Working on R&D projects in the Weapon Systems UK business at BAE Systems means developing solutions at Low-Technical Readiness Levels (TRLs). In this environment, uncertainty isn’t simply another entry in a risk register, it’s the defining challenge of the work says Martin Currie, Project Engineering Manager.

He is conducting research to discover how different types of uncertainty are perceived and which project management practices are most effective in reducing them.

Here he explains the challenge at BAE and encourages responses to his survey.

The challenge of working at Low-Technical Readiness Levels

At low TRLs, requirements are often fluid, technical performance is not fully understood and the goal is as much about generating evidence and insight as it is about producing an immediate output. Trying to lock down detailed plans or fixed outcomes too early can create a false sense of security and can be counter-productive, particularly when progress is non-linear.

In practice, it’s far more effective to treat R&D as a deliberate process of uncertainty reduction. Learning cycles, rapid prototyping and experimentation allow teams to challenge assumptions early and build confidence through evidence. In this context, success should be measured by what has been proven, disproven or learned, not simply whether a plan was followed. A key indicator becomes the balance of unknowns versus knowns.

Evidence of value

This mindset also supports better expectation management with customers.

Low-TRL projects are inherently probabilistic, so framing work around learning objectives, decision points and TRL progression helps our customers see that value is delivered through knowledge gained, even when solutions evolve or change direction.

That’s particularly important when the goal is to enable more confident decisions and accelerate the transition from concept to mission-ready capability.

We Protect Those Who Protect Us®

More broadly, this reflects how here at BAE Systems we are a technology leader with innovation at the heart of what we do and a sustained commitment to research and development.

We Protect Those Who Protect Us®: our motto comes through in our focus on continuous development and creating next-generation technology that helps our customers stay ahead of current and future threats.

What is best practice when working with high levels of uncertainty?

I’m proud to be a part of the mission through my work at BAE Systems (Weapon Systems UK), supporting customers by reducing technical risk, strengthening evidence and deliberately moving technologies up the TRL scale so that emerging solutions can be adopted with greater confidence.

Alongside this, through my academic research I hope to discover how different types of uncertainty are perceived in R&D environments and which project management practices are most effective in reducing them.

Is there a particular methodology or iterative practice that works well for your team?

Share your thoughts – complete my survey

I’d like to encourage the R&D community to complete my survey and share their thoughts. The survey is short, anonymous, and practitioner focused, and your insights will directly contribute to improving how R&D projects are managed in practice.

Thank you for supporting my research.

Martin Currie, Project Engineering Manager (R&T), Weapon Systems UK, BAE Systems