What is Technology Management?

Management of Technology (MOT) links engineering, science, and management disciplines to plan, develop, and implement technological capabilities to shape and accomplish strategic and operational objectives of an organization (National Research Council, 1987).

What Do Technology Leaders Need to Know?

• Current and emerging technologies
• Project and process management
• Strategic and systems thinking
• Resource balance
• Organizational leadership
• Human behavior (Shenhar, 1991)

By definition, it is the nature of technology to integrate and incorporate knowledge from other disciplines while also contributing to it. Thus, managers of technology must be able to think and communicate across disciplines, both technical and non-technical (Doggett, 2004).

Management of Technology is:

• Technological strategy and planning
• Technological forecasting
• Management of innovation
• Implementation of technology
• Technology transfer
• Requires a science perspective, technical competency, and managerial ability (Markert and Backer, 2003)

What Will MOT Be In the Future?

• Leadership of multifunctional teams that cut across traditional organizational boundaries (Khalil, 1993).
• The development of practical technical knowledge based on rigorous academic inquiry (Mills et al. 1996).
• Understanding of social and economic performance measurements (Bell, 1999).
• Design of business and technology architecture using holistic iterative processes (Gharajedaghi, 1999).
• Use of thinking models to test assumptions about technology (Goldratt, 1994).
• Application of dynamic models to technological systems (Senge, 1999).

For an excellent diagram on MOT, go to the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) website.