Wicked Problems need WKID Innovation: Innovation as a Process to Develop a Disruptive Technology Product

NOW PUBLISHED IN _RESEARCH-TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT_, HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1080/08956308.2022.1994249 [https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2022.1994249] Wicked problems result from complex systems and often have no single solution. WKID Innovation is a framework to tack wicked problems and is modeled after NASA’s science system engineering. NASA is a leader creating disruptive technologies that alter the way that people, companies, or industries operate. It has been pioneering innovation to advance human knowledge since 1958 engineering the first human landing on the moon, successfully landing rovers on Mars, and leaving our solar system, literally going where no man has gone before. NASA drives innovation to new frontiers in our galaxy and beyond, while also collecting accurate, reliable Earth observations that change the way we live our life in the day to day. WKID Innovation is a framework to scale NASA processes for innovation, specifically by using the knowledge hierarchy to bridge design thinking and complex systems science to system engineer and manage disruptive innovation. Keywords: innovation; NASA; information technology; process; wicked problem