Practical Profiles for Managing Systems Engineering R&D

A new and practical way of profiling R&D projects is presented. The operational context is the investment of discretionary R&D funds by systems engineering firms. In this work program positioning profile, R&D projects are identified as one of four types: targeting, reinforcing, enabling, or remodeling, according to the relationship between the R&D project and the systems engineering work program. A portfolio map is introduced to provide a visual representation of a set of R&D projects and to show likely transitions between project types over time. The new profile and portfolio map can support management efforts to characterize and assess an R&D portfolio for its contribution to ongoing systems engineering work. In addition to this new project profile, other profiling strategies are discussed in the framework of an R&D balanced scorecard. The multiple profiles are a natural consequence of the inherent performance multidimensionality of the R&D activity in the wide-ranging discipline and practice of systems engineering.