Technology Concept Development and Refinement using 6E Incubator Method

Technology concepts are often focused on the technical aspects and parameters and fail to detail the need and business sense of the said concept. When a concept is envisioned, it stems from the contributor as a spark. However, detailing on three major aspects, namely Desirability (the need from an end user point of view), Feasibility (the approach from an engineer’s point of view) and Viability (the business case from an organization’s point of view) ensures that all major fronts are addressed, transforming an idea (the spark) into a fully mature Technology concept. In order to ensure this transformation, an idea must go through a series of 6 Phases, called the 6E Incubator Method. This method was applied in a satellite R&D Location in India on technological ideas, to create technical concepts with business cases. Using the method, the lead time for Management decisions to implement the concepts were significantly reduced and benchmarked for further application on future ideas.