Development of a Quality Assurance Framework for Research and Development

Abstract

The body of literature has been almost unanimous for the needs for quality assurance for R&D. Despite the needs, quality assurance in R&D has been rarely discussed due to the difficulties of defining, measuring, and managing R&D quality. Even some guidelines or standards have been suggested to deal with quality management, there is a lack of research dealing with the concrete framework for quality assurance for R&D. In response, this paper aims to develop a framework for quality assurance for R&D: R&DQASS. The conceptual framework of R&DQASS consists of four dimensions: organizational level management, project level management, process level management, and outcome level management. The role, characteristics, and detailed activities of each dimension are explained in detail. Following on the conceptual framework of R&DQASS, this paper also provides the QA procedures which should be conducted prior to, during, and after the R&D projects. The suggested framework is expected to provide the meaningful implication for the QA managers by providing the role and characteristics of key dimensions which are critical to the quality assurance for R&D.