Product Thinking Podcast – Episode 246: Rethinking the Role of R&D
Host: Melissa Perri
Release Date: September 19, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode of Product Thinking features a "Dear Melissa" Q&A where host Melissa Perri dives into the evolving role of Research & Development (R&D) departments in modern product-led organizations. Responding to a thoughtful listener question, Melissa unpacks the ways R&D teams can either accelerate or hinder product innovation and offers pragmatic advice for integrating R&D with product, engineering, and customer value streams.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Expanding the Product Management Lens
- Systemic View:
- Success in product development isn’t limited to day-to-day PM/dev collaboration; it requires a holistic, organizational approach that examines the systems, processes, and culture supporting product teams.
- "It's about how an organization supports products as a whole. The systems, the processes and cultures in place that help companies deliver value to their customers." ([00:01])
2. Defining R&D's Role in Modern Companies
- Traditional vs. Contemporary Roles:
- R&D can manifest in organizations as content experts, academic liaisons, technical specialists, or platform teams.
- In many cases, R&D members act as forward-facing experts—such as pharmacists in healthcare or educators in edtech—contributing industry insight rather than direct software development.
- "One side of R and D is that they're content experts... they're kind of like experts on the content that's going into the system, but also the market perspective." ([03:37])
- Naming Conventions & Clarity:
- The traditional "R&D" name can be misleading when applied to subject matter or market experts. Melissa suggests titles like “market expert” or “content expert” may be more precise descriptions.
3. Common Pitfalls: The Siloed R&D Department
- Risk of Disconnection from Product Value:
- Siloed, academia-oriented R&D teams often lack integration with product delivery and customer value, spending resources on initiatives not aligned with business needs.
- "When I do see R and D kind of be siloed... they're not connected back to the customer value piece. They're kind of given free reign to just experiment or do academic type technology work." ([05:19])
- Origin Stories Matter:
- Companies founded by technical or academic specialists tend to emphasize research, sometimes at the expense of aligning with customer-centric product strategy.
4. Best Practices for Integrating R&D
- Treat R&D as Platform or Embedded Teams:
- R&D’s technical innovation (e.g., new algorithms, scientific advances) should directly feed the platform or core product teams rather than existing as separate silos.
- "We should be treating them more like part of the platform team... We just need to give people some space for that." ([07:00])
- Balance Evangelism and Empowerment:
- R&D can play an “evangelist” role—spreading technological innovation internally—but should not be positioned above or outside of engineering and product.
5. Practical Questions for Leaders
- Ensure Customer Value Alignment:
- Leaders should periodically assess whether R&D’s work is supporting product features that deliver real value to users and the business.
- "There could be a disconnect between what the R and D team is doing and what we actually have to launch to customers to make money." ([10:24])
- Proportional Investment:
- The scale of R&D investment must match company size and strategic goals. Startups may need to tightly focus on delivery, while large firms can afford broader research.
- "If I'm a small company, I might not be able to afford a ton of time on that scientific research stuff. But if I'm a big company like Facebook, you could have multiple teams doing that, right?" ([11:16])
- Key Questions:
- How much time should R&D spend on pure research vs. deliverables?
- How are their outputs integrated with the customer value flow?
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the Role of R&D:
- "They're not usually building the software, they're more like advisory roles... I've definitely seen R and D in those situations." ([04:01])
- On Academic R&D Misalignment:
- "There's usually a strategy disconnect between what we actually want to bring to customers and what those teams are prioritizing and doing." ([05:46])
- On Empowerment:
- "I don't think they're super separate or special compared to other engineers on the team. And I do agree that you want to empower the rest of the engineering in the organization as well." ([08:40])
- On Company Size and R&D Investment:
- "What size are you? How do we incorporate R and D? How are they actually connected? The customer value flow? Those are some, some big questions to bring up..." ([12:10])
Important Timestamps
- 00:01–00:37: Episode introduction and overview of systems thinking in product management
- 03:37–05:30: Analysis of different R&D roles (content experts, educators, academic liaisons)
- 05:19–07:40: Problems with siloed R&D and innovation misalignment
- 07:00–08:40: Integrating R&D with platform/engineering teams; balancing technical evangelism
- 10:24–13:00: Strategic guidance to product leaders on aligning R&D with business and customer value
Episode Takeaways
- R&D can provide value as subject matter experts or technical innovators but must be integrated with product and engineering for real impact.
- Avoid creating R&D silos that operate detached from the core product and customer needs.
- Titles matter: clarify R&D’s purpose and contribution to the organization through more precise naming.
- Leaders should continually evaluate R&D’s alignment with company strategy, stage, and desired customer outcomes.
For listeners and leaders alike, this episode provides actionable frameworks and thought-provoking questions to rethink the function and future of R&D within product-driven organizations.
