Experiences Applying Lean R&D in Industry-Academia Collaboration Projects

TL;DR

This paper shares practical insights and evaluation results from applying Lean R&D in industry-academia collaborations across sectors, demonstrating its effectiveness in fostering innovation and achieving impactful business outcomes.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence of Lean R&D's application and benefits in real-world industry-academia projects, highlighting its structured approach and stakeholder endorsement.

Findings

Stakeholders find Lean R&D's phases well-suited for innovation.

Participants endorse Lean R&D for rapid, impactful results.

Lean R&D effectively transforms ideas into business outcomes.

Abstract

Lean R&D has been used at PUC-Rio to foster industry-academia collaboration in innovation projects across multiple sectors. This industrial experience paper describes recent experiences and evaluation results from applying Lean R&D in partnership with Petrobras in the oil and gas sector and Americanas in retail. The findings highlight Lean R&D's effectiveness in transforming ideas into meaningful business outcomes. Based on responses from 57 participants - including team members, managers, and sponsors - the assessment indicates that stakeholders find the structured phases of Lean R&D well-suited to innovation projects and endorse the approach. Although acknowledging that successful collaboration relies on various factors, this industrial experience positions Lean R&D as a promising framework for industry-academia projects focused on achieving rapid, impactful results for industry partners.