You’re about to implement new technology in R&D. What’s the best way to ensure success?

Ensure open & transparent communication & team engagement from the outset. Seek regular feedback. 1. Make sure the new tech directly addresses your research goals. Don't get sidetracked by fancy features. 2. Consider user-friendliness & provide clear training to avoid a steep learning curve. Get your team comfortable with the new tool. 3. Start small. Implement the tech in a pilot project to identify & address any glitches before a full-scale rollout. 4. Actively listen to your team's feedback during the pilot. Use their insights to refine the implementation process. 5. Ensure the chosen solution has a strong support system & ongoing development to stay relevant. There will be ups & downs, embrace them as challenges to overcome!

A good understanding of how you fit into the current paradigm and how and when the company goals can make a shift towards a new destination. Knowing your audience and getting them to engage and believe in your journey/direction is a key in attracting early adopters who will then be your advocates in spreading your message.

To examine the results from various dimensions, sometimes a multidisciplinary perspective is needed. Correct results that can be used in the real and practical world.

nvesting in new R&D technology is a significant decision that can impact various facets of an organization. Before making such an investment, it's crucial to have a thorough understanding of the organization's R&D goals, processes, and the specific challenges or opportunities the new technology is intended to address. Part of the process should be to - Identify R&D Goals and Objectives - Understand Existing Processes and Pain Points - Evaluate Technology Fit and Integration - Cost-Benefit Analysis and last but not least, Impact on Stakeholders. When you are done with this, you are ready to create an Implementation Roadmap

Continually challenge yourself and others on the team to justify the need for this "new" technology. New for the sake of new or because you have money left in your capital budget to spend or you will lose it, are two terrible reasons that unfortunately I have heard on more than one occasion over the course of my career in R&D. Be especially vigilant if the new technology is software/IT related. A common red flag is overuse and emphasis of tech-hype buzz terms like machine learning, artificial intelligence, deep learning, etc. For example, If someone tells you their latest and greatest centrifuge features software with AI and machine learning, buy a different centrifuge.

Conduct thorough research and analysis to identify potential technologies that align with your R&D needs and goals. Evaluate various options based on factors such as functionality, scalability, compatibility with existing systems, cost-effectiveness, and vendor reputation. Consider consulting with experts or seeking recommendations from industry peers to gain insights into the pros and cons of different technologies. Select the technology solution that best meets your requirements and has the potential to deliver the desired outcomes for your R&D initiatives.

When you have your objectives... It becomes crucial to evaluate the available technological options! - at the beginning, often you have first ideas, but be prepared to change! Depending on the results of your labs, the partners you can meet, or the patents you can detect, you need to explore several technical ways! - you need to evaluate the quality, the costs, the complexity, the integration with your existing infrastructures... but you also must test/evaluate the tech and the new customer journey you designed with potential end-users!!! ==> Even with the best technology you have, your UX must be the best-in-class! - Additionally, conducting pilot tests or trials can provide valuable data and insights to help make an informed decision

Brainstorm the suggested solutions with the team is very important to ensure that we are all on the same page and make strong foundation for next steps.

Depending on the regulatory environment of your R&D, you should consider the applicability of the technology for routine use in a regulated setting, in order to avoid high costs of implementation not only for R&D but also in QC or manufacturing, e.g. in a GMP environment. Not every new and promising technology can be implemented without problems, therefore a thorough risk analysis should be made to anticipate the costs of training staff, method validation, maintenance, etc. Alternative or more established technologies which could be used for the same purpose should be compared in an unbiased way if available.

To evaluate how viable our solution is, it is critical to compare it with the current solutions used to address the problem. Compare them in terms of technical requirements as well as costs and implementation times. How complicated or complex user adoption may be is equally relevant.

Ideation is the best practice. Manufacturers always need a continuous flow of idea that create new product process and services. But ideas dont come without best practices that encourage their generation. Brainstorming is the practice most extensively used to implement new product process along with new technology.

Based on my own professional experience, implementing new technology in, for example joint prosthetics R&D, involves developing a comprehensive project plan detailing scope, timeline, budget, roles, and responsibilities. Defining KPIs helps measure success and impact. Also, identifying and mitigating potential risks through a contingency plan ensures smooth implementation. Last but not least, clear communication and transparency with stakeholders and feedback incorporation is of paramount importance.

Develop a comprehensive implementation plan that outlines the steps, timelines, and resources required to deploy the new technology effectively. Define clear objectives and success criteria for the implementation, including key milestones and performance metrics. Identify potential risks and challenges that may arise during implementation and develop contingency plans to mitigate them. Allocate roles and responsibilities to team members involved in the implementation process, ensuring clear communication and coordination throughout.

Make sure everyone knows how to use the new tech properly. Offer training sessions, workshops, and easy-to-follow guides. When everyone's confident with it, we can get the most out of the new tech in our R&D work.

It is important to train your user before using sophisticated new technology to improve their skill so they work together in a more efficient way. We should remembered the value "one team one focus" to achieve difficult task easily.

When you adopt the new technology in your R&D project, make sure every team member should be comfortable in using it. Provide training them, organize workshops for them to leverage them with hands on experience. Organize the training according to needs and skills of user. You can also provide them user manual and tutorial to proper assist them and clarify their doubts.

Provide comprehensive training and support to users who will be utilizing the new technology in their R&D activities. Design training programs that cater to different learning styles and skill levels, offering both classroom-style instruction and hands-on practice sessions. Empower users with the knowledge and skills they need to leverage the technology effectively and maximize its potential benefits. Offer ongoing support and resources, such as user manuals, tutorials, and helpdesk assistance, to address any questions or issues that may arise during the transition period.

Use a model system- something that you know the outcome of- to test how the new technology is performing. Then, test extensively on different systems to evaluate reproducibility and robustness. Identify experiments that can be done quickly and cheaply for this phase of monitoring and evaluating. Finally, think of what else can be a bottleneck/ rate-determining in the process. With new technologies, the bottlenecks are usually shifted, not always completely removed.

Continuously monitor the implementation process and evaluate the performance of the new technology against predefined objectives and success criteria. Collect feedback from users and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and address any issues or concerns in a timely manner. Measure key performance indicators (KPIs) related to productivity, efficiency, quality, and user satisfaction to assess the impact of the technology on your R&D operations. Use the insights gained from monitoring and evaluation to make data-driven decisions and refine your approach to ensure ongoing success and continuous improvement.

Implement the option to roll back to the previous technology. New technologies can often hide caveats that may not appear in the first assessment so implementing rollback mechanisms such as feature flags will allow you to quickly roll back to the previous state.

It’s essential to establish a monitoring and evaluation process. This can be achieved by setting clear benchmarks and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the progress and impact of the new technology. And you can also use "A/B testing" that can be a valuable tool. A/B testing involves comparing two versions of a product or process to determine which performs better. By conducting A/B tests with different variations of the new technology, you can objectively measure its impact and effectiveness!

Start with the end in mind - It is utmost important to have full clarity on how the new technology will help to solve the problem we want to address. We will need to pressure test the benefits to ensure that the final outcome is rooted in a genuine consumer / customer need. Next is to understand how we communicate the benefits to the consumers or end users. A new technology may need additional education, explanation and at times training for the users to embrace it and start experiencing the benefits. Significant effort should get into this aspect to make the communication easily understandable. These need to be backed by solid fundamentals of a good product development process including planning, designing and proper risk assessment.

It is tempting to believe that we can use investments in new technology to jumpstart innovation in R&D. This is foolhardy and almost always wrong. The most cutting edge, high end technology will not and cannot generate a single hypothesis on its own, nor can it design an experiment to test said hypothesis without significant and sustained human intervention. What technology can do, and do very well, is execute experiments programmed into it by human users, generate/output data, and provide a tool for human users in data analysis. Vendors hawking new technology often try and convince otherwise, but there is no equipment or technology that will make your R&D teams innovate, only the people on those teams can do that.

My view is To ensure success when implementing new technology in R&D, start with thorough planning, which includes understanding your goals and how the technology fits into achieving them. Engage key stakeholders early to gain support and input. Ensure your team has the necessary training and resources to use the technology effectively. Pilot the technology on a small scale to identify and address any issues before a full rollout. Finally, continuously monitor and evaluate the technology’s impact on R&D processes to make necessary adjustments and improvements.

Implement new technology in the R&D strategic approach. Here are key steps to consider: Clear Objectives: Define precise goals for the technology. Understand how it aligns with business objectives and R&D priorities. Cross-functional collaboration: involves stakeholders from various departments. Their insights can enhance adoption and address potential challenges. Pilot Testing: Start with a small-scale pilot. Evaluate performance, user feedback, and feasibility before full-scale deployment. Change Management: Communicate transparently. Train employees, address concerns, and manage resistance to ensure smooth adoption. Risk Mitigation: Identify risks (technical, financial, and operational)

Two basic steps: 1. Perform thorough risk assessment of the new stuff you are introducing. 2. Run a feasibility study or risk reduction program to mitigate the risks, according to their expected impact. 3. Be thorough, methodical, and never say "with a little bit of luck, it will work". It won't.