A Technology Roadmap will help guide you through the Decision Point, helping your organization chart your progress as you advance through TRL levels and complete various stage-gates. Technology Roadmaps can give you perspective on where your project stands in the process, as well as where you would like for it to be.

Planning and Constructing a Technology Roadmap

• Determine the entry point in the lifecycle (Locate Project Milestone most recently completed in the lifecycle chart).
• Determine the point of exit of the lifecycle (Identify the milestone that will be the last to be completed in the lifecycle chart).
• Populate intervening stage gates and key Project Milestones over time to get to the exit point.
• Execute a Draft of the Appropriate Exit Criteria checklist and establish the Project Baseline in Decision Point.

A more detailed view of the Technology Roadmap is available under the "Stage Gates" section below...

As you can see below, the roadmap above is really just a tool to help you understand the idea of the TRL Roadmap. In reality, each of the TRL levels is broken up into smaller stage gates, and each of those stage gates is, in turn, broken up into smaller activities. This more detailed map below is designed to give you a glimpse of what it takes to accomplish the TRL levels and Stage Gates throughout the Decision Point model and project life cycle.

The Systems Engineering “V” In Basic Research

As a technology project traverses through development, it passes through the various levels of technical maturity in an increasingly complex series of engineering activity. This end-to-end process, popularized by Buede(1), shows that the engineering activity traverses a pattern known as the “Systems Engineering V”

The “V” illustrates the transition from Systems Engineering to Design Engineering, then back to Systems Engineering during the progress from Decomposition and Design to Integration and Qualification. In technology development this process is repeated until the technology is ready for transition to a Program Manager.

• The first “V” proves the Technology Concept and culminates in a TRL 3
• The second “V” develops the Laboratory Breadboard (TRL 4) and culminates in a Brassboard Relevant Environment Prototype
• A final “V” is began once user requirements are incorporated and an operational prototype is constructed and validated in a relevant or simulated operational environment.

When in the Feasibility Phase during decomposition and design, it is important from a systems engineering perspective to begin to:

• Understand User Need
• Identify Operational Requirements
• Develop the Technology Concept
• Describe the Problem
• Delineate the concept’s feasibility to be solved technically

As the project begins to transition into the Formulation Phase (just before achieving TRL 1), it becomes important from a design engineering perspective to begin to:

• Formulate and design a methodology to evaluate technology alternatives
• Perform Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) in a laboratory environment
• Support selecting the technology base on the Analysis of Alternatives

As the necessary elements of the design engineering process are completed, the project will move back up the “V” to Systems Engineering again to finish Integration and Qualification by:

• Developing and executing a plan for applying the selected technology to the identified need
• Proving the selected technology fulfills the concept
• Identifying the users
• Identify the path ahead in a TRL Roadmap for Technology Development

Here’s a diagram to demonstrate the “V” leading up to TRL 3:

The Systems Engineering “V” In Technology Development

Once the project has achieved TRL 3, the Systems Engineering “V” begins again, this time with a focus on the actual development of the technology instead of the basic research. Beginning in the Refinement phase it becomes necessary for Systems Engineering to restart Decomposition and Design by:

• Understanding user requirements
• Developing a system concept and lab validation plan
• Developing a system performance specification and Relevant Environment Validation plan.
• Expanding performance specifications into CI “Design to” specifications and CI Verification Plan

To close off the Decomposition and Design in the Refinement Phase in preparation for the Development Phase, Design Engineering needs to:

• Evolve “Design to” specifications into “Build to” documentation and inspection plan
• Fab assemble and code according to “Build to” documentation
• Inspect according to “Build to” documentation

Transitioning to the final Integration and Qualification, Systems Engineering will:

• Assemble CIs and Perform CI verification to CI “Design to” specifications
• Integrate system and perform system verification to the performance specifications
• Demonstrate and validate system user validation plan

Here’s a diagram to demonstrate the “V” from TRL 3 onward: