Product Development Research (PDR) provides insight into the potential of a product's design that cannot be achieved by intuitive methods alone. PDR helps to define the scope and depth of project activities.

PDR activities can be categorized as:

Quantitative Research
Focused on the metrics of a product that can be numerically or statistically represented and employs data collection and analysis techniques to acheive insights that can codify a products performance and technical specifications.

Qualitative Research
Focused on the cognitive, decision making, motivational, behavioral and emotional aspects of a product. While these characteristics may be difficult to quantify, they can be ranked, prioritized and tested in order to achieve the intended customer experience.

Other types of research available include:

• Product Benchmarking
• Branding and Marketing
• Strategic Product Line Planning
• Product Requirements Definition