Strategic technology planning-developing roadmaps for competitive advantage

The authors describe a strategic technology planning process aimed at investing in technology as a corporate asset and a competitive weapon. The process systematically defines customer needs, assesses competitive posture, identifies new technologies for future growth, forecasts availability of key technologies, coordinates the need of many different business units, and develops roadmaps for competitive positioning. It also determines a realistic allocation of resources (people, funds, and facilities), and is integrated into the business planning and review cycle. The authors define the key activities of the process, its input requirements, and ways to measure the quality and control the performance of its implementation