Most industry executives, military planners, research managers, or venture capitalists charged with assessing the potential of a research and development project probably are familiar with the wry twist on Arthur C. Clarke's third law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.” (Clarke’s original term was “magic.”)

Working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for five years, a team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) evaluated emerging military technologies. Based on their study, the NIST team has shared critical lessons learned that can help businesses and others negotiate the pitfalls encountered when pushing the technology envelope to enable new capabilities.

 …