Design Thinking Research

The practice of design thinking has become widespread over the last years, and an increasing number of people and institutions have experienced its innovative power. However, the success story of the approach has also meant that the term has evolved into something of an overused, or even misused, buzzword. The demand for an in-depth, evidence-based understanding of the way design thinking works has increased by leaps and bounds. This challenge is addressed by the Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program. Summarizing the outcome of the 11th program year, this book presents a broad range of scientific insights gained by researchers at Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam and Stanford University in California, through their investigations, experiments and studies.

Special emphasis is placed on exploring new approaches to design thinking education, making headway on the goal of the research program, namely to fuel creativity and establish improved content for the teaching and learning of design thinking. This volume also presents a broad range of findings on effective team interaction. Moreover, researchers present their findings on tools that support design thinking practices in addition to application showcases.

The results of this rigorous academic research are not meant to be discussed exclusively within the scientific community. The findings will hopefully find their way to those who seek to support innovation through collaboration, be it in businesses or in society.