The Rapid Response Institute

Tag: Gartner

  • Technology Betrayal

    Technology Betrayal

    In one case, a new cell phone (2023 purchase) went dead.  The replacement and the subsequent replacement did the same thing.  Now on the 4th phone, a work around has been found.

    The promise of technology is legendary.  However, the hype is often over the top and not a statement of realty.  The movement towards, MVP (minimum viable product) is but one of the issues technology providers face.

    The idea is to get to market with a version that meets the basic level of functionality that addresses a customer’s requirement.  One way to view this is as a market research tool.  However, in this author’s experience an MVP (with minimal or no changes) often becomes the first marketable version as develops rush to secure market share.  In our recent book, Smart Manufacturing we address the the Gartner Hype Cycle and state, “We live in an era of exploding technologies.  Daily, some new whiz-bang widget is announced and—Hyped!  No longer better than sliced bread, new technology promise everything from global peace to weight loss.”

    Caveat Emptor!

    We are repeatedly reminded that the computer chip is at the heart of all products and our everyday life.  This blogger does not deny that point of view.  However, this extreme dependence has drawbacks as well.  For one thing, the quality of the software is only as good as the development team.

    According to one source software quality assurance is, “A process that focuses on identifying and maintaining set requirements for developing reliable products.”  Previously, we defined validity and reliability as the first tenet of data quality assessment.  So it is with the software providing or using said data.

    In December 2022, the consulting firm McKinsey published, “Every company is a software company: Six ‘must dos’ to succeed.”  In that article, they posit that to be successful organizations will need to develop their own software.  This will require that organizations internalize the software development process as part of their core business capitalizing on their Subject Matter Expertise.

    How ready is your organization for this emerging business model?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    Additional Resources

    There are significant resources available on the subject.  Our intent is not to provide a comprehensive list, but a few that are oriented towards the layperson and not just the developer.  In no particular order:

    Interested readers can search for ‘software errors,’ ‘software quality assurance’ and other similar key words.

    Miscellaneous

    See our Economic Value Proposition Matrix® (EVPM) for additional information and a free version to build your own EVPM.

    The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page.  Moreover, Dr. Shemwell is a coauthor of the just published book, “Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability.”  His focus is on Operational Technologies.

    “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962).  For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game.  You can contact this author as well.

    For more details regarding climate change models, check out Bjorn Lomborg ands his latest book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.

    Regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our recent blog, Crippling Green.

    For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author can put you in touch with Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts.  If interested, check it out and give me a shout.

  • Whoa Nellie–Delays in the Smart Horseless Carriage

    Whoa Nellie–Delays in the Smart Horseless Carriage

    In the just released NCHRP Research Report 1001/BTSCRP Research Report 2, a new framework provides government and non government parties and other stakeholders a tool for the assessment and risk management for emerging automated driving system (ADS) technologies.

    This Framework for Assessing Potential Safety Impacts of Automated Driving Systems reminds this reader with a sense that the challenge here is similar to other complex critical systems such as health care and energy.  This should not be surprising given the huge global ground transportation sector.

    ADS Maturity

    Maturity Models are useful tools helping management and others assess organizational processes and the value standardization can provide all stakeholders.  Likewise, the ADS Maturity Model follows a similar path of the established ones such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI).

    According to the automotive authority, J.D. Power Driving Automation Maturity Model contains these six steps (in reverse order):

    5 – Full Driving–Vehicle is self contained as an autonomous operation.

    4 – High Driving–Requires no human driver and most likely be used within geofence boundaries.

    3 – Conditional Driving–Significant step up this level incorporates various systems including Artificial Intelligence (AI).  As of 2021, these level of automation was not approved in the United States.

    2 – Partial Driving–Vehicles with Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) but still requires the driver to  remain engaged.

    1 – Driver Assistance–Vehicle contains one or more systems designed to help steerage and/or braking etc.

    0 – No Driving Automation–No automation, driver entirely operates the vehicle.

    While there are some test exceptions, if as noted, Level 2 is the highest approved to date and the step to Level 3 is a big one, it appears we have a ways to go before any of us see an autonomous vehicle.  Not sure were we are on the Gartner Hype Cycle but likely there is some distance to go.

    SEMS

    Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) have been around for years.  Typically, SEMS requirements are usually integrated into Operations Management Systems.

    In this pundit’s opinion, similar integration will incorporate ADS into policies, processes and procedures for each organization.  As with other sectors, a number of Safety Cultures will emerge.  These will need to collaborate with other like minded but somewhat different business and technology models.

    The Hype

    We are often told that autonomous vehicles will be with us soon.  However, the evidence suggests otherwise.  According to the IT research firm, Gartner ““More than half of the technologies on this Hype Cycle are in the trough [of Disillusionment], which means that the hard work of commercializing many significant technologies is underway.”  Moreover, many advanced technologies necessary for Level 6 are even less developed.  Many may recall the autonomous breaking problems one manufacturer dealt with just three years ago.  Caveat Emptor in this field, at least for a while.

    How willing are you to trust your life to a Smart Vehicle?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page.  Moreover, Dr. Shemwell is a coauthor for an in press book (to be released in Spring 2023) titled, “Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability.”  His focus is on Operational Technologies.

    “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962).  For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game.  You can contact this author as well.

    For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author is a member of Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts.  If interested, check it out and give us a shout.