You're an R&D professional using new technology. What are the most common mistakes you should avoid?

A new technology should only be used if it solves a problem better than what exists. That seems obvious but people will often get caught up in the hype of new technologies and use them without doing an adequate analysis on whether on not it is actually better. To help prevent this talk to the end user, understand the true problems they are facing, suggest your solution to them and seek their feedback on whether it will actually help them or not.

As an R&D professional utilizing new technology, common mistakes to avoid include neglecting thorough research, overlooking user feedback, underestimating implementation challenges, lacking scalability planning, poor communication, insufficient testing, neglecting cybersecurity, lacking flexibility, disregarding ethical considerations, and not investing in ongoing learning. Avoiding these pitfalls ensures more successful and impactful projects, enhancing innovation and meeting user needs effectively. In a nutshell consider the all aspects of project management and you can avoid these mistakes.

Also important to validate that it is the right idea/problem and the proper resolution to start with the development efforts. In every phase it requires potential client feedbacks from the market about their understanding and actual needs. Phasing the solution to a starting level counts and returns in motivations/results.

Creating technology and then finding a real-world problem usually ends up in cancelled projects and development activities. Without understanding and describing the problem in detail, you would only act like the archer trying to win a contest but not knowing where is the target-board. Shooting into the air hoping that there will be a hit.

As an R&D professional navigating new technology, it's essential to avoid common mistakes to ensure successful innovation: - Conduct thorough research to understand the technology landscape and user needs. - Prioritize scalability, flexibility, and cybersecurity in solution development. - Collaborate with stakeholders and seek feedback to refine solutions. - Test rigorously and iterate to address any issues promptly. By adhering to these principles, R&D professionals can mitigate risks and drive impactful innovation.

I would suggest to avoid some mistakes that I observed more than once in almost every lab that I worked in: Try to understand the fundamental principles of the technology and its limitations, especially with regard to important parameters like sensitivity, accuracy, detection range, reproducibility, sample processing steps, etc. A commonly made mistake is focusing only on the promised improvements compared to an existing technique, while neglecting limitations of the new technique, e.g. as it can happen when switching from qPCR to digital PCR. The robustness of digital PCR promises better reproducibility but the lack of reference controls suggests an accuracy that needs to be carefully checked, in case quantitative results are required.

Adoption is key. R&D procedure usually faces new results, new phases, new directions to discover. Without having an answer to the change of those elements, or even to the changes of the environment no any solution can be successful. Unfortunately sometimes I see that change management and agile approach are not so wide spread in R&D as it could be to support and drive results.

I've learned from experience that skipping documentation while learning new technology can lead to significant challenges later on. Overconfidence or laziness can often make us overlook the importance of noting down our learning process, including the mistakes and successes. To counter this, I've made it a habit to always carry a lab notebook or journal. In it, I meticulously record every step, assumption, and result from my work with new technologies. This practice not only aids in avoiding confusion and duplication of efforts but also ensures a smooth knowledge transfer and replicability of results.

In R&D, no matter if you succeed at the end, or not, or even fail during the procedure, documentation is key activity. Without proper documentation of the process how can you (or others) identify what went well, what went wrong, where should we change, which directions are delivering good results. Imagine that you have created something unique, something world-class. Without proper documentation you will even not be able to claim that you have achieved that great success.

??As per my experience, one could avoid the following 5 things: ??1. Failure to Document the Process: As it is mentioned here, documenting each step of the process, including setup, calibration, operation, and troubleshooting, is essential. ?? 2. Skipping Training ?? 3. Lack of Quality Control ?? 4. Ignoring Feedback ?? 5. Overlooking Maintenance