A couple of years ago, when I started this task of annual papers selection for this feature, the focus of my statement was about the so-called “digital company.” One year later, the concept that drove my attention was the capability of parallel and accurate planning strategy, starting from the discovery well, with the early involvement of all the concerned professionals and expertise. This year, papers, seminars, and workshops show clearly the common trend to develop technology faster and look for innovative solutions strictly fit for purpose to meet the local technical requirement as soon as possible and accelerate the first production. Although medium- to long-range R&D and technology innovation are still considered strategic issues, much effort appears to be on achieving the immediate result: technology solutions are designed and locally deployed to minimize the time to reach the market for a specific asset. Key elements of this current tendency are as follows. - Immediate understanding of technical gaps, technical requirements, and solutions. - Strong competency and capability of effective and efficient technology selection and deployment (make or buy?). - Excellent communication. However, without the third element (excellent communication), the value created by the other two elements could be much less. As a matter of fact, a successful fast technology development and application to solve a local need (as the current trend is displaying) is not a complete success if it is not shared quickly within the company. In this perspective, communication plays an important role from the perception of the technical gap to the field application of the solution and, finally, to the fast propagation of the experience. The wise use of today’s communication strategies (e.g., the community of practices) then is an important asset to further the success stories in a timely manner. Field Development additional reading available from the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org. SPE 90434 - “Optimization of Well Placement and Improved Well Planning Within a Collaborative 3D Environment Employing Real-Time Data: A Case Study From the Visund Field, Norway,” by Girling, S. B., SPE, Landmark, et al. SPE 92895 - “Integrated Approach for Improving Development of a Mature Field,” by Xiaoguang, L., SPE, PetroChina Intl., et al. SPE 94206 - “Shifting the Gaussian Curve to the Right—A Fully Stochastic Approach to Marginal Offshore Field Development,” by Graf, T., SPE, Schlumberger, et al. SPE 97378 - “Technological Challenges for the Development of Ultradeepwater Fields,” by Saliés, J.B., SPE, Petrobras