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Research is a critical component to supporting innovation efforts within the technology industry. Improvement on existing technologies is "sine qua non" in order to remain competitive in existing markets.

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TECHNOLOGY - TL

Subclass TA168 - Systems Engineering

Innovation

Technological Innovation

Innovation and engineering

Innovation and systems engineering

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION 2023

SUBJECT EXPERTS I

SUBJECT EXPERTS II

RESEARCH GUIDES

"There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period".

- Brené Brown: 1965-Present: AZ Quotes

Basic Research

Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories of natural or other phenomena. The two aims are often practiced simultaneously in coordinated research and development.

Applied Research

Applied research is a methodology used to solve a specific or practical issue affecting a schematic design. This scientific method of study and research is used in engineering in order to find solutions that may solve scientific problems or develop new technologies.

System Design

Engineers will define a systematic diagram or schematic configuration to be improved upon and then embark on a technologically innovative design process. This will involve examining existing layouts and/or processes in order to improve them or create something new.

Development

Technological development is achieved through improving existing research techniques(s). Technological change is the overall process of innovation, and/or diffusion of technological processes. Invention(s), Innovation(s), and diffusion(s) are usually patent technologies that must meet industry specification(s) before being allowed to permeate into a society.

Innovation

Innovative research is a search for new business and strategic techniques and methods. It entails the develop and optimization of well-known methodologies, enabling the implementation of new and better solutions. Innovative research also focuses on creating new ideas, analyzing problems, diagnosing them and identifying their causes.

Manufacture

Manufacturing research entails the design and supervision of a manufacturing facility. Manufacturing research groups plan, schedule, and direct an efficient layout of equipment along with facilitating the flow of materials. There are three types of manufacturing production process; make to stock (MTS), make to order (MTO) and make to assemble (MTA).

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Planning Technological Innovation

Technological innovation is a process that takes time and resources in order to understand what is appropriate for staff and the organization. Program directors and their management staff may use this resource to further their understanding of what is involved in technology innovation. Technological innovative technique(s) are intensively iterative, involving high level configuration tradeoffs, a mixture of analysis and testing along with the detailed examination of the adequacy of every part of the structure. Care must be taken to ensure that design optimizations for unique types of innovation(s) meet both national and international industry standards. In order to make good decisions, an organization also needs to understand key aspects of technology.

Assess Current Technological Resources

The first step in developing a plan is to assess where you are. What do you have in place? How well is it working? The key is to spend What needs improvement? What technology do you have in place already? What technology skills does your staff have? Who does your organization rely on for technology support?

One part of assessment is taking a basic inventory of the existing technology. An inventory worksheet can give engineers a sense of the overall capacity and range of current technology being implored. A software inventory worksheet can give you an overview of the present technology under review. By taking this step, you can help avoid designing redundant or incompatible technologies, and you can help assess whether any of your current technology is obsolete. In the inventory worksheet, you will want to write down the following items:

• User

• Brand

• Model

• Current Operating System(s) schematic design

• Innovative Operating System(s) replacement schematic design

The innovation team also needs to document existing network structure(s), access policies, and protocols; document services including current management practices, from staffing to written policies. The most important part of assessment is to ask yourself some questions about how well your systems are currently working. The worksheet below will give you an idea of the issues to look at in different areas of technology assessment.

Through technology planning, organizations can make significant economic and technical gains. Competent technology management leads to greater productivity, increased staff morale, and improved service to clients through having machines that work, networks that give access to information, and applications that are appropriate for an organization's mission. Information can transform organizations by giving them the tools to understand the environment they are working in, to measure the effectiveness of their actions, and to counter opposing information from other groups and policy makers. Technology is uniquely positioned to harness the power of information.

Establish Managerial Financial/Technical Support

Setting up a technical innovation team and ensuring management and staff buy-in will allows organizations to get started with executive management supporting it.. A tech plan is not written in a day. The process behind the writing is the most important part, and the process is all about how staff work together to find the best solutions.

• Management Support. It is next to impossible to do a technology plan and carry it out without active support from management. Management is key to financial support and funding for the plan. It also makes a huge difference if you can convince your management to stand up and talk to staff about the plan. One strategy for convincing management is to describe the current costs of not doing a plan. Let them know how many hours of staff time are wasted, and how much money is lost trying to make the current system work. If your organization requires a major technology overhaul, management will appreciate a plan which is broken into implementation phases, so that they are not faced with funding the entire initiative in one budget year. For a set of general talking points review this reference entitled: Why a Technology Plan? Even if management is reluctant, they should be consulted and informed at every major step.

• Lead Person. It is crucial to have one person who is designated to lead the technology team and coordinate the whole process. That person need not be someone who is already in a management position, but should be someone with leadership capabilities and relative comfort with technology.

• Technology Team. It is crucial that the technology plan be a product of the whole organization, not just one staff person's brainchild. Nonprofit technology experts all recommend that you set up a technology team to lead your technology planning process, if you do not have a team already. A technology team should be made up of a wide range of staff members. It is very important to have your executive director or another person in management involved. Your team might be composed of a board member, the executive director, a project manager, an administrative assistant, an accountant and a development director, as well as your system administrator, if you have one. Set up a regular meeting schedule to review progress on the plan. Make sure to distribute responsibilities and set clear expectations so that each person is involved in the process.

Define the Innovation

What will new technology do that the current technology cannot perform already? Defining the innovation will enable engineers to choose the most efficient solutions. The trick to defining your needs is to describe what you want to do with technology, not what you think you need to buy. Consider the problems you might run into in your organization--new policies to institute, procedures you need to follow to find new funding, and new staff members to work into your organization's structure. Then consider all the potential tools, including technology tools that you might use to solve these problems.

• Area of Innovative Design (eg., Radar/Sonar)

• Impact of Technology (eg., New Tracking Technique)

• Existing Technical Capability (Schematic design of current radar/sonar tracking system)

• Innovative Knowledge (Innovative design schematic of new radar/sonar detection technique(s)

• Prototype development, testing, debugging (Model of new tracking system develpment)

• Technical Presentation (Presentation of radar/sonar tracking technique)

• Management approval of production of the new radar/sonar system(s) after careful examination of schematic designs.

• Planning for Production

• Any additional equipment attached to the technology

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Document the Innovation Plan

There are several key elements to consider when implementing planned innovation(s) and/or upgrades of existing systems.

• Technical Innovation: Technical innovation (together with a brief section about the current state of a given technology) can take the form of an executive summary. How will the technical innovation improve the existing design(s)? What is the extended vision for technical innovation? What are the estimated budgeting costs for all aspects of the plan? If technical innovation plan is divided into different phases, then the budget should be divided into phases as well. This will allow teams to distinguish immediate investments from more long-term projects.

Design Innovative Solutions

Once the exisiting technology has been assessed, the next step is to make a concrete plan for innovation. This phase of technology planning requires the most technical knowledge. Schematic research and information from the other areas in the field can help the team get started. Deciding on concrete solutions that fit within your budget can be the most difficult part of technology planning. It's important to make sure that all the solutions you pick are compatible. For instance, if you want a new radar system and/or a new imaging network, you will have to make sure that the new system can be shared across the type of network you are also developing, Technology is interdependent and there are dozens of options with different price tags for each technology decision, so negotiating your priorities can get very tricky. The important thing is to go back to your original vision of how technology can help you accomplish your mission. What are the key new functions you want technology to fill? Consider price, of course, but don't get locked into an inexpensive technology that will not grow with you and will not work with future technologies.

Implement the Innovation Plan

Establishing a timeline, assigning responsibilities, and evaluating team progress will make innovation plan(s) a reality. The following elements are key to a successful implementation:

• Designate a Lead Administrator: One person should be in charge of managing the process. This is not necessarily a technical role, but a management role. This person may also communicate with and oversee consultants who implement parts of the plan. They will report back periodically to the technology team and to management.

• Divide projects into segments: Make sure the individual steps are clear so you can monitor progress.

• Assign responsibilities: Make clear which team member will perform a given responsibility.

• Establish a timeline: Set milestones and target dates for different phases of your plan

• Evaluate your success: Evaluation should be built into any planning process, and technology planning is no exception. Decide beforehand what indicators of success you will look for. Build evaluation checkpoints into your timeline.

• Update the innovative technology plan. An innovative technology plan should be an organic document. As new needs and priorities come up, modify the plan accordingly! If one technology project does not help you as you hoped, you are free to go back to the plan to rethink and rewrite.

The more you can connect your technology needs to your larger mission as an organization, the better your plan will be. Its recommendations will be more useful and meaningful, as well as more convincing to potential funders.As you define your needs, develop a sense of what your priorities are. What is mission-critical for the next month, and what can wait half a year? For instance, a nonprofit might decide that backing up all data takes first priority, while developing a website for funders can wait a few months. Also look to other organizations in your sector to learn about best practices in technology. While you don't want to follow other organizations blindly, keeping abreast of changes in your field is essential to being able to take advantage of technology in a timely manner.

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Conclusion:

Innovative technology planning is not quick or simple. There is no definite formula for success. In order to make informed decisions, you will need access to technology expertise. You may also want some guidance just managing the planning process. Whether or not you can do your planning on your own depends on the technology expertise you have on staff already. Taking your hardware and software inventory may be the most well-defined part of technology planning. As a result, you have more options for how to get it done. If someone on staff has even a minimal knowledge of hardware and software vocabulary, you may well be able to do it in-house

Planning technology solutions can require much more in-depth technology understanding. In some cases, if there is already an experienced IT person on staff, some nonprofits find that with web research and phone calls, a technology team can complete the plan on its own. However, if you do not have an experienced consultant on staff, it will be difficult for techicians, who are not engineers, to know enough to make a reliable judgment call. Whether or not you seek outside help, however, expertise of the technology team is crucial to a successful plan. Once again, Innovative technology planning is no simple matter, but it is a notable and cerebral planning process.