Roadmapping based toolkit for business process improvement: developing an approach for technology &amp; innovation management capability assessment and development
Creators: name: Hurlstone, Duncan
name: Saiz, John
name: Chaskel, Clemens
name: Imoh Ilevbare
name: Farrukh, Clare
name: Phaal, Rob
name: Morris, Darrell
Publisher: name: Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Year: 2023
Subjects: Roadmapping
Innovation process
Technology management
Toolkit
Capability assessment
Digitally supported facilitation

description: This paper describes the customised implementation of a roadmapping-based toolkit across the corporate function and six operating companies within a large technology-intensive UK organisation. The aim was to understand the current and desired performance levels of technology and innovation management capabilities across the organisation to identify potential areas of strategic focus for development and to explore potential initiatives to address these areas. Another key aim was to balance insights to support capability development priorities for each individual organisation with insights from across the six organisations to help the group overall. To achieve this, a recognised framework for technology and innovation management capability assessment was deployed together with roadmapping. This combination of assessment and roadmapping into a single toolkit extended the utility of the interaction for the organisation from one of effective and consistently structured assessment, to that of an exploratory and collaborative diagnostic and the initiation of pertinent capability development activities. This implementation was led by a corporate level technology manager in the organisation. The manager worked closely with external strategic technology and innovation management (TIM) facilitators from Institute for Manufacturing at University of Cambridge. Furthermore, the manager drew upon strategic technology and innovation management experience of other companies within an industry-academic consortium. The technology manager secured support from peers across the organisation to form a steering group. Guided by the external facilitators, the steering group customised the deployment of the diagnostic to align with the organisational context. They collaboratively managed the process including the workshops carried out for each organisation. All workshops were configured for remote delivery using established platforms and delivered as such. The main outputs over the three phases of work included a cross-organisational summary of current performance levels, issues to address and initiatives selected to address these. Furthermore, two top-level plans per operating company were defined for each of their selected initiatives as well as two additional top-level plans for group-level initiatives that had also been selected as a priority. Conclusions drawn include:  The importance of customising the method as appropriate to project objectives and organisational context  Further industry-academic collaborations should be proactively sought out and undertaken in the future so that further valuable innovations in toolkit design and delivery can be realised, shared and redeployed.