The affinity groups began operating with the following mission statement :
• Learn , teach and guide
• Come together to solve vexing engineering challenges
These affinity groups are guided by “ Jugaad ”, a Hindi term that represents innovation using novel approaches and a can-do attitude that overcomes resource constraints . The benefit of these affinity groups can be seen in the example sketch representing HP 3D Jet Fusion printing . The 3D print solution takes a holistic “ art to part ” perspective . This type of end-toend systemic innovation requires a range of technical capabilities in foundational physical fundamentals , sensing , machine learning , and security to user experience that can be availed from the stack of affinity groups .
The affinity groups cut through business unit silos and enable better human capital utilization across the company . For example , a contributor working on a topic such as printed circuit board design , thermal management or data science in one business unit can also apply their talent in other business unit challenges . Additionally , the technical community participates in conferences , workshops , seminars , and shares best practices . This collaboration has resulted in everything from design-related savings in printed circuits hardware to sharing big data analysis infrastructure and capital intensive measurement tools . This also allows employees to gain critical developmental experiences , sometimes outside their regular roles , broadening their capabilities and setting the stage for their next career move .
Finally , “ faculty ” stemming from the affinity groups are used to teach courses . In partnership with Talent and Learning , we are beginning to add content in learning and development platforms such as Brain Candy , HP ’ s online learning tool .
A platform for the technical career path at HP
HP ’ s Technical Career Path provides an opportunity for technical contributors to advance in
Idea-to-value : a holistic perspective
Idea
End-to-end perspective Multi-disciplinary
Advanced development , engineering and industrialization
Flex , adapt , iterate
job levels and responsibilities . The path , which runs parallel to the management career path , includes various job levels of increasing scope and complexity , and runs as high as Senior Fellow . Indeed , the levels are akin to those in many companies similar to HP .
The growth and progression for an employee along the Technical Career Path is a function of their technical depth , technical breadth , business impact , leadership and influence . One way an employee demonstrates their business impact is by taking an idea to value . As an example , a technical contributor comes up with an idea in light of the trends , takes a end-to-end perspective from idea to scale at the inception , relentlessly pursues the idea by making the business and technical case , conducts research and develops the product or solution , and drives business impact by scaling the product or solution in the HP customer base . As today ’ s innovations are multi-disciplinary , and systemic , the idea-to-value journey requires contributions in multiple fundamentals and technologies , e . g ., thermo-fluidics , nano and micro-scale technologies , chips , interconnect , power , thermal management , firmware , data aggregation , and
data science for insights and action . Above all , security is a must from end to end .
The affinity groups provide a key role in this equation for technical employees who are seeking to build their experiences and advance their careers because they can :
• Seek multi-disciplinary partnership from the range of affinity groups
Value
• Demonstrate HP wide leadership by strategically influencing the communities and HP ’ s executive leadership ( e . g ., direction setting and contributions in machine learning helps entire company )
An exciting course ahead
The HP affinity groups are grown informally at the grass roots level , encouraged by the executive leadership , and stand out as an example of cooperation between Human Resources , Talent and Learning and the HP Technical Community .
This agile and customizable approach to learning , rooted in solving complex business problems , provides HP a path forward at the pace of technology ’ s disruption . It also creates a rich environment for learning and growing , so those early engineers transfixed by the boiling phenomenon of water , can become the innovators of tomorrow who find the next invention hidden amongst the intersection of many disciplines . •
Chandrakant D . Patel is a distinguished Senior Fellow and Chief Engineer at HP . In 2014 , he was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame .
@ joulespatel
Kristi Feldkamp is the Global Head of HR , Future Technology & Innovation . In this capacity , she leads human resources for HP ’ s $ 30B Personal Systems business and 3D Printing business unit , working with the leaders to accelerate HP ’ s innovation in these markets .
Issue 7 · Summer 2017 · Innovation Journal 19