Managing Projects In Research And Development

Research and Development is the vehicle by which organizations and economies create opportunity, innovation and secure a stream of future products and services.These outcomes are all critically important sources of sustainability in a world that is changing faster than most companies can keep up.The challenge behind them is the fundamental unpredictability of R&D; which is why effective project management is so important. Ron Basu's Managing Projects in Research and Development explains how and why project management can provide a means of helping to plan, organise and control multi-disciplinary research activities without stifling innovation. Combining research with practical examples and experience from a career that has included blue chip organizations such as GSK, GlaxoWellcome and Unilever, Ron Basu offers a rigorous guide to the fundamentals of R&D project management including project lifecycle management, risk management, cost, time quality and other success measures as well as the keys to operational excellence in this complicated world.

This edition has been completely revised. The authors, noted authorities in the field, focus on ways to improve R&D organization productivity and foster excellence in such companies. They describe how to design jobs, organize hierarchies, resolve conflicts, motivate employees, and create an innovative work environment. Features extensive cross-cultural coverage of European and Pacific Rim R&D organizations and policies which greatly differ from the US. Includes an entirely new section on various strategic planning elements unique to an R&D organization along with a case study.

Collaboration among industry, universities and research institutes plays a vital role in stimulating open innovation, which in turn leads to new products, processes, services and business models. This book brings together a number of real-life examples of how to govern and manage open innovation collaboration projects more effectively, and provides timely insights that project consortia, governance boards and funding agencies can directly apply to implement and monitor projects and achieve greater impacts. All papers were written by recognized leading authorities with extensive experience in governance and management, and reveal how to capitalize on the potential of open innovation. This book shares multidisciplinary research perspectives on the potential benefits and challenges of collaboration, project management, and open innovation, as well as the management of complex organizational cultures and governance models.

Today’s leading organizations recognize the importance of research and development (R&D) to maintain and grow market share. If companies want to survive into the future, they must accelerate their R&D-to-market cycles or find themselves behind the competition. Project Management for Research and Development: Guiding Innovation for Positive R&D Outcomes explains how to apply proven project management methods to obtain positive outcomes in R&D and innovation projects. It addresses the specific factors companies must consider when using project management to scope, define, and manage R&D projects. It also offers best practices and case studies that illustrate actual applications of theory. This book details methods to help readers optimize results in R&D through the use of structured processes derived from the project management field and other complementary disciplines. Each chapter includes diagrams, surveys, checklists, and question-answer forms to guide readers in determining where their activity falls along a project spectrum and to help them structure their own R&D project. The methods presented in this book can easily be applied to innovation projects and creative endeavors. As there are limited sources of information on how to utilize project management methodology effectively in these types of projects, this book is an ideal resource for anyone looking to add structure and proven methods to enable R&D, innovation, and other creative activities.

This volume will help individuals and organizations, from both academia and industry, to effectively work together on R&D projects. This inspiring and highly readable book covers winning grant support, the legal arrangements, working with academics and practitioners, managing project progress, and exploiting the project results. Step-by-step coverage guides a project team though a challenging venture, helping them avoid potential pitfalls.

Now fully revised and updated the classic book on effective R&D management "This thoughtful and detailed work outlines what is required in order to achieve the desired end results in a networked world where teamwork and collaboration are increasingly important to globally dispersed workforces." JOHN CHAMBERS, Chairman and CEO, Cisco Praise for the Second Edition "This is a superbly written book and could make an excellent reference and text for related university courses." E. LILE MURPHREE, JR., PHD, former Chairman, Department of Engineering Management, The George Washington University "Provides a superb exposition of the role that social and psychological phenomena play in today's organizations." FRED E. FIEDLER, Professor of Psychology Emeritus, University of Washington, Seattle As the economy shifts from producing goods to producing information, the role of researchers in shaping the future has become immense. By taking advantage of modern technology, the highly trained and predominantly autonomous researchers from around the globe collect and share information better than ever yet, there is still a lack of an effective centralized structure for an R&D organization manager to integrate the efforts from many disparate individuals into a unified plan. Managing Research, Development, and Innovation, Third Edition covers the management skills and leadership theories essential to generating products and excelling in today's global economy. Topics of interest include how to design jobs, organize hierarchies, resolve conflicts, motivate employees, and create an innovative work environment. Discover how superior management skills can increase funding, generate profit, and improve the effectiveness of technologically based organizations. This new revised edition: Covers all aspects of the research and development process with focus on the human management function Includes two new chapters covering the innovation process critical to research and development of new products and services Outlines the challenging issues related to diversity in science and technology organizations and provides insights as to how diversity can be used to enhance creativity Managing Research, Development, and Innovation, Third Edition is the most complete, insightful book of its kind. Useful for professionals and graduate students alike, the text demonstrates in clear, straightforward prose how good management skills will shape the future.

Though project management can be traced back thousands of years, it is only recently that organizations have begun to apply systematic and scientific tools and techniques to manage complex projects. Recently, researchers and practitioners have adapted different academic disciplines to contribute to the body of knowledge in project management. Such disciplines as network scheduling techniques, decision-making tools, resource allocations and optimization approaches come from the Management Science discipline. Organizational dynamics theories provide insight and recognize the benefits of project driven organizations. Supply chain management and business process outsourcing have also impacted organizational effectiveness and attitude on managing projects. Project management is greatly affected by allied disciplines and in return, it influences them. Therefore, innovative theories, trends and challenges discovered through investigating allied disciplines of project management have important implications and allocations in the future of project management. Impact on Project Management of Allied Disciplines is a collection of academic studies related to trends in allied disciplines of project management and how they might significantly impact project management in the future. Table of Contents: I.IntroductionII.Project Management Research Trends of Allied DisciplinesIII.Analyzing Project Management Research Trends from Eight Allied DisciplinesIV.The Future of Project Management and Allied DisciplinesV.ReferencesVI.Appendices