Such planning is conducted at the business-unit level as well as the corporate level. A challenge for technical leaders is to be effectively involved in the planning process at both levels. This is not an easy task and requires credibility as well as leadership. A major barrier to the use of metrics is collection of appropriate data required for input. Data collection can be time consuming and costly, but is vital to assuring that an assessment can be made of the technical and business value added at each stage of the innovation process.
Many companies have only an informal process for doing so.
More resources, in financial, human, and strategic terms, are necessary to meet this challenge. It is also essential that the intellectual capital of one's company be managed effectively, i.e., surveyed, assessed, and protected where appropriate. Others may be very interested in it and may even be acquiring or using it without one s knowing. The Internet has great potential, but is also offers some perils. Most databases and intranets can be accessed by experts.