This is an introduction to the special issue of California Management Review on Design Thinking (DT). This special issue joins the growing body of work exploring the idea of DT and whether DT makes a difference in terms enhancing or augmenting the impact of technology-and, as a result, innovation-in a positive way. We have chosen an interesting, relevant, and useful array of papers that provide different approaches, views, and interpretations of applied design thinking. These articles provide both management and scholarly readers with insights in how DT is used, as well as its impact and usefulness in a variety of contexts.

Design thinking is gaining widespread attention in the practitioner and academic literature. Successful implementation has been documented, and its value shown in empirical studies. There is little examination, however, of how design thinking practices fit with other approaches from which firms might choose to frame and solve problems such as agile, lean startup, scientific method, Six Sigma, critical thinking, and systems thinking. By digging into the basic capabilities underlying design thinking, academic researchers might better understand problem framing and solving in general and provide insight for practitioners as to where alternative approaches might be applied.

Technology is rapidly changing, and customers are seeking not just products and services but experiences. Traditional approaches to strategic planning using product and technology roadmaps are no longer sufficient. This article describes the emergence of what the authors call "design roadmapping" approaches that are grounded in the creation of customer experiences, and which drive the choices of features, functionality, and technology. Design roadmapping provides stability for the future, even as technologies are changing, and keeps organizations more focused on the customers they are serving.

The traditional linear and analytic problem-solving processes to which business leaders have become accustomed-from quality management to Six Sigma-rarely open up the variety of different 'frames' that the more exploratory approaches from the realm of Design Thinking can. The authors show that sometimes-and more frequently than ever these days-we need many different frames around a problem in order to see the many different possible solutions. They describe four elements of the skill of framing and 're-framing' a problem, and show how together, they enable you to 'create a new story' on behalf of your customer.

There is a generic innovation process, grounded in models of how people learn, that can be applied across multiple sectors. It can be applied to the design and development of both hardware and software products, to the design of business models and services, to the design of organizations and how they work, and to the design of the buildings and spaces in which work takes place or within which companies interact with their customers. Describes such a model of innovation, grounding it in learning models and developing its implications for understanding, implementing, and engaging in the innovation process. Focuses on the value and functions of multifaceted innovation teams, notes the difficulties inherent in innovation efforts, shows where some of the pitfalls are for organizations attempting to innovate, and emphasizes the need to be flexible and adaptive in using the innovation process.

The nature of work is changing: it is more global, more team-based, and increasingly dependent on information technology. Academic researchers have examined the effect of these changes upon organizational management, technologies, and cultures, but little attention has been paid to the physical environment in which such work is done. Managers, meanwhile, are struggling to cope with the many challenges of designing workspaces to best meet the needs of their organizations, employees, and other stakeholders. This introduction to the special issue builds on existing research in workplace design to put forth a model that describes the various influences and tensions encountered in workplace design. It highlights the theoretical gaps where additional work is needed to understand the role of, and choices made in, workplace design for organizational performance. In the process, it emphasizes the contributions of the seven articles in this special issue.