The Role of Standards in Innovation

1. The Role of Standards in Innovation Robert H. Allen and Ram D. Sriram Presented by: Bidisha Sengupta

2. Agenda • Standards: Definition and Types • Innovation • Natural relation between Innovation and Standards • Case examples • Conslusion

3. Understanding ‘Standards’ • Defined as “documented agreements containing technical guidelines to ensure that materials, products, processes, representations, and services are fit for presentation” • Types: a) Metric Standard: Used against which quantities are measured ex: Kgs, Meters, liters etc. Typically useful for consumers. b) Process Oriented or Prescriptive standard: Provide methodology to perform tests and processes in a consistent and repeatable way. ex: American Society of Testing and Material for determining the methods and materials to carry out friction tests on floor surfaces

4. c) Performance based standard: Ultimate performance is specified, not the process. Based on product experience. Ex: ASCE requires mobile homes in Hurricane prone areas to be wind resistant up to 160 Kmph d) Standards for Interoperability among systems: To standardize the data used by various systems like CAD, to ensure smooth inter system operations ex: STEP ( Standard for Exchange for Product Model Data) facilitate exchange of data representation

5. Innovation • Defined as “Introduction of new idea, method or device to a product or enterprise to impart them uniqueness in form, function or behavior” • Types: a) Fundamental: Innovation resulting in new products and ideas, not thought to be or required prior to innovation b) Adaptive: Need generated innovation

6. Business innovations must create new enterprise or product • It should diffuse and create new market • Edison- Great inventor but unsuccessful business innovator! • A good innovator uses his/her experiences and idea in ways that are unfamiliar. Ex: Gutenberg combined a coin punch and wine press to develop printed page concept

7. Relationship between Innovation and Standard • How does Standard affect evolution of Ideas and Innovation?? • Case 1: QWERTY Keyboard • Avoid jams in typewriter while typing fast, by placing unrelated letters together and slowing down typing speed • Slower the typing rate, less frequent is the Jam

8. Contd. • Dvorak Keyboard : 20% faster typing speed • Movement of hands reduced to 1/16th • Despite the advantages, 99.99% keyboards are QWERTY based • QWERTY’s de facto standard for 20 years, hindered the innovation for the society, even if it improved performance!

9. Contd. • Case II: Product Data Exchange • Design and Manufacturing process various computer application systems • Computer Aided Design (CAD)- Design parts • Process Planning System- Establish manufacturing process • Manufacturing and Designing possess data in their own format • CAD needs to translate each exchange of data, which is cost intensive • Standardization of data formats, reduces this cost to minimum

10. Contd. • Ex: Boeing 777 • Customers required various configuration of machines, engines designs etc. • CAD tools of manufacturers differed with that of Suppliers • 100s of systems Boeing needed to exchange to design customized products • Translation number shot up • Standardization of data formats by STEP, reduced the translators to reducs from n(n-1) to 2n (n is no. of systems)

11. Contd. • Data Standards ensured the data interchange to become easy • Innovation in Boeing designs to be a succes

12. Conclusion • Standards and Innovation, very uniquely and complexly related • Value of having standards in place is critical for economic advancement • Global standards facilitate exports and international trade • Standards, at times inhibit innovation by codifying inefficient technologies (ex: QWERTY Keyboards) • However, they also form a baseline by setting common standards for new technologies to evolve….