Successful valuation of individual R&D projects and managing a R&D portfolio is a key advantage for technology firms whose product competitiveness rely on the technologies supported with R&D activities. The R&D management process requires a high level of collaboration and communication between the key stakeholders in organisations. The lack of a well-designed process and insufficient use of appropriate tools account for inefficiencies in R&D management. The objective of this paper is to explore and evaluate visual representations and visual models utilized in current R&D management practice, and to suggest other tools which have potential benefits.