Design Thinking Research

This book summarizes the results of Design Thinking Research carried out at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA and Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany. The authors offer readers a closer look at Design Thinking with its processes of innovations and methods. The contents of the articles range from how to design ideas, methods and technologies via creativity experiments and wicked problem solutions, to creative collaboration in the real world and the connectivity of designers and engineers. But the topics go beyond this in their detailed exploration of design thinking and its use in IT systems engineering fields and even from a management perspective. The authors show how these methods and strategies work in companies, introduce new technologies and their functions and demonstrate how Design Thinking can influence as diverse a topic area as marriage. Furthermore, we see how special design thinking use functions in solving wicked problems in complex fields. Thinking and creating innovations are basically and inherently human – so is Design Thinking. Due to this, Design Thinking is not only a factual matter or a result of special courses nor of being gifted or trained: it’s a way of dealing with our environment and improving techniques, technologies and life.

This book summarizes the results of the third year in the Design Thinking Research Program, a joint venture of Stanford University in Palo Alto and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam. Understanding the evolution of innovation, and how to measure the performance of the design thinking teams behind innovations, is the central motivation behind the research work presented in this book. Addressing these fundamental concerns, all of the contributions in this volume report on different approaches and research efforts aimed at obtaining deeper insights into and a better understanding of how design thinking transpires. In highly creative ways, different experiments were conceived and undertaken with this goal in mind, and the results achieved were analyzed and discussed to shed new light on the focus areas. We hope that our readers enjoy this discourse on design thinking and its diverse impacts. Besides looking forward to receiving your critical feedback, we also hope that when reading these reports you too will get caught up in the fun our research teams had in carrying out the work they are based on: understanding innovation and how design thinking fosters it, which was the motivation for all the research work that is reported on in this book.

Extensive research conducted by the Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA, and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, has yielded valuable insights on why and how design thinking works. The participating researchers have identified metrics, developed models, and conducted studies, which are featured in this book, and in the previous volumes of this series. This volume provides readers with tools to bridge the gap between research and practice in design thinking with varied real world examples. Several different approaches to design thinking are presented in this volume. Acquired frameworks are leveraged to understand design thinking team dynamics. The contributing authors lead the reader through new approaches and application fields and show that design thinking can tap the potential of digital technologies in a human-centered way. In a final section, new ideas in neurodesign at Stanford University and at Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam are elaborated upon thereby challenging the reader to consider newly developed methodologies and provide discussion of how these insights can be applied to various sectors. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the mechanisms underlying design thinking at the individual and team levels. Design thinking can be learned. It has a methodology that can be observed across multiple settings and accordingly, the reader can adopt new frameworks to modify and update existing practice. The research outcomes compiled in this book are intended to inform and provide inspiration for all those seeking to drive innovation – be they experienced design thinkers or newcomers.

Design thinking as a user-centric innovation method has become more and more widespread during the past years. An increasing number of people and institutions have experienced its innovative power. While at the same time the demand has grown for a deep, evidence-based understanding of the way design thinking functions. This challenge is addressed by the Design Thinking Research Program between Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA and Hasso Plattner Institute, Potsdam, Germany. Summarizing the outcomes of the 5th program year, this book imparts the scientific findings gained by the researchers through their investigations, experiments and studies. The method of design thinking works when applied with diligence and insight. With this book and the underlying research projects, we aim to understand the innovation process of design thinking and the people behind it. The contributions ultimately center on the issue of building innovators. The focus of the investigation is on what people are doing and thinking when engaged in creative design innovation and how their innovation work can be supported. Therefore, within three topic areas, various frameworks, methodologies, mind sets, systems and tools are explored and further developed. The book begins with an assessment of crucial factors for innovators such as empathy and creativity, the second part addresses the improvement of team collaboration and finally we turn to specific tools and approaches which ensure information transfer during the design process. All in all, the contributions shed light and show deeper insights how to support the work of design teams in order to systematically and successfully develop innovations and design progressive solutions for tomorrow.

This book summarizes the results of Design Thinking Research Program at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany. Offering readers a closer look at design thinking, its innovation processes and methods, it covers topics ranging from how to design ideas, methods and technologies, to creativity experiments and creative collaboration in the real world, and the interplay between designers and engineers. But the topics go beyond this in their detailed exploration of design thinking and its use in IT systems engineering fields, and even from a management perspective. The authors show how these methods and strategies actually work in companies, and introduce new technologies and their functions. Furthermore, readers learn how special-purpose design thinking can be used to solve thorny problems in complex fields. Thinking and devising innovations are fundamentally and inherently human activities – so is design thinking. Accordingly, design thinking is not merely the result of special courses nor of being gifted or trained: it’s a way of dealing with our environment and improving techniques, technologies and life. This edition offers a historic perspective on the theoretical foundations of design thinking. Within the four topic areas, various frameworks, methodologies, mindsets, systems and tools are explored and further developed. The first topic area focuses on team interaction, while the second part addresses tools and techniques for productive collaboration. The third section explores new approaches to teaching and enabling creative skills and lastly the book examines how design thinking is put into practice. All in all, the contributions shed light and provide deeper insights into how to support the collaboration of design teams in order to systematically and successfully develop innovations and design progressive solutions for tomorrow.

Extensive research conducted by the Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA, and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, has yielded valuable insights on why and how design thinking works. The participating researchers have identified metrics, developed models, and conducted studies, which are featured in this book, and in the previous volumes of this series. This volume provides readers with tools to bridge the gap between research and practice in design thinking with varied real world examples. Several different approaches to design thinking are presented in this volume. Acquired frameworks are leveraged to understand design thinking team dynamics. The contributing authors lead the reader through new approaches and application fields and show that design thinking can tap the potential of digital technologies in a human-centered way. In a final section, new ideas in neurodesign at Stanford University and at Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam are elaborated upon thereby challenging the reader to consider newly developed methodologies and provide discussion of how these insights can be applied to various sectors. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the mechanisms underlying design thinking at the individual and team levels. Design thinking can be learned. It has a methodology that can be observed across multiple settings and accordingly, the reader can adopt new frameworks to modify and update existing practice. The research outcomes compiled in this book are intended to inform and provide inspiration for all those seeking to drive innovation – be they experienced design thinkers or newcomers.

This book presents the full scope of Design Thinking in theory and practice, bringing together prominent opinion leaders and experienced practitioners who share their insights, approaches and lessons learned. As Design Thinking is gaining popularity in the context of innovation and information management, the book elaborates the specific interpretations and meanings of the concept in different fields including engineering, management, and information technology. As such, it offers students and professionals a sourcebook revealing the power of Design Thinking, while providing academics a roadmap for further research.

“Everybody loves an innovation, an idea that sells.“ But how do we arrive at such ideas that sell? And is it possible to learn how to become an innovator? Over the years Design Thinking – a program originally developed in the engineering department of Stanford University and offered by the two D-schools at the Hasso Plattner Institutes in Stanford and in Potsdam – has proved to be really successful in educating innovators. It blends an end-user focus with multidisciplinary collaboration and iterative improvement to produce innovative products, systems, and services. Design Thinking creates a vibrant interactive environment that promotes learning through rapid conceptual prototyping. In 2008, the HPI-Stanford Design Thinking Research Program was initiated, a venture that encourages multidisciplinary teams to investigate various phenomena of innovation in its technical, business, and human aspects. The researchers are guided by two general questions: 1. What are people really thinking and doing when they are engaged in creative design innovation? How can new frameworks, tools, systems, and methods augment, capture, and reuse successful practices? 2. What is the impact on technology, business, and human performance when design thinking is practiced? How do the tools, systems, and methods really work to get the innovation you want when you want it? How do they fail? In this book, the researchers take a system’s view that begins with a demand for deep, evidence-based understanding of design thinking phenomena. They continue with an exploration of tools which can help improve the adaptive expertise needed for design thinking. The final part of the book concerns design thinking in information technology and its relevance for business process modeling and agile software development, i.e. real world creation and deployment of products, services, and enterprise systems.