Global S=
ummit of Women 2007 Remarks
Mandy Chessell
Women’s Inve=
ntion and Innovations for a Better Competitive Market=
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My name is Mandy <=
span
class=3DSpellE>Chessell. I am a Distinguished Engineer and Master Inventor at IBM. I work in the Hursley Laboratories in the UK.
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My current role of=
Distinguished Engineer is an executive position, similar to a Director, bu=
t responsible for technical strategy, rather than running a large organizat=
ion. Having both a business and a technical career path from entry level to=
executive is a strength of IBM.&nb=
sp; It places technical experts at all levels of the organization, a=
dvising and influencing business leaders on technical matters. <=
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I have worked for =
IBM for 20 years, since graduating. =
During that time I have primarily worked on the development if IBM s=
oftware products.
· =
IBM software produ=
cts are developed in stages. =
At the start, we build on the core function, working closely with a few cus=
tomers. <=
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The focus is very =
much on proving the value of the product with early adopters. These customers are interested in working =
with us because they hope to gain a competitive advantage by being the firs=
t to exploit the new capability. We hope to validate the ideas behind the p=
roduct and gain some customer references.&=
nbsp;
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Once the first ver=
sion (or two) has being built we shift to broadening its appeal to get mark=
et share. Finally, when the p=
roduct is well established in the market, we begin to stabilise the function, making enhancements in respon=
se to customer requests.
· =
Despite this chang=
ing emphasis, there is no stage in a product's lifecycle that does not requ=
ire us to be early adopters of new ideas, standards and technologies. Even mature products that have bee=
n around for decades must adapt to the changing business environment. However, as the number of customer=
s increase, greater care must be taken in modifying the product to avoid di=
srupting their operation.
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For my part, I hav=
e spent most of my time working on the creation of new products. It was through this work that I was app=
ointed a Master Inventor.
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· =
Identifying potent=
ial patents is built into our software development process.
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· =
However, the skill=
to spot an invention is one that has to be developed. IBM appoints Master Inventors based on two criter=
ia. Firstly a person needs a sustained record of inventing and a reputation=
for helping others to develop their ideas.
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· =
So, the Master Inv=
entors are an identified group of mentors that assist the development teams=
with their intellectual property.
· =
Maintaining Techni=
cal Vitality is a key part of working in the IT industry. The landscape is changing so rapidly. So all technical professionals in IBM=
are encouraged to mentor (and be mentored), to network across the company =
and to maintain their skills.
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· =
In addition most i=
nnovation happens at the inter-section of different disciplines so we have =
the IBM Academy of Technology that engages senior technical professionals o=
n projects that require a cross-disciplinary approach. <=
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Finally, in today'=
s world, no-one - not even a company as large as IBM- can do everything its=
elf. It is vital we maintain =
connections with universities, partners and customers to keep the energy an=
d flow of ideas alive.
· =
To conclude, innov=
ation is necessary for long term success.&=
nbsp; It is hard to predict or control its origin.
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So being connected=
, open and interested in many topics is important for us all. I am looking forward to this discussion.
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