How Carleton engineers can contribute to product development success

Tony Bailetti, Ph.D.January 31, 2002

Professional Practice Slide 2

What is different in technology environments?

Market uncertainty

• Ambiguity about the type and extent of customer needs technology can satisfy

• Once known, customer needs change dramatically• Uncertainty as to what the dominant design will be or when

it will appear• Difficult to predict extent of customer adoption• Size of market is unknown

Professional Practice Slide 3

What is different in technology environments?

Technological uncertainty

• not sure about a product’s functional performance• technology supplier may not have a proven record for

delivery/service• not sure about unanticipated side effects• not sure if another technology will provide superior

performance

Professional Practice Slide 4

Critical success factors

• Target a market that is growing

• Make proposed product or service fit with customer needs (existing or anticipated), the line of business mission, and team capability

• Know upfront the reasons why customers will prefer your offer over alternatives

• Know upfront the reasons why customers will prefer buying from your organization over competing alternatives

• Involve customers in the exploitation of the market opportunity

Professional Practice Slide 5

Leaders act on opportunities early

Opportunity

Clarity

act early

act when others do

Leaders move the point of action higher

lead

Time

$

Details

Professional Practice Slide 6

Leaders get to stage 4 early

X

X O 12%

100%

100%

100%

100%

X O 12

3

4

0-1-2

Revenue

Time

X O 20%

X O 70%

Professional Practice Slide 7

Stages

-2 = sell technology knowledge

-1 = sell technology and opportunity knowledge

0 = sell various products that embody technology without satisfying100% of customer needs

1 = sell to satisfy 100% of needs of customers in one market segment

2 = sell to satisfy 100% of needs of customers in two or more market segments

3 = sell commodity like product

4 = sell portfolio of differentiated commodity products

Professional Practice Slide 8

Leader’s role changes as business grows

Growth

Existence SurvivalProfitable status-quo

Get resources for growth

GrowthReturn on investment

Key challenge:

•Lead existing stage

•Build architecture for next stage

•Move to the next stage

Professional Practice Slide 9

First stage’s and last stage’s critical success factors are opposite

Management style direct supervision line and staff

Organization values channels to tech knowledge; minimal systems

values channels to market; formal systems

Customer bet on what is coming; break from the pack; pay for new ways to solve new problems; target difficult to define

fast ramp up; follow the norm; pay to solve known problems; target easier to define

Funding fund as you go; measure return on customer relationship

well-funded up-front; measure return on investment

Partnerships input based output based

Competitors unknown known

Professional Practice Slide 10

Leaders remove barriers to market making

Align with current market

Create market

Need known, improved solution

Need known, new solution

Need anticipated, new solution

Need uncertain, solution evolves

Difficulty of defining and communicating offer

Leaders act on opportunities to create markets, not just satisfy known needs