SPA Conference session: Managing Through Innovation Cycles

One-line description:Discussion on coping with the problems caused by the speed of technological change
 
Session format: Goldfish bowl (75 mins) [read about the different session types]
 
Abstract:The pace of change in the IT world is increasing all the time. Infrastructure software can have two major releases a year, hardware is being upgraded and development methods and languages are constantly evolving.

When new technology is introduced into a product or process there is often a dip in quality, efficiency or both. This makes it very hard for decision makers to introduce change because of short term impacts.

How do organisations cope with this level of change, especially when large IT projects may take years to implement and business strategy is defined over 3-5 years?

This session will describe technology cycle, using models such as the "S Curve" and define some of the associated problems. The main part of the session wil be a structured discussion of the topic with some experienced technologists and members of the audience.
 
Audience background:Anyone who is interested in coping with new technology
 
Benefits of participating:Attendees will gain insights from people who have been involved in change and discuss their own thoughts.
 
Materials provided:Slides and handouts covering some articles which discuss the issues. Seed fish for the discussion.
 
Process:There will be a short introduction defining the problem and the bowl will be populated with some pre-selected fish. The normal rules will then apply with a short summing up at the end.
 
Detailed timetable:
 
Outputs:Summary of the discussion on the web page
 
History:New Session
 
Presenters
1. Chris Cooper-Bland
Independant Consultant
2. Rob Machin
Concise Group Ltd
3.