The correct answer is A. Needfinding research — to find a good problem opportunity for the team to work on. In innovation management and design thinking practices emphasized in Global Innovation Institute learning topics, innovation should begin with a deep understanding of user needs, market gaps, and unmet problems. When a team receives an open charter , it means the team has not yet been given a specific problem to solve. Therefore, the first responsibility of the Project Leader is to guide the team through needfinding and insight discovery .

Needfinding research involves observing customers, interviewing stakeholders, studying behaviors, and identifying pain points or unmet needs. This stage helps teams uncover meaningful opportunities that can lead to valuable innovation outcomes. By focusing on real problems rather than starting with technologies or internal assumptions, organizations increase the chances that their innovations will deliver real impact and value. ????

Options B and D focus on technology-driven exploration, which can lead to solutions without clearly defined problems. Option C focuses only on internal inefficiencies, which is typically associated with operational improvement rather than broader innovation opportunity discovery. Needfinding ensures innovation begins with insight, empathy, and validated opportunity spaces , which aligns strongly with GInI innovation and design thinking principles. ????