Research And Development On New Products

Research and Development (R and D) is a term broadly used to define a process where an innovative idea is transformed into an actual test prototype, and ultimately to the commercial market.

The term is most commonly applied to engineering, science and the manufacturing commercial industries. It also applies to academic and government processes. There are also marketing, medical and food product applications with R and D components, among many others. R and D does not only apply to new inventions or products, but also the betterment of existing products based upon consumer satisfaction or an increase in market demand. Although not strictly a marketing tool, marketing and R and D are very closely intertwined. Innovative ideas can be initially researched using opportunity analysis evolving into more research and marketing analysis. The initial stage of research is a screening process to rule out ideas before spending to much time and money. Generally, this is a determination of whether the technology exist, or has to be invented in itself. This begins the economic phase of research. The more expanded phase of research looks at the technical feasibility of generating, developing and manufacturing the product. The engineering design phase of development is now in place with continued input from technical research.

It is difficult to determine whether there exist a clear separation between the research and the development. This is why they are collectively termed together, as R and D. This also depends upon the disciplinary nature of the product. For example, a new pharmaceutical product, robotic device, computer application and many more. Every invention known to collective society has experienced a large degree of R and D, which is also a major component of the patent process.