Will this new technology solve the problem its inventors claim? Will it succeed for any application at all? Can we narrow down the options before we spend a lot of money on development? How do we persuade colleagues, investors, clients, or readers of our technical reasoning?
Whether you’re a researcher, a consultant, a venture capitalist, or a CTO, you will need to be able to answer these questions clearly and systematically. Most learn these skills only through years of experience but, by making them explicit, this book creates a more efficient learning process and speeds its readers towards higher-level careers.
First, it will provide you with the tools to think through matching new (and old) technologies, materials, and processes with applications: it covers which questions to ask, the resources you’ll need to answer them, and who deserves your trust. Then, it talks you through analyzing the information you’ve gathered in a systematic way and dealing with uncertainty. Next, there are chapters on tailoring your writing to your audience, making a persuasive and structured technical argument, and writing in a way that is credible and easy to follow.
Finally, the book includes a case study: a real worked example that begins with an idea and follows through the twists and turns of the research and analysis process to a final report.
Explaining the Future is currently in production at Oxford University Press and will be published in February 2019.