It is not uncommon presence in industrial companies, research units (R & D). Functional they have very different. Some are responsible for developing new products / technology, in other companies R & D deals with all issues, that accompany any changes in production processes. There are mixes of functional.
With, if the company "has got" at R & D, then the dynamics of cost for this activity is steadily increasing. You might think, that the dynamics of spending on R & D guarantee the growth of financial results. R & D – is primarily a creative guys, their ideas and ambitious scale, and requests unlimited in space and time (and always "logical").
Communicating with them all ask the same question: "And how management assesses the effectiveness of your activities? There are some indicators, criteria, on which you estimate? "I have never heard a clear answer. Typically, the main indicator of the quality of the R & D is the timeliness of the planned activities. And there are companies, even where the matter is not particularly enthusiastic. While it seems, that the appearance of these units in the company – simple and fashion game in restructuring: "We already have their R & D, and you?».
So how do you evaluate the performance of R & D? All works, which makes these professionals can be divided into two areas:
- development of new
- Refinement / improve old
Understanding the fact works R & D creates understanding, to which they affect and are important indicators in this work.
In my opinion, we must think in two dimensions:
- The speed of the R & D
- The quality of R & D
It is these two aspects can judge the effectiveness of R & D units. Why these two dimensions? Because they have a quantitative measurement, which can be expressed in monetary terms. It is the speed and quality of R & D are reflected in the financial results of the company.
Example, If due to efficiency of R & D my 3 months before competitors launched new product / services, that the economic effect of this is obvious and can be evaluated. in addition, the faster the unit performs its tasks, the more tasks it is able to resolve over time.
