Agile Roadmapping: An Adaptive Approach to Technology Foresight

Technology roadmapping has become an important foresight tool for science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy and technology strategy development. There are, however, challenges in translating evidence from foresight into the strategies of STI agencies and the planning of research & technology development (RTD) organizations. While the foresight evaluation literature identifies methodological issues related to evidence granularity, scope, and stakeholder confidence, there is limited guidance on how to ensure roadmapping outputs are strategically relevant, appropriately detailed, and credible. This paper highlights the potential of using structured visual roadmapping frameworks to anticipate potential strategic foresight evidence failures and using the adaptive and iterative nature of roadmapping processes to address them. In this paper, we distinguish between: the roadmapping framework ‘canvas’; the foresight evidence captured on the canvas; the process of generating the evidence; and any final strategic plan developed using that evidence (with goals, milestones, actions, etc). We investigate efforts to use the roadmapping canvas as a research tool and diagnostic to explore emerging technology trajectories and innovation ‘pathways’. We demonstrate that key patterns of evidence distribution on the roadmapping canvas have the potential to reveal where further evidence may need to be gathered, or where further triangulation of stakeholder perspectives may be required. We argue that by adaptively addressing these patterns at key stages within the roadmapping process (and appropriately re-scoping, re-prioritizing, and re-focusing foresight effort and resources), the granularity, coverage, and consensus of the roadmapping evidence can be greatly enhanced. We conclude the paper by summarizing a set of novel principles for adaptive agile roadmapping, reflecting on the implications for foresight more generally, and outlining a future research agenda to test and refine this approach to agile foresight.

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Do-It-Yourself (DIY) laboratories and science, technology, and innovation (STI): trends, implications and future research

Technology Analysis and Strategic Management ◽

10.1080/09537325.2021.1942826 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-14

Author(s):

Isaac Sakyi Damoah ◽

David Botchie

Keyword(s):

Future Research ◽

Technology And Innovation ◽

Science Technology ◽

Do It Yourself ◽

Science Technology And Innovation

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Policies for Science, Technology, and Innovation

Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage - Innovation Management and Growth in Emerging Economies ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-4195-1.ch004 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 54-72

Author(s):

Li He ◽

Xukun Zhang

Keyword(s):

Transition Economy ◽

Central Government ◽

Technology Development ◽

Science And Technology ◽

Policy System ◽

Technology And Innovation ◽

Independent Innovation ◽

Science Technology ◽

The Government ◽

Science Technology And Innovation

Although there is plenty of research in the science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy studies, the trend and process of government regulations in a transition economy is underexplored. Empirical data such as central government laws, regulations, and policies for STI are collected from 1978 to 2018. Qualitative analysis software is adopted to facilitate the documentary analysis process. After a temporal examination of the government policies, the authors unearthed four stages in the evolution of STI policy: recovery and reconstruction of science and technology, transformation and market-led science and technology development, adjustment and innovation of science and technology, and promotion of science and technology and development of independent innovation. They found that the policy system has gradually changed and improved in continuous exploration and practice. First, the focus of the national policies has changed from science and technology to innovation. Second, the regulations are closely relevant to the political economy environment and central objectives.

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The use of QCA in science, technology and innovation studies: a review of the literature and an empirical application to knowledge transfer

Scientometrics ◽

10.1007/s11192-021-04012-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Manuel Fernández-Esquinas ◽

María Isabel Sánchez-Rodríguez ◽

José Antonio Pedraza-Rodríguez ◽

Rocío Muñoz-Benito

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Transfer ◽

Science And Technology Studies ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Research Area ◽

Future Research ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

Technology And Innovation ◽

Research Fields ◽

Science Technology ◽

Science Technology And Innovation

AbstractThis article analyses the use of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) in social studies on science, technology and innovation. The goals are to address how and why the method is used, and to explore the advantages and shortcomings for this research area. A review of the literature and practical application are combined. Firstly, the article finds that the acceptance of QCA is unevenly distributed in the major research fields related to knowledge production. It is used mainly to study innovation in firms but is largely absent in science and technology studies. Second, an original study on university–industry links provides a strategic site that displays how research unfolds. Its findings demonstrate the combinations of factors that shape knowledge transfer and the configurational nature of the process. The article offers an account of challenges and directions for future research and discusses the possibilities of the method as a third way between qualitative and quantitative traditions in science, technology and innovation.

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Lean and Six Sigma practices in the public sector: a review

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management ◽

10.1108/ijqrm-02-2018-0057 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 437-455 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Bryan Rodgers ◽

Jiju Antony

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Six Sigma ◽

Lean Six Sigma ◽

Strategy Development ◽

Future Research ◽

Content Type ◽

The Public ◽

Future Research Agenda ◽

Similar Work ◽

The Subject

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of publications relating to the use of continuous improvement (CI) methodologies, such as Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma over a 17-year period, to identify the themes and gaps, while informing the development of a future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach The systematic literature review identified 121 papers published between 2000 and 2017 from searches of over 1,400 peer-reviewed academic journals and also identified the application of Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma across the public sector. Findings This research compares the scale and breadth of the public sector with the application of CI methodologies and finds that such application is unstructured and, in some areas, sporadic. The research identifies common themes and research gaps including areas such as lack of shared understanding of Lean, gaps in strategy development and leadership and an overfocus on tools alone. Research limitations/implications The methodology is focussed on the journals rated in the ABS Journal Guide 2015, which allowed manual searches for accuracy and relevance to the area of investigation. It is recognised that this may exclude some articles which have been published in other journals but allowed for a structured and detailed investigation. The research identifies some very clear gaps which can inform future research agendas. Practical implications The paper details the implications and challenges to the public sector, generally, and to executive leadership, specifically, and, in particular, covers the common issues and concerns, which in turn will assist public sector organisations in implementing, reviewing or refreshing their CI initiatives. Originality/value No similar work has been conducted and while some individual areas such as health and education have been the subject of more focus, this research explores the public sector as a whole and considers the patterns of research in that context.

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Semi-automatic Technology Roadmapping Composing Method for Multiple Science, Technology, and Innovation Data Incorporation

Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management - Anticipating Future Innovation Pathways Through Large Data Analysis ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-39056-7_12 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 211-227

Author(s):

Yi Zhang ◽

Hongshu Chen ◽

Donghua Zhu

Keyword(s):

Technology Roadmapping ◽

Technology And Innovation ◽

Science Technology ◽

Science Technology And Innovation

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The Limits of Ego Depletion

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000365 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (5-6) ◽

pp. 292-304 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mario Wenzel ◽

Marina Lind ◽

Zarah Rowland ◽

Daniela Zahn ◽

Thomas Kubiak

Keyword(s):

Research Agenda ◽

Statistical Power ◽

Interindividual Variability ◽

Ego Depletion ◽

Crossover Design ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Future Research ◽

Future Research Agenda ◽

Depletion Effect ◽

Within Subjects

Abstract. Evidence on the existence of the ego depletion phenomena as well as the size of the effects and potential moderators and mediators are ambiguous. Building on a crossover design that enables superior statistical power within a single study, we investigated the robustness of the ego depletion effect between and within subjects and moderating and mediating influences of the ego depletion manipulation checks. Our results, based on a sample of 187 participants, demonstrated that (a) the between- and within-subject ego depletion effects only had negligible effect sizes and that there was (b) large interindividual variability that (c) could not be explained by differences in ego depletion manipulation checks. We discuss the implications of these results and outline a future research agenda.

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Development of JIT patient-specific implants

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management ◽

10.33114/adim.2019.c22.157 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Leanne SOBEL ◽

Katrina SKELLERN ◽

Kat PEREIRA

Keyword(s):

Design Thinking ◽

Technology Development ◽

Complex Problem ◽

Project Team ◽

Healthcare Sector ◽

Strategy Development ◽

Patient Specific ◽

Critical System ◽

Patient Specific Implants ◽

Human Centred Design

Design thinking and human-centred design is often discussed and utilised by teams and organisations seeking to develop more optimal, effective or innovative solutions for better customer outcomes. In the healthcare sector the opportunity presented by the practice of human-centred design and design thinking in the pursuit of better patient outcomes is a natural alignment. However, healthcare challenges often involve complex problem sets, many stakeholders, large systems and actors that resist change. High-levels of investment and risk aversion results in the status quo of traditional technology-led processes and analytical decision-making dominating product and strategy development. In this case study we present the opportunities, challenges and benefits that including a design-led approach in developing complex healthcare technology can bring. Drawing on interviews with participants and reflections from the project team, we explore and articulate the key learning from using a design-led approach. In particular we discuss how design-led practices that place patients at the heart of technology development facilitated the project team in aligning key stakeholders, unearthing critical system considerations, and identifying product and sector-wide opportunities.

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