Why Roadmapping Software is Key to New Product Innovation Success For decades the linear innovation model reigned supreme. New product ideas began in the R&D realm, which fed into development, then production, and finally, marketing. Today however, new product innovation is unmistakably non linear, with hundreds, even thousands, of participants working in parallel at all levels throughout the enterprise. In addition, these concurrent processes must each share information at various points along the new product development process, creating significant challenges for today s innovation leaders. To successfully overcome these challenges and realize new product innovation success, organizations must be able to effectively address three core functions: 1. Identify and validate new opportunities. As new product development has become more complex, so has the process of identifying new opportunities. What was once decided by a core group of individuals must now be validated both inside and outside the organization to ensure that the technology driving the new opportunity is not only viable, but synchronized with market needs. 2. Communicate new product development plans to diverse stakeholders. With increased globalization, today s market leaders must align their plans more widely within engineering, procurement, marketing, etc. Equally important, those plans must also extend to the supply chain. 3. Establish real-time access to product development plans. A central challenge to keeping the workforce apprised of product plans is keeping information up to date. Annual or even quarterly progress updates aren t enough any longer. To effectively realize plans and have the flexibility to correct course when needed, real-time access is imperative. So how have some of the most successful Fortune 500 organizations addressed these crucial challenges? Through the implementation of an enterprise-wide roadmapping software program. What is Roadmapping Software? Roadmapping software allows organizations to gather mission-critical market, product Clearly, the roadmapping process, supported by roadmapping technology such as Alignent s Vision Strategist, is an ideal way to plan and progress an innovation performance management initiative. Stewart McKie European Analyst Director at Ventana Research in Intelligent Enterprise magazine Copyright 2005 Alignent Software. All Rights Reserved. 1
Roadmapping software allows: The gathering of market, product and technology planning information to create forward-thinking visual roadmaps depicting future plans accessible by all process owners in real time. and technology planning information and create forward-thinking visual roadmaps depicting future plans. It not only allows organizations to gather these plans in a common format, roadmapping software also allows organizations to store and organize these roadmaps in a central repository. It s this centralized database that keeps critical planning information accessible to multiple participants working in parallel at all levels of the organization, rather than being embedded into hundreds or thousands of individual desktops in dozens of formats. One of the first organizations to recognize the need for enterprise-wide roadmapping software was Motorola. Former Motorola CEO and Chairman of the Board Robert Galvin summed it up best when he wrote that the fundamental purpose of roadmapping is to assure that we put in motion today what is necessary to have the right technology, processes, components and experience in place to meet the future needs for products and services. Motorola s initial investment in enterprisewide roadmapping software has now been repaid hundreds of times over. For example, one year after deployment, the company estimated that it saved more than $200 million by consolidating redundant projects across various sectors of the company. As Motorola s roadmapping software use became more entrenched, the company not only continued its cost savings, but was able to increase financial returns by improving the impact of its innovations in the marketplace. An organization doesn t have to be the size of Motorola to realize such gains, however. In fact, virtually any size organization can use roadmapping software to maximize the value of their innovation process. How is Roadmapping Software Used? One of the primary reasons companies look to use roadmapping software is to promote interdepartmental alignment and effectiveness. As organizations grow larger in size, one common obstacle is the lack of communication between individual contributors, even if each group has information another needs. A roadmapping software solution gives visibility to hundreds, even thousands, of participants, allowing them to see all the programs across the enterprise and identify where any group or individual fits within the larger picture. By allowing multiple Seven Deadly Roadmapping Sins: Isolation Neglect Obstinacy Favoritism Myopia Disconnection Shortsightedness Not having enough job functions involved in creating roadmaps. Not keeping data fresh enough. The refusal to consider alternate courses of action. Choosing to only roadmap a small set of needs. Focusing on a single roadmap, rather than creating a roadmapping process. The lack of links between market, product and technology roadmaps. Not thinking far enough into the future. 2 How to Improve the Impact of Your Innovation Process
participants to view, update and contribute to the creation of product planning roadmaps, an enterprise roadmapping program allows for increased planning visibility and interdepartmental efficiency. Understandably, most organizations don t want just any employee to have access to product plans. Roadmapping software addresses these concerns with a number of security features, including internal access control. When applied, this safety feature allows the system administrator to limit roadmapping activity to authorized users. Roadmapping software is also the only solution that assures strategic plans and R&D plans stay up to date. Rather than only being up to date when stakeholders think to check the roadmaps, roadmapping software pro-actively alerts all process owners through instantaneous e-mail updates when critical changes occur or conflicts arise anywhere in the product development cycle. Roadmapping software is the only tool that permits a wide range of job functions to participate in the creation and execution of long-range strategic plans. To achieve this without roadmapping software involves getting department heads together once a year to discuss what the future holds for the company. With this traditional meeting model, there are lots of independentlycreated roadmaps in a variety of formats, but with no single repository enabling them to be linked with other department roadmaps. Consequently, decisions are based on a one-time snapshot of the organization, which begins degrading in usefulness with each passing day. What s worse is that once everyone leaves the room, any updates will remain resident on the desktops or the heads of those individual contributors. Roadmapping software takes that planning information, puts it into an application that allows the gathering of product information, market opportunities and the technology capacities needed to address those markets, and keeps it available in real time. Plus, by storing that information in a central location that participants can access, the planning information stays alive and up to date in real time. Furthermore, if there is turnover or changes in staffing, valuable planning information remains part of the corporate assets. In short, roadmapping software turns strategy meetings into an ongoing process, allowing organizations to: Visualize future product needs. Select the technology options to fulfill those product needs. Identify technology gaps that will need to be overcome. Create a detailed plan to realize those technology options. Roadmapping software is also incredibly flexible, making it easily adaptable for almost any industry, product or process. Organizations can use roadmapping software to track and manage new products, new services, market needs, external forces, regulatory specifications, emerging technologies, resources and supplier data. Once the roadmap architecture is created, an organization s decision-makers will be able to analyze it, set priorities, decide which projects to fund more aggressively or determine which Questions About Roadmapping Software? If you have any questions about how roadmapping software can fit into your product planning process, send them to questions@alignent.com, and we ll answer the most frequently asked questions in our FAQ. Organizations Using Roadmapping Software: BAE Systems Boeing Corning Honeywell Lockheed Martin Medtronic Motorola Sandia National Laboratories Sikorsky Textron US Air Force US Navy Copyright 2005 Alignent Software. All Rights Reserved. 3
The main benefit of technology roadmapping is that it provides information to make better technology investment decisions by identifying critical technologies and technology gaps and identifying ways to leverage R&D investments. Marie L. Garcia & Olin H. Bray Sandia National Laboratories projects to cut. Should there be any changes that affect the outcome, decision-makers will know about it almost immediately and be able to make adjustments as needed. Immediate Impact of Roadmapping Software Roadmapping software has allowed organizations to realize several key benefits, some almost immediately after deployment. Among them: Real-time visibility. Typically, the senior executives who allocate the annual budget have very little visibility into how those budget dollars are being used. With roadmapping software, anyone who has permission to access the system can monitor the progress of any number of product development programs in real time. Improved cross-functional communication. Roadmapping software allows any user (Development, Engineering, Finance, etc) to visualize all concurrent programs and where their areas of responsibility fit within the bigger picture. Dependencies become visible and the needs and resources are shared across programs and divisions, resulting in minimized duplicate work and expanded technology re-use. Discovery and visualization of unknown capabilities and competencies. Roadmapping software is also an effective way to benchmark your organization s capabilities. Roadmaps can also show the various drivers to help formulate ideas, like regulatory trends, technology breakthroughs and industry trends. By using roadmapping software to track this information, it becomes easier to identify new opportunities and new revenue sources, and create a more defined sense of destiny control. Improved planning and forecasting. With a strategic product planning roadmapping practice in place, leading technology developers will have the capability to lay down R&D budgets Payback Within First Planning Process 4 How to Improve the Impact of Your Innovation Process
against future scenarios, giving decision makers defined outcomes for every R&D initiative. So during the next round of R&D funding decisions, executive management will have the visibility to leverage those choices against the company s long-range strategies. Roadmapping Software ROI While most innovation leaders have an understanding how an enterprise roadmapping software program can improve inter-departmental alignment and efficiency, some may still be somewhat unclear from where the highest value will be realized. According to a 2004 independent study of Alignment Software s five largest customers by the Gantry Group, the return on investment (ROI) after the first year came in five specific metrics, which we ve categorized into three primary areas (see chart on Page 4). 1. Immediate Savings The most notable immediate savings stemming from roadmapping software implementation is elimination of redundant projects and improved technology reuse. Elimination of redundant projects is by far the biggest, and most immediate cost savings. Prior to implementing roadmapping software, these clients had business units or communities working on overlapping projects or technologies. Previous efforts to reduce overlap had been met with resistance, perhaps due to fear of job loss or a reduction in budget allocation. The next largest area of cost savings is in improved technology reuse. While most organizations deny it, information silos are still a reality, particularly if specific communities may be competing with one another. Furthermore, most groups don t necessarily want to become dependent on other groups. By implementing roadmapping software, organizations were able to increase visibility into other functions and identify technology reuse opportunities across product platforms. 2. Strategic Advantage Two other main areas that roadmapping software helped improve were in improved time to market and the ability to identify new markets. With the cross-functional visibility that comes with an enterprise roadmapping solution, many of the clients were able to improve time to market by reducing product delays due to lack of sufficient communication between communities. Disruptions and re-work have also been minimized by nailing down product 10 Best Times to Use Roadmapping Software: 1. When there s a merger or acquisition. 2. When you want to justify an investment. 3. When you want to create and communicate future scenarios. 4. When combining future views to create a unified strategy. 5. When you want to prove you have a solution. 6. When there are multiple paths to the goal. 7. When a challenge appears too complex to understand. 8. When you want suppliers to meet your future needs. 9. When you want customers to see your future capabilities. 10. When you re searching for a new idea. Copyright 2005 Alignent Software. All Rights Reserved. 5
specifications from the outset, rather than having additional requirements show up later. Roadmapping software gives companies the tool to organize and view market needs, competitive offerings and internal capabilities. This leads to delivering the right products to the right customers at the right time. 3. Improved supply chain management. Another area where organizations found incredible value in roadmapping software is in improved supplier planning. While the R&D expenditures of most global organizations can be measured in the tens, even hundreds of millions, chances are your suppliers are also investing heavily in R&D. By extending product planning to the supply chain, organizations are better positioned to capture value from the innovations of their suppliers, thereby extending their R&D reach without impacting their existing budget. Become an Innovation Leader With the pace of innovation accelerating daily, along with the percentage of revenue stemming from new products, today s global organizations are increasingly looking to enterprise roadmapping solutions like Vision Strategist TM by Alignent Software to improve the impact of their innovation process. As the only enterprise solution of its kind, Vision Strategist has emerged as the number one choice to advance new product innovation and transform an organization into a true innovation leader. For More Information: For a more detailed look at how roadmapping software can improve the impact of your organization s innovation process, contact us today! Or visit www.alignent.com. Alignent Software 1901 Camino Vida Roble, Suite 200 Carlsbad, CA 92008 Tel: 760.438.9100 Fax: 760.438.9102 sales@alignent.com 6 How to Improve the Impact of Your Innovation Process