You’re evaluating your own performance. What’s the best way to measure success?

1 Define your objectives

Before you can evaluate your performance, you need to have clear and specific objectives for your product R&D projects. These objectives should align with your organization's vision, mission, and strategy, as well as the needs and expectations of your customers. You should also make sure that your objectives are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By defining your objectives, you can set a clear direction and scope for your product R&D efforts, and establish a baseline for measuring your outcomes.

2 Choose your metrics

Once you have your objectives, you need to choose the appropriate metrics to track and measure your performance. Metrics are quantifiable indicators that show how well you are achieving your objectives. Depending on your product R&D domain, you may use different types of metrics such as input metrics, which measure the resources and efforts invested in product R&D projects; process metrics, which measure the efficiency and effectiveness of product R&D processes; and output metrics, which measure the results and outcomes of product R&D projects. It's important to select the metrics that are most relevant and meaningful for your product R&D objectives, so that you can evaluate your performance objectively and accurately.

3 Collect and analyze data

After choosing your metrics, you need to collect and analyze the data that reflects your performance. You can use various sources and methods to gather data, such as surveys, interviews, tests, observations, feedback, analytics, etc. You should also use reliable and valid tools and techniques to analyze the data, such as statistics, graphs, charts, dashboards, etc. By collecting and analyzing data, you can gain insights and evidence about your performance and identify your strengths and weaknesses.

4 Compare and benchmark

Measuring success can be done by comparing and benchmarking performance against other standards and references. Self-comparison involves analyzing current performance in relation to past performance, while peer-comparison looks at the performance of other product R&D professionals with similar roles. Additionally, industry-comparison examines the performance of other product R&D organizations or teams in the same or related markets. By doing these comparisons and benchmarks, you can assess your standing in relation to others and learn from their best practices and mistakes.

5 Set and review goals

The final step to measure your success is to set and review your goals for your product R&D projects. Goals are specific and actionable statements that describe what you want to achieve and how you will achieve it. You should set your goals based on your objectives, metrics, data, and comparisons, and make sure that they are SMART as well. You should also review your goals regularly and adjust them as needed, based on your performance and feedback. By setting and reviewing your goals, you can keep yourself motivated and focused, and track your progress and achievements.