Technology Assessment

The one sentence about Tech Assessment is what works and what doesn't in the current products that are available in the commercial marketplace. This is evaluated from the perspective of OSE Specifications. A quantitative score can be attached to the product - OSE_Specifications_Metric_Score

The goal is to determine which features OSE can build upon and which ones should be discarded or modified. It is useful to start with existing technology because it reflects humanity's technological evolution. However, just because a machine is in common use, it doesn't mean that it is optimal or efficient. For this reason, OSE evaluates existing technology to determine what is worthwhile and what isn't.

The Technology Assessment is an analysis of the technology's openness, simplicity, buildability, efficiency, performance, cost, and other features.

The technology in question could be a machine, a house, or a biological system.

Example

Take the case of aquaponics. We know that in general, aquaponics works. The first question to ask is: is it open source, or which parts are documented such that OSE can build upon them? Second - does it work? Then a slew of other questions related to how well the system works and how appropriate it is from the standpoint of OSE Specifications? What can be used or modified to meet OSE Spec? For example - how does one master complex system management - especially integrated pest management - such that production remains viable? What is the highest level of diversity that can be implemented such that a single person can manage a productive operation? What are the input material costs? What are the input labor and maintenance costs? What are the societal and geopolitical impacts of the technology in terms of resource security and wealth distribution if this design is replicated?

These questions are asked, and then the designs are evaluated to inform the OSE team which paths to pursue or follow up with. The goal is to pick out the elements that OSE wants to replicate or work with, and decide to not follow certain other paths. What not to follow is as important as what to follow - and this inight is gained by filtering through OSE Specifications.

In general - if a technology is truly open source - meaning that the author is genuinely willing to share - then collaboration is useful. The OSE developer has to watch out for signs of Fake Open Source. The issue that needs to be identified early on is the license - as a lot of time can pass only for OSE to find out that the technology is not really open source - which is often the case as very few people understand the Open Source Definition.