Linking strategy and roadmap: Integrative design of technology, product and production

Technology, product and production planning is challenging. To face increasing complexity of strategic planning, a stronger, earlier and quicker integration of the planning areas product, technology and production is required. Current approaches hamper a total optimum in planning results. Technology management needs a new quality of integrativity. It cannot be reached with the motto `Everyone does everything together'. Instead, everyone has to define lighthouses, guidelines and references for the future for his own domain. Strategy and roadmap need to be linked in the coordinated process. In this paper we present a new integrative approach, which was developed based on results of the analysis of industry cases and successful practices of five technology-oriented companies. Firstly, clear visions of the future of the own planning area have to be developed in form of lighthouses to define borders of each planning areas solution space. Secondly, guidelines building a framework for specific solutions can be derived. References that are describing each planning area in the future, can be developed afterwards as target states. As a final step, the solution spaces of all planning areas have to be harmonized. In a participative decision making process agreed projects have to be implemented in a technology roadmap.