Have you ever been confused after you have read two or three different roadmaps and even though they were supposedly
mapping the same attribute in the same time periods,the numbers in the cells were different? Do you often wonder,“Do
these people ever talk to each other”?
Interestingly,even though different all of the roadmaps may be correct. The following list some of the reasons for the
differences and explains the uniqueness of the individual roadmaps.
Industry wide technology roadmapping,which is a fairly new activity in the U.S.,is believed to have been started in Detroit
in the late 80’s when the automotive industry asked their suppliers to present roadmaps of their future products. The focus of
many of these presentations was cost reduction not necessarily technology as the U.S. auto industry was in the middle of
severe cost cutting activities to increase their competitiveness.
There are now numerous national roadmaps. The steel industry,the aluminum industry,and the forging and casting industries
all have published technology roadmaps. In the electronics industry there is also a large number of roadmaps: The National
Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) roadmap,The Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) roadmap,
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) roadmap,and the Japanese JISSO roadmap.
Gary S. Vasilash,as Editor - In – Chief of Automotive Manufacturing & Production Magazine once made two broad
statements supporting roadmaps. The first is,roadmaps provide a view to all levels of an organization that goes beyond the
immediate fires that need to be put out and keeping new fires from starting. The second comment was that roadmaps identify
areas where collaboration may be needed in order to achieve leapfrog,not natural incremental,development.
Mr. Ray Kammer,former Director National Institute of Standards and Technology has said “We at NIST love roadmaps…
Roadmaps help us guide our investments and to allocate our resources in accordance with U.S. industry’s priorities. And the
more detailed the roadmaps the better…”
Kammer also said,“The need for two way communication has not subsided. Technology and science are moving too fast.
Global competitive conditions are too fluid. Opportunities are too fleeting,and the technology gaps we must bridge are too
wide to leave communication to chance,or even to individual initiative. Both government and industry stand to gain from a
more systematic and more proactive approach to surveying the technology landscape in electronics.”
“From the government perspective,an example that pops quickly to mind is defense technology. As the Pentagon continues
to transition toward greater reliance on a commercial technology base,there is an even greater need for regular
communication between government and industry. Roadmaps facilitate this communication.”
The Defense department must be alert to trends and developments and to basic research supporting the entire scope of
electronic technologies. It must understand the manufacturing capabilities that underlie these technologies. It also must be
quick to identify research and technology gaps—specialized needs likely to go unaddressed in the commercial sector.
National Technology Roadmaps facilitate this need.
