From applied research to the Technical-Technological Product: Project management as a pathway

Brazilian graduate education has been increasingly called upon to integrate advanced training, applied research, and the generation of outputs with social and organizational utility. Within this context, Technical-Technological Products (TTPs) have assumed growing centrality; yet their production is still treated as a spontaneous byproduct of research rather than as the outcome of a deliberately organized trajectory encompassing conception, development, validation, and delivery. This theoretical-conceptual article, grounded in documentary analysis, aims to propose a guiding framework for the transition from the research project to the TTP. It critically examines the definitions, typologies, and qualification criteria adopted by CAPES Area 27 (Public and Business Administration, Accounting, and Tourism) for the 2025–2028 quadrennium, articulating them through an operational, project-based perspective. The article offers graduate students a structured guide for designing TTPs and discusses the methodological approaches most appropriate to their development. As a theoretical contribution, the study argues that a relevant TTP originates from a concern with a real-world problem, and that each TTP modality within Area 27 can be understood as a deliverable of an applied research project, organized by life cycle and qualified according to the criteria of adherence, impact, applicability, innovation, and complexity. The study concludes that project management provides the pathway that renders the trajectory from applied research to TTP delivery both intelligible and replicable.