ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1980s, the development of competitive strategies based on intensive innovation has deeply transformed the design of new products and services. Much has been written about new methods and organizations that are likely to develop economically competitive and creative capacities in companies. But much less has been written about the transformation of work and the identity of professionals. These transformations at the core of the design process not only have an impact on new products and services, but also on the actors involved: engineers, industrial designers and researchers, professionals in marketing strategy, and project managers. The work of ‘innovation professionals’ is truly diffi cult to observe because of its very nature (intangible work done over a long period of time), its inaccessibility (we are dealing here with a strategy area that does not readily open itself up to the researchers’ observations), and its status (although the analysis of production line work has a long tradition, from Taylor to ergonomics, the status of the above-mentioned professions has rarely been broached).
