Developed by Jackie Fenn at Gartner (When to Leap on the Hype Cycle, 1995) and expanded with Mark Raskino (Mastering the Hype Cycle, 2008).
Places a technology on a curve from trigger through inflated expectations, disillusionment, and gradual enlightenment to a productive plateau, to time investment and expectations.
When to reach for it
Deciding whether to buy, wait, or persist with a technology the market is loudly excited or disappointed about.
How it runs
- Name the technology and its adoption history so far.
- Place it on the curve.
- Wait at the peak; evaluate in the trough; invest on the slope.
- Allow that some technologies never leave the trough.
- Revisit the placement each year.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- When to Leap on the Hype Cycle, Gartner Group report, 1995
- Mastering the Hype Cycle: How to Choose the Right Innovation at the Right Time, Harvard Business Press, 2008