selected solution work?
• Assess technical risk - why might this solution not work?
• Assess technology transfer issues • Why might it be difficult to design products?
• Why might it be difficult to manufacture products?
• What might jeopardize cost targets?
• Can we meet the functional requirements? (lab conditions)
• Construct lab models - can we make it work in the lab?
• Perform lab tests - how does it perform in the lab?
• Establish “proof of concept”.
• What is our strategy to create Intellectual Property?
• Assess novelty - do we have a new solution?
• Document inventions - describe our solution (invention disclosures).
• Initiate IP strategy - what is the opportunity to create a proprietary
position?
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Stage C Technology Development Work
• Can we meet the physical requirements? (field conditions)
• Demonstrate field operability - does it work under field conditions?
• Test under field conditions - how will it function in the field?
• Can the division make a product? (tech transfer)
• Assess technology risk - what problems might occur in the field?
• Assess technology transfer issues • What are all the things needed to design products?
• What are all the things needed to manufacture products?
• What are all the things that drive cost?
• What is our Intellectual Property?
• Describe claims - what, exactly, have we invented?
• Document IP - “teach” others how our technology works.
• Complete IP strategy - who will do what by when to create proprietary
position?
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Comparison of Technology Development Work
IP
Experiments
Analysis
Ideation
Stage A
What technologies might solve problem?
- “Ideation” sessions and literature search
- Expand understanding of problem.
- Identify possible technologies.
Stage B
(Need new Stage A projects?)
Stage C
(Need new Stage A projects?)
Which technologies should we investigate? Which technology will we use?
- Analyze technical feasibility
- Analyze technical feasibility
- Assess technical risk
- Assess technical risk
- Assess technology transfer
- Potential design issues?
- Potential manufacturing issues?
Can we actually make a product?
(No experimental work)
Does technology work in lab?
- Construct lab models
- Perform lab tests
Will it work in field conditions?
- Demonstrate field operability
- Test under field conditions
Is there a chance to create IP?
- “Ideation” sessions to ID new solutions
- Scan for prior art
- Document concepts - establish prior art
What is our plan to create IP?
- Assess novelty - is it new?
- Document inventions - what is it?
- Initiate IP strategy
What is our IP?
- Describe claims - what is new?
- Document IP - how does it work?
- Complete IP strategy
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- Assess technical risk
- Assess technology transfer
- Who will design?
- Who will manufacture?
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Comparison of Technology Development Work
IP
Testing
Analysis
Ideation
Stage A
Stage B
Stage C
What technologies might solve problem?
- “Ideation” sessions and literature search
- Expand understanding of problem.
- Identify possible technologies.
Which technologies should we investigate? Which technology will we use?
- Analyze technical feasibility
- Analyze technical feasibility
- Assess technical risk
- Assess technical risk
- Assess technology transfer
- Potential design issues?
- Potential manufacturing issues?
Can we actually make a product?
(No experimental work)
Does technology work in lab?
- Construct lab models
- Perform lab tests
Will it work in the field?
- Demonstrate field operability
- Test under field conditions
Is there a chance to create IP?
- “Ideation” sessions to ID new solutions
- Document concepts - establish prior art
What is our plan to create IP?
- Assess novelty - is it new?
- Document inventions - what is it?
- Plan IP strategy
What is our IP?
- Describe claims - what is new?
- Document IP - how does it work?
- Execute IP strategy
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- Assess technical risk
- Assess technology transfer
- Who will design?
- Who will manufacture?
- Technology roadmapping
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Build Patent As We Execute Stages
Stage
A
Patent Section
Purpose
• Field of Use
• What’s the problem?
• Prior Art
• What have others done?
• Why is this inadequate?
B
• Description of
Invention
C
• Claims
• What is our solution?
• Why is it better?
• What do we claim
exclusive rights to?
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Specific Stage Gate IP Elements
These three IP-related elements are addressed at Stage Gate reviews:
A
B
C
1. Problem/Solution Statement:
• What problem are we trying to solve?
Required Required Required
• How will we solve it?
Required Required Required
2. IP/Literature Scan:
• Who has done what to solve this problem?
Not
Required Required
Required
3. IP Strategy:
• How will we protect our IP?
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Begin with the end in mind...
What do we need to support stage gate product development?
By the end of Stage Gate technology development, we will be able to
answer Yes or No to these questions:
1. Does our technology actually work under real world conditions?
2. Can products based on this technology actually be
designed and manufactured at an acceptable cost?
3. Can the technology provide a unique competitive advantage?
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