uzermi

Innovation: A Technology Management Perspective

Dr. M.V. Uzermi
Auburn University

The global economy is a very hostile place for firms that are slow or unresponsive. Customer markets are becoming more fragmented and diverse. New technologies are expanding the number and variety of products and services that firms can offer. Competitors from all over the world pose threats to previously secure domestic markets. Social norms and priorities are changing and adding to the diversity that organizations face. Increasingly, both manufacturers and service providers are forced to change their "products" at an accelerating pace.

The pace of change and the demand for diversity has imposed a tremendous burden on many firms. Their must develop a larger number of new products, tailor those products to narrower definitions of customer need, and do all this with downsized organizations and more limited resources. There is clearly a demand for more efficient and effective methods of product development.

This course examines these issues along two parallel tracks.

Track 1 focuses on the tools and techniques for managing individual innovation. These techniques rely on close integration among the functional groups that participate in the design process. These tools are exemplified in the growing use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) which is a technique that balances customer needs with the technological and operational capabilities of the firm. This version of the course is designed to complement MT 674 - Innovation: A marketing perspective and form a two part sequence hinging on QFD. Where MT 674 explores the customer side of the problem, this course concentrates on the technological and operational aspect of the problem.

Track 2 looks at broader, more strategic patterns of innovation across generations and families of products. The goal of this track is to help the student understand the emerging international paradigms for managing product innovation. This version of the course is intended for students who are already familiar with basic innovation practices and want to understand the process from a broader perspective.

TEXTBOOKS

SU - Susan Sanderson and Mustafa Uzumeri, "The Innovation Imperative: Strategies for Managing Product Models and Families", Irwin, 1997.

TA - Michael Tushman and Philip Anderson (ed.), "Managing Strategic Innovation and Change: A collection of readings", Oxford University Press, 1997.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

A series of homework assignments will be communicated through a homework administration system. The system's operation will be explained during the first week of class.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Students are expected to make use of the Internet and to browse appropriate sites on the World-Wide Web. A guide to sites of particular relevance can be reached through Dr. Uzumeri's home page.

Microsoft Powerpoint copies of class overheads can be viewed or downloaded. Web browsable copies can be found by clicking on the topics in the class schedule that follows [only on Dr. Uzermi's course web page]

CLASS SCHEDULE

The following schedule lists the topics that will be discussed in the class.

Track 1 students are responsible only for the material that is shown in bold.
Track 2 students are responsible for everything that is listed.

Session	Topic	Class Date
1	Introduction Overview of individual product development process	Tu 1/7
2	A Single-product Design Process Model and Project Management Guidelines	Th 1/9
3	Quality Function Deployment	Tu 1/14
4	What is an Innovation? (TA 2&5)	Th 1/16
5	cancelled	Tu 1/21
6	Larger Patterns: Continuity and Discontinuity (TA 1,3,6,7,8&9) Writing Scenarios	Th 1/23
7	cancelled	Tu 1/28
8	Larger Patterns: Cases (SU 2&3,4,7)	Th 1/30
9	Organizational Issues: (TA 13,14,15,16)	Tu 2/4
10	MidTerm Exam Midterm Progress Report	Th 2/6
11	Socio-Organizational Patterns: (TA 11,12&17)	Tu 2/11
12	Techno-Organizational Patterns (SU 8&9) Examples of Industrial Design	Th 2/13
13	Strategy (TA 18&19)	Tu 2/18
14	Marketing (TA 24&25) Building a Business Plan	Th 2/20
15	Operations (TA 26, SU 10)	Tu 2/25
16	Teamwork (TA 28,29&30)	Th 2/27
17	Globalization and Alliances (TA 31,32,33&34)	Tu 3/4
18	Alliance Systems (TA 35,36&37)	Th 3/6
19	Leadership (TA 38,40&41)	Tu 3/11
20	Final Student Project Presentations and Report	Th 3/13

DETAILED DESIGN PROJECT

The bulk of the course involves a "hands-on" design project. The default problem statement for this design project is as follows. Student teams are welcome to submit an alternative suggestion during the first 2 weeks of the course.

Personal computers are increasingly important part of everyday life, both at work and in the home. This suggests that there will be a growing market for furniture that is designed to effectively support this new "appliance".
There are already lots of designs for various types of computer furniture. However, there is a sense that university students in dorms and small apartments are not well served by products that are designed for companies or for traditional homes.
ACME Wood Products is a woodworking company that makes a variety of products out of particle board and other types of wood-based composite panels. It would prefer that the proposed design use those materials if at all possible.
ACME's factory is currently operating near or at capacity. Therefore the manufacturing process and cost assumptions should not assume any special access to the ACME factory. The design should be economically feasible even if it is outsourced to a subcontractor.
ACME is ultimately looking for an entire new product line. Consequently, it will judge any proposed design in terms of its ability to serve as a base for other, related products.
Since ACME does not make any similar product at the moment, the design team should not feel bound by practices in other ACME businesses. If the design requires a significantly different approach, ACME is willing to consider setting up a self-contained subsidiary to manage the new product line.

Students will form "design teams" to tackle of this problem from several different perspectives. These perspectives will be coordinated with the instructor as the teams are set up.

TRACK 2 PAPER GUIDELINES

Assigned Paper

Students are required to write a paper in the course that deals with one of the following three topics:

A paper that takes an existing product family and analyzes the current structure of product competition in that family, assesses the prospects for discontinuous change, discusses the product family structure that one would most likely expect to result and comments on the likely winners and losers among the companies currently and likely to compete in that industry. Prudence suggests that students should pick product families that are neither so large that they are impossible to evaluate (e.g., all cars) or so simple that the analysis is trivial (oranges, carbon black, etc.). Moreover, the paper has to make the case that some form of dynamic competition is likely in the near future.

A paper that does a limited version of the Track 1 analysis of a prospective new product. This paper would not have to be as complete as a Track 1 project, but it must involve a) analysis and discussion of a technological product, b) a QFD/"whats-hows" analysis, c) a basic financial model, and d) a clear and detailed discussion of the prospects for success and the unknowns that might represent "showstoppers".

A paper on any other subject, subject to my prior approval.

Generally, the resulting paper should be 30-40 pages (including single-spaced type, graphs, figures and relevant appendixes), although there is some leeway, depending on the topic and content.

REQUIREMENTS:

Each design team is responsible for coordinating its own activities. It is anticipated that students will have to adapt their project management approaches to their own specific project opportunities and challenges. All correspondence between the students and the instructor, as well as the delivery of finished assignments, will be done by email.

Track 1 - Detailed Design

Class Homework - 10%
Design Project - 60%
- Concept Presentation - 5%
- Midterm Progress Report - 10%
- Final Presentation - 5%
- Personal Notebook - 30%
- Final Design - 20%
Final Exam - 20%

Track 2 - Innovation Strategy

Class Homework - 20%
MidTerm - 20%
Paper - 20%
Final Exam - 30%

EVALUATION:

A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%