Innovation Model at Volvo CE and its Relevance
“Innovation Model at Volvo CE and its Relevance” is a research project I worked on in the winter of 2019 during my semester exchange at Mälardalen University in Sweden. This project was done in collaboration with the Innovation Specialist at Volvo CE, Amanda Hagman and teammates Pablo Lastanao and Sven Haehner. We conducted a pre-study to understand the Innovation Model, evaluated its relevance and formulated a proposal for research design as the next step to develop a relevant Innovation Model.
The Challenge
The Volvo CE Innovation Model consisting of the nine essential factors to enable innovative capability was formulated in 2010. As it has been ten years since its adoption, it becomes necessary to understand its meaning and relevance in the context of 2020, and look how it needs to be shaped for the future.
My Role
The information shared by Volvo and work done on this project is covered by an NDA, so I cannot give out any details of the project.
My role as the designer on the team (both my teammates had backgrounds in computer science) included:
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Investigating the challenge by mapping the Innovation Model using different tools to understand the gaps, forming discussion guides to conduct interviews with the team at Volvo and conducting interviews,
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Situating the problem and defining the scope,
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Conducting literature review and competitor analysis,
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Ideating and formulating the direction for research design
Pablo, Sven and I worked collaboratively, discussing our perspectives to make informed decisions at every stage.
Some Reflections
It was an intense project with so many things packed into a short timeline of 2 months. I learnt a lot about research methodologies, working on an industry project and collaborating with people from different backgrounds. It was a wholesome experience!