Different skills, competencies, and people are required at each stage, phase or sprint of research or product/service development no matter what size company. Motivation of these people is also different.

Research, Fuzzy Front End and Ideation Stages: Idea Generation through Technical/Marketing Applications Analysis

Technical & Engineering SkillsMarket & Sales SkillsOrganizational SkillsCompetencies RequiredRoles Involved
Idea (Basic Research); Concept Definition (Applied Research); Proof of Concept Research Literature; Needs Analysis; I.D. internal factors; I.D. competing R&D Basic Research funding; Intellectual Property Survey; Commercialization Planning; Define intellectual property strategy; I.D. potential partners; Prepare for Gate I review Scientific/technical; Proposal writing; Team building; Core competenciesPrincipal Investigator; Research team; Intellectual Property staff; Technical Transfer staff
Technical / Engineering / Marketing Applications AnalysisCommercial needs analysisResearch funding; Explore intellectual property options; Identify liability issues; Refine list of potential partners Prioritize deployment applications; Prepare for Gate 2 Review Applications engineering; Industry knowledgeApplied research team

Feasibility through Development Stages: Product Definition to Product Prototype

Technical & Engineering SkillsMarket & Sales SkillsOrganizational SkillsCompetencies RequiredRoles Involved
Product Definition (Exploratory Development)Preliminary Market definition Decide to develop; Find funding; I.D. product champion; Define IP strategy; Patent disclosures; licensing strategy; product development team in place Intuition to technical; Technical to engineeringProject Team
Working Model (Advanced Development)Market analysisFind developmental funding; File patents; Complete commercialization planEngineering; Partnership developmentProject Team; Entrepreneur or corporate product champion; Engineers; Production; Safety
Engineering Prototype Testing, Refining (Engineering Development)Complete industry analysis; Formal market analysis and market planFunding for advanced development; Establish IP protection; Formal business planning; Prepare for Gate 3 reviewEngineering; Legal; Market Analysis; Partnership developmentProject Champion; Engineers; Patent Attorney; Industry partners; Market analyst; Planners

Scale-Up: Prototype to Production

Technical & Engineering SkillsMarket & Sales SkillsOrganizational SkillsCompetencies RequiredRoles Involved
Production Prototype: Scale-up, test, refine, production engineering, product safety engineeringFull Market Analysis and Plan: Niches, barriers, pricing, competition, cost data, distribution, alternative product application; Risk analysis; Sales projectionsFind start-up capital; complete business plan; form business; meet state and federal regulations; purchase insurance; price production facility; Prepare for Gate 4 reviewEngineering, production, product safety, entrepreneurial, financing, marketing, cost analysis, legal, managementInventor, entrepreneur, investors, engineers, production, safety, patent attorneys, corporate attorneys, accountants, consultants, marketing, business management, financial, insurance brokers, trade union officers
Limited Production, Qualification Testing, Running ChangesContact customers; commence distribution, seek product endorsements, follow-up sales, advertise, publish in technical journalsFind growth capital; start-up business; build plant; buy equipment; hire foreman and labor; arrange product service, purchasing, transportation, record keeping; Prepare for Gate 5 ReviewAll of above plus specialty engineering, systems engineering, sales analysis, supervisoryAll of above plus foreman, labor, sales people, specialty engineers, systems engineers

Commercial: Full Production

Technical & Engineering SkillsMarket & Sales SkillsOrganizational SkillsCompetencies RequiredRoles Involved
Full production Start-upAll of the above plus expand distribution; analyze competitor responseAll of the above plus monitor costs,; finance cash-flow deficit; refine production system All of the above plus delegation, marketing forecasting; strategic planning; long-term financial All of the above plus expanding management, sales and labor forces