Understanding the role of design thinking methods and tools in innovation process

This paper presents the results of an ongoing qualitative study with employees working with innovation in a Scandinavian company. Using Design Thinking as an approach, the paper analyses how different tools are used to initiate innovation processes. Issues like innovation drivers, team structure, creativity, information flow among teams, usefulness and challenges of using the methods and tools are discussed. The role of different design tools in innovation processes opens the discussion for possible future directions. The results suggest that many methods and tools could generate value in regards with the innovation processes, while there are many challenges that need to be considered. The findings could be beneficial primarily for companies that facilitate DT methods, designers, developers, managers and other involved members in innovation activities could gain insights on how to implement DT methods and tools.