The natural evolution for technology is that it becomes obsolete or not as effec
ID: 449666 • Letter: T
Question
The natural evolution for technology is that it becomes obsolete or not as effective overtime compared to its initial introduction. Cradle to death is a typical lifecycle for any given application. The useful life of a particular application will vary based on advancements in a given discipline. It is critical to continuously seek and identify new ways to adapt technology. Describe in detail the process to evaluate alternative or replacement applications for existing technologies and explain at what point in the lifecycle should this process be initiated?
Explanation / Answer
It is true that technology becomes obselete and if not obselet then it becomes less effective with time.
Now, the process of evaluating alternative and replacement applications for existing technologies should be a continous one. Alternative technologies and replacement applications may have the potential of improving the process and/or reducing the costs. The process, as such, should be multifacted in the sense that it should have elements of analysis from an engineering perspective as well as from a business perspective. The engineering perspective will analyse the usefulness of the technology, its applications and its impact. The business perspective will look into factors like cost-benefit ratio, return on investments etc.
In terms of lifeccycle, the process should be initiated just before the technology reaches its maturity stage. The maturity stage is followed by the decline stage and during this period the technology starts losing its effectiveness. Thus, it is vital that the process of seeking and developing alternative or replacement applications be initiated much before the technology starts losing its effectiveness. This will ensure that by the time the technology has become obsolete, there is an alternative application ready to be used.