R2O | Research to Operations

The ‘O’ in R2O is sometimes confounding. Whereas the realm of research is an expansive net for innovation, the concept of operations is more of a broadening spectrum. What constitutes operations? When is a research byproduct considered operational? Does an operational status confer consistency and reliability requirements? Must training be available for operations before a research byproduct is operational? Who decides whether a transitioned research byproduct should be used operationally? These are not necessarily easy questions to answer, and they may vary depending on the nature of the project and byproduct, but there are some guidelines that can make it easier to assess where in the R2O cycle a transitioned item sits in its readiness for application to an organization’s deliverables and services. First, it is important to define the portion of an organization or enterprise that constitutes “operations” at the onset of the research—before it is ready for any demonstration . There