Analysis of traditional product development process compared to design thinking: impacts on practice and teaching

Abstract

This research project, to be carried out at Stanford University, discusses the role of Design Thinking (DT) as product development approach. DT is an emerging approach that is becoming increasingly adopted by companies to create innovative product concepts. Despite encouraging empirical results in the field, however, there are still a number of questions left unanswered about the differentiating aspects of DT as well as the situations in which DT should be employed and their integration in traditional development processes. This project delves into the consequences of DT for product development education, a recent research topic. The objective of this project is to analyze and compare product development approaches - traditional design and DT - focusing on the results of product development generated and on the learning of undergraduate students who are taking courses which adopt these approaches in different ways. Empirical data is gathered from two courses on product development held at the Polytechnic School (POLI) of the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. The project is based on the researcher's existing relationship with the host institution, in projects that resulted in implementation of a prototyping lab and the creation of a new undergraduate course at POLI/USP. The experience at the host institution is required to define the methods for qualitative and quantitative analyses to be applied in the teaching field of product development. Planned outcomes include publication of results and definition of a joint research agenda. (AU)