John Wiley & Sons, Inc. | ISBN 0-471-47567-X | ENGLISH | PDF | 405 PAGES | MB
Introduction
In the “information economy,” we recognize the increasing availability of information. On the one hand, we can be intimidated by the overwhelming amount of information bearing down on us. On the other hand, we now have tools to enable us to garner great value from that information quite readily. New information products can better inform decision processes. As businesses are making decisions under tremendous competitive pressures, they increasingly seek better information. This book addresses how to inform technology management by mining a particularly rich information resource—the publicly accessible databases on science and technology. These include amazing compilations of the world’s open R&D literature, patents, and attendant business and public aspects. This information, when integrated with other data sources (the Internet) and expert review, can improve decisions concerning development, licensing, and adoption of new technology. “Tech mining” presents particular challenges. Most fundamentally, it uses information resources in unfamiliar ways. In the past, we searched abstract databases to find a few articles worth reading. However, when there are literally thousands of relevant articles or patents, we also need to present the “big picture.”This book helps understand the value in “profiling research domains,” mapping topic relationships, and discerning overall trends. This is a qualitatively different way to use technology information. We wrote Tech Mining for those whose jobs engage emerging technologies. This includes two groups. Part I addresses those who use such studies, rather than perform them.We seek to help such professionals and managers become better informed consumers of tech mining.We inform engineers, researchers, product developers, business analysts, marketing professionals, and various technology managers on effective ways they can exploit these information resources. Part II adds “how to” details for those who analyze, or directly manage the analysis of, changing technologies. This includes information professionals, patent analysts, competitive intelligence specialists,R&D managers, and strategic planners. This book is a primer. It sets forth the basic objectives and tools of tech mining. Chapters 1–5 aim to provide conceptual bases for practical tech mining actions. The conceptual foundations reside in understanding of how science and technology leads to successful technology commercialization (the innovation process) more than in information science. Chapters 6–16 provide practical advice on performing tech mining. These treat basic and advanced analyses but also process management considerations vital to effective implementation. We carry through to point to products of tech mining analyses and indicate how they can serve particular technology management functions. Chapter 13 arrays technology management issues and questions along with candidate “innovation indicators” to answer them. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of tech mining. It explains the relevant aims, presents the basic steps in accomplishing those aims, and provides pointers to those who want further details.We illustrate the content with experiential cases slanted toward practical implementation issues and how results can be used. Some chapters work through a “chapter challenge” to think through application of the concepts presented. Chapters 4 and 16 together step through a concrete analytical example.This applies VantagePoint software to actual abstract records obtained from three databases (Derwent World Patent Index, INSPEC, and Web of Science) on the topic of “fuel cells.” Chapter 4 spotlights sample tech mining results to get you thinking of ways you could gain value from tech mining. Chapter 16 illustrates the analytical progression and notes pitfalls. The Wiley sample data set in VantagePoint Reader to experience the tech mining analyses directly. The book does not require any statistics or artificial intelligence background. It is not specific to a particular technology domain (e.g., information technology). In addition to practitioners and managers, we believe it can benefit technology analysis workshops and graduate courses.
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