BSE Technology Management and Innovation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is Stage-Gate (Phase-Gate) process used for in technology and product development?
- A software development methodology for agile projects
- A structured process with review gates between development phases to control project advancement (Correct answer)
- A process for staging and deploying software to production environments
- A gate inspection process for manufacturing quality control
Correct answer: A structured process with review gates between development phases to control project advancement
The Stage-Gate process divides product development into stages separated by gates where cross-functional teams evaluate progress and decide to continue, redirect, or kill the project.
Question 2: In open innovation, what is the key difference compared to traditional closed innovation?
- Open innovation requires all research to be publicly funded
- Open innovation leverages external knowledge, partnerships, and ideas alongside internal R&D (Correct answer)
- Open innovation eliminates the need for internal research teams
- Open innovation means making all company patents available for free
Correct answer: Open innovation leverages external knowledge, partnerships, and ideas alongside internal R&D
Open innovation, popularized by Henry Chesbrough, uses external sources such as universities, startups, and customers as inputs to the innovation process alongside internal R&D.
Question 3: What is a 'make vs. buy' decision in technology management?
- Choosing between manufacturing products or purchasing raw materials
- Deciding whether to develop a technology internally or acquire it from an external source (Correct answer)
- Deciding whether to buy new equipment or make do with existing assets
- Choosing between manufacturing in-house or outsourcing production entirely
Correct answer: Deciding whether to develop a technology internally or acquire it from an external source
The make vs. buy decision evaluates whether a company should develop a technology capability internally or source it externally through purchase, licensing, or partnership.
Question 4: Which concept describes the tendency for a dominant technology design to emerge from competition among competing designs and become the industry standard?
- Technology Convergence
- Dominant Design (Correct answer)
- Technological Trajectory
- Technology Lock-In
Correct answer: Dominant Design
Dominant design theory, developed by Abernathy and Utterback, describes how a single design eventually emerges as the industry standard, shifting competition from product to process innovation.
Question 5: What is 'design thinking' in the context of innovation management?
- The application of computer-aided design (CAD) software in engineering
- A human-centered problem-solving approach that emphasizes empathy, ideation, and prototyping (Correct answer)
- The process of designing organizational hierarchies for innovation teams
- A mathematical framework for optimizing engineering designs
Correct answer: A human-centered problem-solving approach that emphasizes empathy, ideation, and prototyping
Design thinking is a creative problem-solving methodology that starts with deep empathy for users, generates diverse ideas, and rapidly prototypes and tests solutions.
Question 6: In the context of engineering organizations, what is 'technology transfer'?
- Physically moving equipment from one facility to another
- The process of moving technology knowledge from where it is developed to where it will be used or commercialized (Correct answer)
- Training employees to use new software systems
- Transferring software licenses between organizations
Correct answer: The process of moving technology knowledge from where it is developed to where it will be used or commercialized
Technology transfer involves the systematic sharing of knowledge, skills, and technologies from research institutions or developers to commercial users, enabling broader application and economic benefit.
BSE Technology Management and Innovation 2
What is Stage-Gate (Phase-Gate) process used for in technology and product development?