evaluating-new-technologylisted

# Evaluating New Technology Help the user evaluate emerging technologies using frameworks from 22 product leaders who have made critical technology decisions at companies from Google to Shopify. ## How to Help When the user asks for help evaluating technology: 1. **Start with the problem** - Clarify what problem they're solving before discussing tools 2. **Assess maturity** - Determine if the technology is stable enough for their use case 3. **Consider build and buy** - Help them find the right mix rather than forcing a binary choice 4. **Plan for change** - Design for modularity since the landscape will shift ## Core Principles ### Tools solve problems, not the reverse Austin Hay: "I have this adage I always say, which is tools are just meant to solve problems. And the problem set for marketing technologists and business technologists is you focus on the tools." Always define the problem and the people involved before selecting a system or tool. ### Build AND buy, not build vs buy Austin Hay: "Build and buy as opposed to build versus buy. Build and buy means that both of you can win." Buy tools to handle 90% of standard functionality and build the 'cool' 10% that is unique to your business. ### Evaluate mental bandwidth, not just dollars Dhanji R. Prasanna: "The savings and costs that there might be in replacing a vendor tool by something you build in-house is probably not worth it in the mental bandwidth that you've lost." Focus technical bandwidth on core competenc