A Quality Management Model Contingent to R&D Characteristics

Abstract

As the importance of R&D has increased, there have been various efforts to apply the quality management principles and tools to R&D activities in order to manage them effectively. The R&D sector differs from other value chains, so it may be difficult to apply quality management without proper considerations of R&D characteristics. This study describes the characteristics of R&D as high uncertainty and risk, diversity of R&D types, project-based activities, importance of strategic goals and business models, and importance of intangible assets. Three well accepted R&D quality management models are reviewed and implications for quality management and R&D characteristics are summarized. Based on these findings, the management targets of R&D quality management are classified into management level (organization, project) and management focus (process, output), and the contexts of R&D quality management are classified into R&D type (research, development) and market/customer requirement clarity (fluid, specific), and appropriate R&D quality management activities in each situations have been suggested. †