TRÄNA Flashcards
What is the objective of a technology strategy and which areas does it usually address?
- Focus
- Source
- Timing and frequency of implementation
Discuss five reasons why it can be beneficial to bring competitive products to the market more rapidly than competitors
- Set the market price and set a high market price
- Enjoy a longer product life
- Faster pay-back time
- Market capture/market share
- Faster use of emerging new technologies
What are the goals with project portfolio management and what methods and tools can you use in order to achieve these goals?
Goals of PPM are:
- Maximized value of portfolio
- Balance of portfolio
- Strong link to business strategy
Tools and methods:
- Scoring models
- Top-down e.g. strategic buckets
- Bubble diagrams
Wheelright and Clark classify development projects into different categories or types. Which are these and what is the primary distinguishing dimension?
- Research and advanced development
- Breakthrough or radical
- Platform or next generation
- Derivative
- Alliance
Managing R&D is really much about management of dilemmas. Describe three typical managerial dilemmas or “trade-offs” that commonly need to be handled by R&D managers
Från boken:
- The moving target
- Mismatches between functions
- Lack of product distinctiveness
- Unexpected technical problems
- Unresolved policy issues
Andra:
- Rapid technology shifts
- How to balance cost, time and quality
- Problem solving delays
Traditionally functionally organized structures have a tendency to develop barriers to the necessary cooperation and integration between the functions. What are these barriers?
- Competence
- Culture
- Status
- Time pressure
- Geographical distance
- Goals
- Information availability
- Organization affiliation
What integration mechanism can organizations use in order to overcome these barriers?
Organizational mechanisms:
- Hierarchical authority
- Rules, programs & procedures
- Planning & goal setting
- Narrowing span of control
Lateral mechanisms:
- Direct contact
- Liaison rules
- Integrating roles
- Task forces
- Cross-functional teams
- Matrix design
W&C describe four different communication patterns as critical elements of cross-functional integration. Relate these communication patterns to the four modes of upstream and downstream interaction proposed by the authors.
The four communication patterns are:
- Richness of media
- Frequency
- Direction
- Timing
The modes are:
- Mode 1 - Serial mode
- Mode 2 - “Early start in the dark”
- Mode 3 - Early involvement
- Mode 4 - Integrated problem solving
The development process is a complex set of activities that extends over a considerable time period. Describe the six basic elements in the framework, presented by W&C, senior management can use for understanding that complexity. Which are the basic approaches for building and enhancement of the development capability proposed by the authors?
- Project definition
- Project organization and staffing
- Project management and leadership
- Problem solving, testing, prototyping
- Senior management review and control
- Real-time/midcourse corrections
Approaches:
- Functional structure and discipline
- Coordinating and linking the functional process
- Cross functional teams
- Autonomous teams
Name the two basics funnels describes in W&C
- Model 1 - R&D driven, survival of the fittest
- Model 2 - A few big bets
What are some issues managers must confront in creating an aggregate project plan
- Not overcommit development resources
- Not react to near-term pressures
- Not fail to realize the strategic potential in new technology or markets
- Deciding which projects to undertake
- Killing and postponing projects
Describe the steps W&C purpose on how to develop an aggregate project plan.
- Step 1 - Define the projects that are to be covered
- Step 2 - Define for a representative project of each type the critical resources and cycle time for its complete development
- Step 3 - Identify the existing resources available for development efforts and currently active projects, with their requirements for completion
- Step 4 - Compute the capacity utilization implied by the results of step 3
- Step 5 - Establish the desired future mix of projects by type
- Step 6 - Estimate the number of projects of each type that can be undertaken concurrently with existing resources
- Step 7 - Decide which projects to undertake
- Step 8 - Determine and integrate into the project plan changes required to improve development performance over time
What defines a heavyweight team?
- Members are collocated with the project manager
- Manager is typically senior and has significant authority to command resources and evaluate members
- Often still temporary, but core team members often dedicated full-time to project
- Likely to be appropriate for platform projects
What is the aim/purpose and content in a heavyweight team contract book?
Purpose/aim:
- Estimates of resources required
- Development time schedule
- Results that will be achieved
- Defines in detail the basic plan to achieve goals
- It provides a tool for monitoring and evaluating the team performance
- Team members sign contract book; helps to establish commitment and sense of ownership over project
Includes:
- Executive Summary
- Business Plan and purpose
- Development plan
- Product design plan
- Quality plan
- Manufacturing plan
- Project deliverables
- Performance measurement and incentives.
Describe - not list - 5 different ways to source needed technology. Which of these is most commonly used by companies?
- Internal R&D
- Outsourcing
- Licensing
- Alliances
- Acquisition
