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200 CHAPTER 6 • PRoCEss TECHnology sTRATEgy
Operations managers cannot avoid involvement with process technologies. They work
with them on a day-by-day basis and should also be able to articulate how technology
can improve operational effectiveness. Other functional areas will, of course, also be
involved, such as engineering/technical, accountancy and human resources. Yet it is
operations that must act as ‘impresario’ for other functional areas’ contributions, and
that is likely to take responsibility for implementation. And to carry out their ‘impre-
sario role’, operations should have a grasp of the technical nature of process technolo-
gies. This does not necessarily mean that operations managers need to be experts in
engineering, computing, biology, electronics, or whatever is the core science behind
the technology, but they need to know enough about the technology to be comfort-
able in evaluating technical information, and be able to ask relevant questions of the
technical experts. These questions include the following:
● What does the technology do that is different from other similar technologies?
● How does it do it?
● What constraint does using the technology place on the operation?
● What skills will be required from the operations staff in order to install, operate and
maintain the technology?
● What capacity does each unit of technology have?
● What is the expected useful lifetime of the technology?

technology planning – technology roadmapping

However operations managers are involved with the strategic development of process
technologies, it is likely to be in consultation and collaboration with other parts of the
firm. It is also likely to be in the context of some kind of formal planning process such as
technology roadmapping. A technology roadmap (TRM) is an approach that provides
a structure that attempts to assure the alignment of developments (and investments)
in technology, possible future market needs and the new development of associated
operations capabilities. Motorola originally developed the approach in the 1970s so
that it could support the development of its products and their supporting technolo-
gies. Bob Galvin, then Motorola’s CEO, defined a TRM as ‘an extended look at the future
of a chosen field of inquiry composed from the collective knowledge and imagination of the
brightest drivers of change in that field’. A TRM is essentially a process that supports tech-
nology development by facilitating collaboration between the various activities that
contribute to technology strategy. It allows technology managers to define their firm’s
technological evolution in advance by planning the timing and relationships between
the various elements that are involved in technology planning. For example, these
‘elements’ could include the business goals of the company, market developments or
specific events, the component products and services that constitute related offerings,
product/service and process technologies, the underlying capabilities that these tech-
nologies represent and so on. Figure 6.3 shows the generic form of technology road-
maps, while Figure 6.4 shows an example of a technology roadmap for the development
of products/services, technologies and processes for a facilities management service.
The benefits of TRMs are mainly associated with the way they bring together the
significant stakeholders involved on technology strategy and the various (and often dif-
fering) perspectives that they have. The approach forms a basis for communication, and
possibly consensus. After all, it does tackle some fundamental questions that concern

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