Applying quality award criteria in R&D project assessment

Abstract

Due to the problematic characteristics and complexity of R&D, the applicability of Total Quality Management (TQM) and quality award criteria in the assessment of a company's R&D process is very challenging. This study concentrates especially on the application of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award (MBQA) Criteria to R&D assessments at project level. The applicability of quality award criteria in the assessment of R&D projects is first discussed with the help of a literature review at conceptual level. The meaning of different sub-areas of quality award criteria is analyzed from the point of view of R&D activities and single projects. The measures, performance criteria and concrete measurable aspects for R&D project evaluation are then derived on the basis of the analysis. In the empirical part of the study, the analysis of the utilization of criteria for R&D project assessment is discussed from the viewpoint of a manufacturing company that has successfully applied the Finnish National Quality Award Criteria based on the MBQA. The study gives examples of the derivation of new R&D project measures from the quality award criteria framework.