This question's explanation and your answers so far.
技術開発の推進において，進捗を評価したり，関連技術との整合性をチェックしたりする際に，例示したような図が用いられる。このような，研究開発への取組みによる要素技術や，求められる機能などの進展の道筋を時間軸上に記載した図を何というか。 Webページにおける検索技術と分析機能の展望
| 現在 | 1年後 | 2年後 | 3年後 | 4年後 | 5年後 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 検索技術 | 連想検索主体 →→→ | セマンティック検索の利用 →→→ | ||||
| 分析機能 | テキスト中心の分析 →→→ | Webページ内の文字列に付与された意味情報による分析 →→→ |
A control chart is one of the seven QC tools; it draws upper and lower control limits and judges whether a process is in a stable state by observing the time-series variation of data sampled from the process. Its purpose is quality-control monitoring, not plotting the future plans of elemental technologies on a time axis.
A cause-and-effect diagram (fishbone diagram) organizes the characteristic (the result) and the factors influencing it in the shape of a fish skeleton in order to analyze causes. It has no time axis and does not represent a plan for technological progress.
A Pareto chart arranges items as bars in descending order of count or amount and overlays a cumulative-ratio line to identify the “vital few” that should be tackled with priority. Its purpose is prioritization, not showing technological progress on a time axis.
正解 The correct answer is エ, the roadmap. The diagram places a time axis of “now to 5 years later” on the horizontal axis and, for each elemental technology — “search technology” and “analysis function” — uses arrows to show the path of progress: from associative-search-centered to semantic search, and from text-centered analysis to analysis based on semantic information. A diagram that plots on a time axis the target goals of the elemental technologies obtained through R&D and of the required functions, and that is used to evaluate progress and check consistency with related technologies, is called a (technology) roadmap. Since this matches the very definition given in the question stem, エ is correct.