Resources Guide for Training Technical Staff and Management
Goal: “Able to identify, develop, test, explore and elaborate opportunities aligned within areas of declared strategic intent”.

Role Type: Developer
Competency Level: Applied

Learning Objectives:
* Able to identify opportunities aligned within areas of declared strategic intent
1. Find next-generation opportunities
2. Confirm alignment with declared business unit strategic intent

Instructions:
For this activity, you should read the background materials listed, confirm what strategic intent means to your supervisor and colleagues, then assess if a current R&D or NBD next-generation project under consideration for funding by your corporation or business unit matches the strategic intent of your company or business unit. Check your findings and logic with your supervisor and colleagues. This activity should take a week to a month to complete, including all the discussions.

Step 1: Background
Become thoroughly understand strategic intent uses in technology and business planning.
Sources include:

  • “Innovate or Evaporate”
  • “Technology Strategy via Reviewing the Environment”
  • “Beyond the Voice of the Customer: Ethnographic Market Research”
  • “Creating Innovation Capabilities: Mölnlycke Health Care’s Journey”

Step 2:
1. Obtain access to next-generation projects or ideas being submitted to your company’s or business unit’s project selection committee.
2. Identify a team willing to help you assess projects’ strategic intent that comprises (a) your supervisor, (b) colleagues, and (c) 2-3 key people from Marketing/Sales, Manufacturing, or Finance. Note that each person should at least at the “Expert” experience level.
3. List those members and why you chose them below:
Person Name…..Perspective brought to the table
Person Name Person’s Role Perspective Brought to the Table

Step 3:
1. Plan for first team discussion
2. Prepare materials for your team that describe:
a. The strategic intent definitions and sources of them that you are using
b. Five next-generation projects you which to assess, your assessments of those projects, and why you included them

Step 4:
1. Lead a Team discussion
2. Review the above preparatory materials, then lead a discussion about each of the five projects as to why they do or don’t match the company’s or business unit’s strategic intent
3. After the discussion, rank your strategic intent definition elements by criticality: which ones will kill or significantly alter a project if not met
4. Identify the top 5 definition elements to test on five new next-generation projects not yet evaluated

Step 5:
1. Follow up
(a) Assess your five next-generation test projects for alignment with declared strategic intent
(b) Share your results one-one with your team members for their consensus
Goals:
1. Find three next-generation opportunities
2. Find at least one next-generation opportunity aligned with declared business unit strategic intent