The correct answer is: "developing an hyphotesis"
The R&D processes within a company aim to find innovative approaches for its products or to developed more efficient production systems. The ultimate purpouse is to increase profits and to perform better than the competitors, which provides access to larger sections of the market demand.
Therefore, in order to test the viability of new ideas, hypothesis are proposed in the first place and then tested, to see if they work and if they might contribute positively to the objectives of the corporation.