010 - Olivier de Weck – Technology Roadmapping and Quantitative Technology Management

https://www.thesystemsengineeringpodcast.com/podcast-010/

Discussion with Prof. Olivier de Weck about Technology Roadmapping. Including his 2022 book "Technology Roadmapping and Development: A Quantitative Approach to the Management of Technology"

Olivier is Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems at MIT & the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. Previously Olivier was Editor-in-Chief for INCOSE's Systems Engineering journal and Senior Vice President for Technology Planning and Roadmapping at Airbus.

Links from discussion:

• 1. MIT Professional Education courses (including Technology Roadmapping): https://professional.mit.edu/programs/faculty-profiles/olivier-de-weck
• 2. Olivier's 2022 Book: "Technology Roadmapping and Development": https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-88346-1
• 3. MIT's Roadmaps Home Page: https://roadmaps.mit.edu/index.php/Main_Page

Time stamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:01:00 What is technology Rd mapping and why should their organisation be doing it?
• 00:02:10 1962 JFK speech "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade…" example of a roadmap?
• 00:05:55 Figures of Merit (FoM), Utopian points, unachievable roadmaps & solar powered aircraft
• 00:10:22 Multidisciplinary nature of roadmaps & CFOs Chief Financial Officer is perhaps the most powerful person in the company
• 00:13:54 Value of traceability. Strategic Drivers to Roadmaps to Figures of Merit to R&D Projects Portfolio
• 00:16:47 Size of organisations to use roadmaps. Airbus is very complicated company…
• 00:19:03 Interfacing to suppliers of subsystems (e.g. aero engines)
• 00:23:36 Large amounts of information & keeping roadmaps updated
• 00:30:53 Disruptive innovation and Figure of Merit Changes
• 00:33:40 Handling disruptions from outside an industry (e.g. COVID-19, September 11th, Financial crisis of 2008)
• 00:36:51 MIT Online Course on Technology Roadmapping
• 00:38:14 Closing