Design Boost: método para construção de competências de design orientadas à inovação organizacional

Abstract

This thesis addresses the importance and necessity of empowering professionals with design skills so that they may contribute to building more innovative, adaptable, and competitive companies. The resultant method from this thesis, named 'Design Boost,' is directed towards strategic design consultants, innovation leaders, and professionals aiming to foster a design culture within their organizations. In this work, promoting this culture initiates the individual development of each collaborator through teaching and learning skills characteristic of the field. Through a comprehensive literature review on design, six competencies for effective organizational innovation were identified, named by the author as Reflexivity, Creativity, Experimentation, Empathy, Systemicity, and Meaning Production. Thus, the primary goal of the method is to equip organizations seeking innovation with an educational resource focused on their employees' development, empowering them with design knowledge, skills, and atitudes. To achieve this, the method was structured into four straightforward and objective stages: Diagnosis, Planning, Training, and Evaluation. Each stage is designed to address specific design competency development needs, emphasizing meaningful and practical learning. As support for implementing the method, dynamics and tools were proposed and developed to build each of the design competencies aimed at organizational innovation. This method was developed, tested, and refined in a real business context during action research. Its contribution lies in the field of strategic design, innovation, and corporate education, providing an approach for developing design competencies in non-designers. Through Design Boost, organizations can strengthen their innovation capacity and promote a design culture that drives success in a dynamic and highly competitive business environment.