Technology for Environmental Impact
Assignment: Scope your technology
Conduct a tech landscape analysis to understand what’s already available out there, and what’s been tried before, before diving in with designing a new technology. Then, use an online tool to refresh your definition of the basics of your technology, including the problem, the user, and the requirements of the technology.
Part 1. Technology Landscape Analysis
It’s essential to understand what’s already available out there, and what’s been tried before, before diving in with designing a new technology. Oftentimes, the most creative interventions are ones that find ways to bring together existing technologies, or adapt them for new applications.
In 2 pages or less, write up an analysis of the technology landscape for your chosen challenge. Questions to address include:
- What technologies are currently being used in addressing this problem? Why aren’t they sufficient to tackle the problem?
- What technologies have been tried in the past? What was problematic about them?
- What technologies will your solution rely on and interact with? (e.g. other data sources)
- What other technologies/resources might you leverage?
(Think about how you might hack other tools to adapt existing techs for your application, integrate open source technologies, or partner with other organizations whose technology might meet your needs. Consider these both during the early development and long-term.)
- What trends do you see in your tech’s field?
- If you are planning on building your own technology: Why is it absolutely crucial that you build this yourself? If you had to prototype by leveraging another technology, what would that look like?
- Include some considerations of cost: how much do the existing technologies cost, and how would yours compare?
Part 2. Alidade’s Tech Planning Tool
Complete steps 1 and 2 of Alidade’s Tool. Use the site to generate a PDF report. (Step 3 is slightly more advanced, so you can complete it at a later stage of your project.)