The phrase "a key step in developing" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing an important phase or action in a process of creation or improvement.
Example: "Conducting thorough research is a key step in developing a successful marketing strategy."
Alternatives: "an essential part of creating" or "a crucial phase in building".
Dr. Kashiwadani believes this new insight is a key step in developing lavender-derived compounds like linalool for clinical use in humans.
Identifying the aspects of a service that are most likely to intensify negative emotions is a key step in developing a strategy to minimize those emotions.
She hoped to create a map of the target on the virus where antibodies need to attack – a key step in developing a vaccine.
The advent of next-generation sequencing methods will permit a more detailed and complete map of disease genetic architecture, a key step in developing personalized medicine strategies in the clinical management of the complex inflammatory dermatoses.
This chapter suggests expanding the research on interrelations among climate change, cities, culture, and the way climate change influences participants' thermal, emotional, and perceptual well-being in public spaces as a key step in developing contextual design codes for outdoor public spaces.
By considering instead where similar faunas can be found, Wallace took a key step in developing his theory of evolution.
Taking the above into consideration, the effective production of TAT-Apoptin protein using a prokaryotic system is a crucial key step in developing this protein drug as an anti-tumor therapy.
The key step in developing models is the selection of an informative and representative dataset.
For the Dutch researchers, the key step in developing the bacteria-fighting tooth was being able to find the right material to put inside the 3D printer.
For the Dutch researchers, the key step in developing the bacteria-fighting tooth was being able to find the right material to put inside the 3-D printer.
Taking notes is the key step in developing continuity in relationships when weeks or months go by between contact.
