Enhancing Creativity of Strategic Decision Processes by Technological Roadmapping and Foresight

Abstract

The quality of a company's strategic planning is a key factor influencing its competitiveness and development prospects. We will demonstrate how an appropriate choice of user inter¬faces, knowledge acquisition tools and analytic decision support methods can stimulate the creativity of the strategic planners taking part in technological road mapping. With strategic planning formalized as a multicriteria decision problem, the usual process of debating and brainstorming is better focused on reaching a consensus solution in an efficient way. An intelligent road mapping support tool and publicly available technological foresight results assure a high quality of data gathering and interaction of experts with stakeholders. Real options are used to evaluate the opportunities, threats, challenges, and flexibility during the planning period. The above approach has been implemented as an intranet application and used to apply information technology (IT) foresight outcomes to establish IT investment plans in innovative companies that develop new products and launch them on the market.