Remember ‘V’ to Get R&D Victory
– Musings of Dr. Jamie Hsu, 4.15.2017
Have you heard complaints about the inefficiency of R&D? This can happen in industry, school, and government. People work hard, and the sponsors give directions and provide funds. But why don’t the R&D projects always bear fruit and create economical returns as everyone wishes?
From my 40 years of R&D management, practice, and consultation, the essence of “R&D Victory” can be explained by a simple “V chart.” On the left side of the V are the flow-down of requirements and needs for triggering R&D work and developing technologies. On the right side of the V are the applications and commercialization of the developed technologies to create value.
It sounds simple to follow this approach, but there are 3 deadly pitfalls. The commonly missed or deficient elements in the V approach to victory are:
- Middle management does not provide adequate interpretation or translation of the high level directions. They just pass along the “order” and let the researchers propose projects of interest to them. This is what I call “slogan driven R&D.”
- Researchers might prematurely worry about commercialization, before the show-starter (or enabling) technologies are developed and validated. The “root” at the bottom of the V is not deep enough to create sustainable competitive advantages. You need to strengthen the root before you spend too much time on removing the show-stoppers, or implementation hurdles.
- At the commercialization stage, brainstorming with people from different functions and industries will create much better products or even unexpected applications. Between the beginning of the original intent and the completion of the technology, 3-5 years may have passed. During that time span, the world and customers have changed. It is critical to take a fresh look at the new opportunities created by the novel technology. The right side of the V is when innovation and value creation occur.
By studying and paying attention to the steps and sequence of the V chart, you will achieve more victories for your R&D projects. Best wishes.
用‘V’達得科技的勝利
-作者 許俊宸博士
-中譯 薛乃綺
你是否曾聽說過關於研發效率低落之類的抱怨？這有可能會發生在產業、學界、甚至是政府單位。明明大家都很努力在工作、贊助商也提供了建議與資金；但為何所研發的專案往往不如眾人所預期那樣開花結果、創造經濟報酬？
在我40多年來研發管理、執行與諮詢的經驗中，我認為”成功的科技研發創”精神可以用V形圖來說明。從V形圖的左邊由上到下是談”需求”，它將驅動研發工作、並開發相關技術。V形圖的右邊則是由下而上，主要將所開發的技術進行應用與商業化，以創造經濟價值。
按照這樣的步驟聽起來不難，但要從V形圖達到”成功”，還存在3個致命陷阱。這3個被遺漏或缺少的關鍵要素就是：
1. 中階主管沒能傳達或解讀組織高層真正的意涵，只是透過”命令”的方式讓研究人員去做他們自己有興趣的事情。這就是我認為所謂”口號型式的研發”。
2. 研究人員可能在核心技術(show-starter)能量建置前或被驗證之前，就開始擔心起商品化的事情。然而此時V形圖最底層的”根”，還不夠深到足以產生永續創新的競爭優勢。與其花很多時間在移除技術障礙(show-stoppers)或執行障礙，倒不如將精力用在強化核心技術(show-starter)這個根本上。
3.到了商品化階段時，若能與來自不同領域的人進行腦力激盪，會有機會產生更好的產品、甚至是意想不到的衍伸應用。從原創概念到完成技術開發，這樣的過程可能就需要3-5年的時間。而這段時間當中，全世界以及你的客戶也都會產生變化。要能用嶄新的觀點，去檢視新興技術所創造的新商機是很不容易的。而V形圖的右側, 就是指當創新價值發生時, 要放宽视野, 找出不同赚錢的路。
透過學習與關注V形圖的步驟與順序，各位應該可以在過程中，獲得更多研發項目的成功！祝大家好運！
