An Excel-Based Decision Support System for Scoring and Ranking Proposed R&D Projects

One of the most challenging aspects of technology management is the selection of research and development (R&D) projects from among a group of proposals. This paper introduces an interactive, user-friendly decision support system for evaluating and ranking R&D projects and demonstrates its application on an example R&D program. It employs the scoring methodology developed by Henriksen and Traynor to provide a practical technique that considers both project merit and project cost in the evaluation process, while explicitly accounting for trade-offs among multiple decision criteria. The framework of the Excel-based system, PScore, is presented with an emphasis on the potential benefits of using this methodology with computer-automated extensions that facilitate and enhance managerial review and decision-making capabilities