Design Thinking Research: Taking Breakthrough Innovation Home

This book summarizes the results of Design Thinking Research carried out at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA and at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany. Offering readers a closer look at Design Thinking, its innovation processes and methods, the book covers topics ranging from how to design ideas, methods and technologies, to creativity experiments and wicked problem solutions, to creative collaboration in the real world, and the interplay 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, or even from a management perspective. The authors show how these methods and strategies actually work in companies, introduce new technologies and their functions, and demonstrate how Design Thinking can influence such unexpected topics as marriage. Furthermore, readers will learn how special-purpose Design Thinking can be used to solve wicked 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. 

In a very unique way, design thinking enables teams and organizations to find completely novel solutions to even complex challenges and to become sustainably innovative. The desire to understand the reason for this effect and to improve our knowledge about innovation drives the HPI Stanford Design Thinking Research Program. Since 2008 scientists from the Hasso Plattner Institute and Stanford University have engaged in multifaceted research projects to find out more about the underlying principles of this method and how and why it works. The outcomes of their studies, experiments, and investigations in the 7^th program year have again been compiled and are presented in this book.

Special emphasis is placed on exploring how design thinking is applied in practice. This book presents insights from studies and real-world investigations. Research also focuses on design processes with regard to the rising importance of human-technology interaction that comes with technological progress. The third part of this publication compiles findings about prototyping―a core element in design thinking. Finally, design thinking education and training is addressed, presenting promising new approaches and tools.

Meaningful insights have been gained by applying rigorous academic methods. And they are not only intended for scientific discourse. Instead they provide guidance and inspiration for all practitioners interested in really comprehending innovation.  As we gain a deeper understanding of design innovation processes, the probability of breakthrough innovation increases.