Grounded in the internationally recognized Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework, our systematic approach ensures academic rigor meets business practicality.
Creates alignment between students, faculty, and clients through shared understanding and consistent expectations.
Three structured stages—Feasibility, Prototype, and Deployment—with clear checkpoints and measurable outcomes.
Market assessments, ROI analyses, and risk maps provide clarity for informed, de-risked investment decisions.
Structured pathway to apply research in real-world contexts and produce measurable impact through practical deliverables.
Practical value through market assessments, ROI analyses, and risk maps that support informed investment decisions.
Academic standards maintained through evidence-based processes and consistent, transparent deliverables.
Based on NASA's Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework, our systematic approach guides innovation from concept to market-ready solutions.
Stage 1
Is this concept technically possible?
Stage 2
Can it work in practice?
Stage 3
Can it scale reliably?
Fundamental principles, proof-of-concept
Technology development, prototyping
System integration, full deployment
A systematic approach to navigating the framework and maximizing your innovation outcomes.
Assess your project's current maturity level and choose the appropriate stage.
Each stage contains 20 systematic steps with clear activities and deliverables.
Create concrete deliverables that demonstrate progress and quality assurance.
Use Gate Reviews as formal checkpoints for informed decision-making.
Involve stakeholders early and maintain regular communication throughout the process.
Balance thoroughness with efficiency, especially when working with client time constraints.
Be prepared to revisit earlier steps as new information and insights emerge.
Adapt the guide to your project needs while maintaining core structure and documentation.
Assess whether your research concept is technically feasible and commercially viable through systematic exploration and validation.
Establish the foundation by clearly defining the problem space and identifying key opportunities for innovation.
Establish project foundation
Define the problem, scope, and scientific/technical relevance while identifying initial stakeholders and leadership roles.
Design research methodology
Design the evidence review process, including research questions, methods, and sources to explore feasibility systematically.
Gather evidence sources
Conduct comprehensive searches across academic, patent, and technical sources to build your evidence base.
Analyze and extract data
Screen gathered materials and extract feasibility-relevant data including mechanisms, constraints, and prior attempts.
Organize findings
Organize extracted data into thematic categories and identify opportunity areas alongside potential risks.
Rank opportunities
Rank opportunities and feasibility questions by novelty, risk level, and client value to focus resources effectively.
Critical decision point
Enable the client to decide whether the concept merits investment in prototype development based on feasibility findings.
Decide whether to proceed with prototype development investment
Develop experimental designs and establish success criteria to validate your concept through rigorous testing.
Define success metrics
Define clear success metrics for feasibility validation, including accuracy, reproducibility, and performance benchmarks.
Develop experimental designs
Develop multiple experimental setups for feasibility testing and evaluate them against your decision criteria.
Select optimal approach
Select the most promising experimental setup and document assumptions and risks associated with your choice.
Define experimental design
Define lab-scale experiments including technical specifications, roles, budget, and timelines for feasibility testing.
Create testing roadmap
Create a detailed roadmap for feasibility testing with milestones, timelines, and resource allocation.
Define validation methods
Define methods for measuring validity, reproducibility, and other key performance indicators.
Resource allocation decision
Enable the client to decide whether feasibility testing should proceed with allocated resources.
Decide whether feasibility testing should proceed with resources
Synthesize findings, address gaps, and prepare a comprehensive package for prototype development decisions.
Stakeholder validation
Share experimental results with faculty, clients, and stakeholders to gather feedback and refine interpretations.
Address missing evidence
Conduct additional tests to resolve missing evidence and strengthen the feasibility case.
Validate robustness
Test robustness under varied conditions to identify and mitigate potential risks.
Validate conclusions
Verify that all conclusions are supported by credible evidence and document the linkages.
Create deliverables
Package feasibility results in accessible deliverables for client and faculty review.
Prototype commitment decision
Allow decision-makers to commit resources to building a prototype with confidence based on comprehensive feasibility findings.
Decide whether to commit resources to prototype build
Build and validate working models in real-world environments to demonstrate practical feasibility and user acceptance.
Define practical applications and evaluate opportunities for prototype development in real-world contexts.
Establish project foundation
Define use cases, pilot environments, and constraints while identifying intended end-users and clarifying leadership roles.
Design research methodology
Plan evidence review focusing on applied feasibility, competing approaches, and industry standards.
Gather evidence sources
Gather evidence from applied studies, benchmarks, pilot trials, and intellectual property databases.
Analyze and extract data
Extract data on performance, usability, scalability, and risks from gathered sources.
Organize findings
Organize extracted data into themes focusing on usability, performance, and compliance.
Rank opportunities
Rank prototype opportunities by feasibility, impact, and alignment with client goals.
Critical decision point
Enable the client to decide which use cases and prototype opportunities should move forward to testing.
Decide which use cases to assess
Develop comprehensive prototype designs and establish rigorous testing frameworks to validate functionality and performance.
Define success metrics
Define prototype success metrics including performance, usability, and compliance benchmarks.
Develop prototype designs
Develop multiple prototype designs and evaluate them against decision criteria.
Select optimal design
Select the best prototype design and document assumptions and risks.
Define prototype specifications
Define prototype scope, specifications, and technical design for pilot deployment.
Create deployment roadmap
Plan pilot deployment in a relevant environment with milestones and resources.
Define validation methods
Define KPIs for pilot testing including usability, reliability, and satisfaction metrics.
Prototype readiness decision
Ensure the client can decide whether the prototype is ready for real-world piloting.
Decide if prototype is ready for piloting
Validate prototype performance, address weaknesses, and prepare comprehensive documentation for deployment decisions.
Collect user insights
Collect structured feedback from pilot users and stakeholders to evaluate prototype performance.
Address weaknesses
Conduct additional tests to address weaknesses identified during pilot testing.
Validate robustness
Assess prototype performance under varied conditions and edge cases to reduce operational risks.
Validate conclusions
Verify that prototype claims are supported by pilot test data and evidence.
Create deliverables
Package prototype results into clear deliverables for client and faculty review.
Deployment commitment decision
Allow decision-makers to commit resources to scaling and deploying the solution based on prototype validation.
Decide whether to commit to scaling
Scale your validated solution to market with compliance, optimization, and sustainable growth strategies.
Evaluate market readiness and develop comprehensive scaling strategies for sustainable growth.
Establish deployment foundation
Define market segments, scaling strategies, and establish deployment leadership while identifying key stakeholders.
Design deployment research
Design evidence review focusing on regulatory compliance, market conditions, and scaling economics.
Gather deployment evidence
Collect regulatory requirements, market intelligence, and competitive landscape data for deployment planning.
Implement scaling strategies, ensure regulatory compliance, and optimize for sustainable market growth.
Analyze deployment requirements
Extract regulatory requirements, market conditions, and scaling constraints from gathered evidence.
Organize deployment themes
Organize findings into regulatory, market, and operational themes for deployment planning.
Rank deployment opportunities
Rank market segments and deployment strategies by regulatory feasibility and market potential.
Deployment readiness decision
Enable the client to decide whether market and regulatory conditions support deployment.
Decide whether to proceed with deployment
Monitor performance, optimize operations, and scale successfully while maintaining compliance and quality.
Define scaling success metrics
Define KPIs for deployment success including market penetration, compliance, and financial performance.
Develop scaling strategies
Develop and evaluate different scaling approaches including market expansion and operational optimization.
Select scaling approach
Select the optimal scaling strategy based on market conditions, resources, and risk assessment.
Define scaling implementation
Define technical, operational, and organizational requirements for successful market scaling.
Create scaling roadmap
Develop detailed implementation plan with timelines, resources, and milestones for market scaling.
Define scaling KPIs
Establish comprehensive KPIs for monitoring scaling success and operational performance.
Scaling readiness decision
Ensure the organization is ready to execute the scaling plan with allocated resources and capabilities.
Decide whether to execute scaling
Monitor market performance, optimize operations, and ensure sustainable growth while maintaining quality and compliance.
Monitor market performance
Collect and analyze performance data across all key metrics including market share, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.
Optimize operations
Identify and address performance gaps through process improvements and operational optimizations.
Validate operational robustness
Test operational resilience under various market conditions and stress scenarios.
Verify market performance
Ensure all performance claims are supported by data and market validation.
Create performance deliverables
Package performance results and optimization recommendations for stakeholder review.
Sustainability commitment decision
Enable decision-makers to commit to long-term sustainability strategies and continued optimization.
Decide on long-term sustainability
A comprehensive comparison of the 20 systematic steps across all three stages of the innovation process.
| Step |
Feasibility
(Stage 1)
|
Prototype
(Stage 2)
|
Deployment
(Stage 3)
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
1
Kickoff & Context
|
Establish project foundation, define problem scope, and identify key stakeholders with clear leadership roles. | Define use cases, pilot environments, and end-user profiles for prototype development. | Establish deployment foundation with market segmentation and partnership strategies. |
|
2
Plan Evidence Review
|
Design systematic review of scientific literature and technical feasibility evidence. | Plan evidence review focusing on applied feasibility, competing approaches, and industry standards. | Design evidence review for regulatory compliance, market conditions, and scaling economics. |
|
3
Search & Collect
|
Gather evidence from academic, patent, and technical sources to assess scientific feasibility. | Collect applied studies, benchmark reports, pilot trials, and intellectual property data. | Gather regulatory requirements, market intelligence, and competitive landscape data. |
|
4
Screen & Extract
|
Extract feasibility-relevant data including mechanisms, constraints, and prior research findings. | Extract performance, usability, and risk data from applied studies and pilot reports. | Extract regulatory requirements, market conditions, and scaling constraints from gathered evidence. |
|
5
Group & Summarize
|
Organize extracted data into thematic categories and identify opportunity areas with risk mapping. | Group findings into usability, performance, and compliance themes with opportunity mapping. | Organize into regulatory, market, and operational themes with deployment risk mapping. |
|
6
Prioritize
|
Rank opportunities and feasibility questions by novelty, risk level, and client value potential. | Rank prototype opportunities by feasibility, impact, and alignment with client goals. | Rank market segments and deployment strategies by regulatory feasibility and market potential. |
|
7
Gate Review 1
|
Decision Point: Proceed with prototype development investment based on feasibility findings. | Decision Point: Select which use cases and prototype opportunities to assess. | Decision Point: Determine whether market and regulatory conditions support deployment. |
|
8-14
Execute & Refine
|
Feasibility Phase: Set decision criteria, create experimental designs, build and test solutions, develop implementation plans. | Prototype Phase: Set success criteria, create prototype designs, build specifications, plan pilot testing, and establish measurement frameworks. | Deployment Phase: Set scaling criteria, create scaling strategies, build implementation designs, develop scaling plans, and establish performance monitoring. |
|
15-19
Validate & Package
|
Feasibility Phase: Gather stakeholder feedback, address gaps, stress-test solutions, validate evidence links, and package results. | Prototype Phase: Gather user feedback, address performance gaps, stress-test operations, validate claims, and package deliverables. | Deployment Phase: Monitor performance, address gaps, stress-test operations, validate claims, and package optimization results. |
|
20
Final Gate Review
|
Final Decision: Commit resources to prototype development with confidence based on comprehensive feasibility validation. | Final Decision: Commit resources to scaling and deployment based on prototype validation results. | Final Decision: Commit to long-term sustainability strategies and continuous optimization. |
Comprehensive toolkit and references to support your innovation journey from concept to market.
Source collection
Comprehensive collection of academic, patent, and technical sources gathered for systematic analysis and evidence-based decision making.
Technical specifications
Detailed technical specifications, requirements, and design parameters for prototype development and implementation.
Project roadmap
Comprehensive roadmap with milestones, resource allocation, timelines, and risk mitigation strategies for successful execution.
Opportunity assessment
Visual framework for identifying, assessing, and prioritizing opportunities while mapping associated technical and business risks.
Context-Intervention-Mechanism-Outcome framework
Structured way of organizing ideas and activities
Formal checkpoint for approving progress
Key Performance Indicator for measuring success