Template

Emerging Tech Research Project Brief Template

A structured, fillable brief to scope short, measurable research projects for emerging manufacturing technologies. Captures hypothesis, data needs, three quick probes, metrics, safety and integration needs, timeline, budget, and clear go/no‑go criteria so teams can run low‑risk, decision-focused pilots.

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Emerging Tech Research Project Brief

Use this brief to scope a focused, low‑risk research project that tests the operational value of an emerging technology (digital twin, edge AI, autonomous cell, advanced sensing, etc.). Keep experiments small, measurable, and tied to shop‑floor outcomes. Capture hypothesis, data needs, safety and integration requirements, three quick probes, metrics, budget and a clear go/no‑go decision point.

Short, descriptive project name (e.g., 'Edge AI vibration pilot — Cell 3').
One or two sentences describing what you will test and why it matters to operations.
Write a clear, testable hypothesis (for example: 'Edge AI anomaly detection will reduce false downtime alerts by 50% on Line A').
Brief context: current process, pain points, prior attempts, vendor info, relevant constraints.
Describe the concrete operational problem this project addresses (waste type, quality loss, downtime, throughput bottleneck, safety risk).
List systems, machines, parts, shifts, data sources, and locations included in this brief.
List what you will explicitly exclude to keep the study focused.
List specific signals, sensors, logs, operators inputs, timestamps, sample rates, and where that data lives (PLC, historian, MES, manual logs).
Rate how ready your data is for the experiments. Low readiness means plan time for collection/cleaning.
1.0 10.0
Name people or roles (project owner, engineering lead, ops champion, safety, IT, vendor contact).
Use YYYY‑MM‑DD or a rough date range.
Date by which you'll assess results and make a go/no‑go decision.
Helps scheduling and resourcing.
Estimated spend for this scoped research (include vendor time, sensors, labor). Currency not enforced—note currency in notes.
What specific question will this probe answer?
Quantitative or observable criteria that would indicate success for this probe.
List measurable metrics you will track (examples: OEE delta, cycle time, mean time between failures, false alarm rate, first pass yield, cost per part). Include units and sampling frequency where possible.
Define the decision rule(s) that will determine pilot conversion, further development, or project stop.
Who signs off on the go/no‑go decision?
Identify any safety reviews, approvals, or regulatory constraints required before testing or deployment.
Interfaces, protocols, security/IT approvals, MES/ERP integration needs, vendor APIs.
Optional: enter numeric targets or ranges tied to your success criteria (e.g., reduce false alerts from 20/hr to <10/hr).
Link to architecture diagrams, vendor proposals, data samples, or test scripts stored elsewhere.
Record final decision, date, and rationale after experiments complete.
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