May 2023

Perhaps you're familiar with the pivotal moment when Steve Jobs witnessed the point-and-click user interface of the Alto computer at Xerox. This experience led to the user interface on the Macintosh, which radically changed the personal computing experience. However, the story may leave us wondering: how can we make those light-bulb moments repeatable? The following describes principles for R&D that can lead to a path of consistent innovation.

Principles for R&D

The first principle is to separate R&D from the hustle of business operations. R&D requires an extended period of time to cultivate research and thought. The nature of R&D makes it unsuitable for the Agile methodology, but it does draw from some of Agile's principles like standups, Scrum boards, and retrospectives.

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Kelly's 14 Rules [2] provides useful guidelines for R&D. The rules emphasize the importance of keeping the team small, giving them autonomy, and providing them with a sense of urgency. Additionally, R&D must not be required to find market fit or justify a business case before starting research and development, lest novel ideas get snuffed out prematurely.

Steps for R&D

  1. Select a concept. The first step is to select a concept to research and develop.
  2. Research and document findings. The R&D team should conduct research to gain insights into the concept and document their findings and knowledge.
  3. Build a Proof of Concept every three months. Setting a timeframe of three months promotes accountability and prevents endless exploration.
  4. Document findings, know-how, and next steps. Furthermore, prepare a document for publication in IEEE Conference format [3].
  5. File patents, publish papers, present at conferences, write blogs, and articles. This step promotes accountability, incentivizes the team, and elevates the organization's brand.
  6. Present innovations to stakeholders every six months. Presenting innovations to stakeholders, including Sales, facilitates serendipitous matches with customer needs and also promotes accountability for results.
  7. Hold a Design Thinking [6, 7] workshop. Gather minds from a breadth of departments, including Sales, Customer Service, Marketing, Design, Product, and others. Insights from a diverse set of individuals, particularly those facing the consumer, spur fresh concepts that are relevant.
  8. Viable concepts are passed on for productization.
  9. Prioritize the novel concepts from the workshop & repeat Step 1.

Conclusion

Following these principles for R&D can help your team achieve sustainable innovation. The key to consistent innovation lies in separating R&D from the hustle of business operations to build Proofs of Concept, setting timeframes, promoting accountability, and providing incentives. Additionally, holding a Design Thinking workshop can yield fresh insights and lead to innovative ideas. By implementing these principles, companies can create a culture of innovation and remain competitive in the marketplace.

References

  1. Tim Brown, Executive Chair of Ideo, https://designthinking.ideo.com
  2. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Kelly’s 14 Rules, https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are/business-areas/aeronautics/skunkworks/kelly-14-rules.html