Continuing on from our previous installment, here are the remaining six top trends in the science of product development and R&D management. When looked at collectively, these 12 trends will give you an idea of how much change is on the horizon for engineering and product development organizations.
Trend 7. Engineering and Development Automation: Many engineers are seeing the changes brought on by rapid prototyping. Soon, robots, real-time software testing, and many other technologies will permeate the downstream end of product development. There will be less people involved in developing and delivering products. Conversely, there will be more people involved in solution planning, designing, and developing data-based software for customers that wraps products in blankets of information throughout its life cycle (Harvard Business Review November 2014 and October 2015).