Innovation technology - Assignment Example

Innovation Technology (First M. Last) School or at Place or Town, Innovation Technology Evaluation andcontrolEvaluation and control of the CRM software needs to be carried out in order to determine its consistency. Upon release of the software in the market, GAP analysis of the software is conducted in order to compare the actual performance of the software with the potential performance (Kazmi, 2008). A capability maturity model integration (CMMI) framework is used by the customers where they underline the shortcomings of the software.

This CRM software is the face of the organization, and so the entire organization should own it by participating in the planning and development. This will be helpful in the strategic growth of the business. Evaluation and control is performed in several phases. Innovation phase deals with providing inputs in the software development that contributes in developing of fresh, novel and latest product in the market. After the innovation phase, the software is introduced in the market and is adopted by a small section of users to begin with.

The number of adopters eventually increases with the increasing impact of the software in the market. In the laggards phase, the performance of the business software faces a huge drop because of reasons like better competitive products in the pharmaceutical market, need for novel features, which the software does not possess (McDonald, 2007). Gap analysisThe first step in gap analysis is to identify the desired or the target performance levels. Target levels could be industry standards and benchmarks.

This is followed by collecting the current performance data upon introduction of CRM software. These two sets of data are then plotted and reviewed to examine the gaps in expectations. The causes of gap can be further explored by using cause effect diagrams. Once there is a good idea of target and the current states, next actions can be thought of in order to bridge the gap and reach the desired objectives (Franklin, 2006). Quality ControlGap analysis can be used to demonstrate gaps in the service quality of the software.

This would entail representing the difference in the quality level of software expected by customers and the awareness and sensitivity of those expectations by the management. A gap would mean customer dissatisfaction with the CRM software. Gap analysis is important to increase the satisfaction of customers with the software quality. For the purpose of quality control, gap analysis should identify the customers’ expectations and experiences with the CRM software. Focus groups are organized and customers can be interviewed to understand these expectations from them.

Interviews could be either in a face-to-face format or can be in a survey format as well, where customers are asked to fill in a survey. The survey/interviews contain the list of features of CRM software and ask the customers about their satisfaction levels with these features. A five point scale can be used for this evaluation ranging from ”Extremely dissatisfied” to “Extremely satisfied”. A couple of open questions can also be a part of such surveys/interviews where we can ask the customers about the new features they would like to see in the CRM software.

This data will help our CRM software gain edge over other competitors in the pharmaceutical space. The next step will be to identify the management’s perception of these expectations. This data is again collected by organizing focus groups with people from the firm’s management team (Kazmi, 2008). Once both these sets of data are collected, they can be plotted and their arithmetic difference calculated to measure the gaps. Management must then brainstorm ideas and come up with actions to reduce these gaps.

BibliographyKazmi. (2008). Strategic Management And Business Policy. Washington DC: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.Franklin, M. (2006). Performance Gap Analysis: Tips, Tools, and Intelligence for Trainers. American Society for Training and Development.McDonald, M. (2007). Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them (6, illustrated ed.). NewYork: Elsevier.