The Technology Balance Sheet

Just as it is essential to understand an organization's financial health, it is equally necessary to understand and measure its technological health. The first section of the chapter describes the technology balance sheet, a useful approach to measuring a company's technology. The second section presents a number of classic technology-related flaws, ranging from requiring infinite technology (i.e., attempting to develop a product that is predicated on a fundamental discovery or technological breakthrough) to having no sustaining technology. The final section lists the rules for evaluating a new venture's technological position at the end of the concept technology that it needs to build a product, and then rank each Figure 1 lists the 12 dimensions to be considered and measured: r Technology base Standards Design, quality, and other processes III Plan, with schedule and resources III Engineering specifications I Manufacturing specifications Chief technical officer Team and engineering culture III Architecture Technical resources Technology future Operational management These dimensions will be discussed in the following subsections.