Abstract :
DESPITE THE MANY formal models of the Research, Development, and Engineering (R, D, and E) Process1 and the many prescriptions on “how to manage” R, D, and E2 we are still seriously lacking in adequate descriptions of what actually takes place in this complex process. Absence of such descriptions has not, as it frequently has in physical science, prevented effective practice of the related arts — i.e., the management of R, D, and E, — but it is clear that better descriptions might help us to form a better basis for understanding and improving the art. The difficulty is that many of the phenomena we wish to describe in this field are not as amenable to measurement as those encountered in the physical realm. Indeed, when precise measurements of human behavior are attempted — e.g., the way that engineers and scientists spend their time — investigators encounter much skepticism and, often, strong resistance from their subjects.
