Selecting the right technology for a given application is critical to the future of any enterprise. Companies invest billions of dollars each year in new technologies intended to provide competitive advantage. While there have been many attempts to rationalize the technology selection process, most are not sufficiently focused on the technology itself and many processes simply add a layer of complexity to an already difficult process. We have developed a three-stage technology selection tool that provides a framework and a simple risk-managed process for evaluating and selecting new technologies. The tool provides a powerful visual aid to help clarify key attributes of various technologies and the decisions related to their adoption, illustrating for both team members and senior management the decision-making processes engaged by technologists and project managers in considering new technologies. The three-stage filter was tested during a new product development project for a leading multinational company seeking smart material technologies to drive strategic innovation.