Tackling Complex Innovation Challenges with the Design Challenge Navigator

Societal and technological developments in recent decades have led to increasingly complex innovation challenges that require interventions at the product and service level as well as at the organizational and systemic level. While innovation educators have several proven approaches for teaching product and service design processes at their disposal, there is currently a lack of training resources to teach future professionals how to address complex systemic challenges. We introduce the Design Challenge Navigator – an innovative toolkit with more than 40 methods that enables future professionals to assess the complexity of innovation challenges and adapt their design processes accordingly. Our analysis of the navigator’s practical application is based on feedback from students of diverse academic levels, including those in bachelor’s, master’s, and executive MBA programs. This submission provides insights into the navigator’s practical application across various projects and reflects on the successes, hurdles, and learnings encountered.