alt Hacker NewsIsn't design thinking just... thinking? There may be different design methodologies you apply in different domains (e.g. civil, aeronautics, automotive, electronics, software), but once you abstract that away, what you get is thinking. I once attended a design thinking workshop many years ago, and no one there was able to adequately explain what design thinking was, except by means of jargon, metaphor, or example. My understanding of the subject has not advanced much further in the intervening years.
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Well yes, but it is thinking from the other end, usually. The reason why companies may benefit from inviting a designer is that a good designer may both aesthetically and functionally take an entirely new approach from scratch, that has the end user in mind.
This is something certain types of companies and organizationa fail at often, because their daily involvement makws them hyperfocused on certain aspects while they are blind to entire classes of solutions.
That doesn't mean designers can be sprinkeled on every project and drive an evolutionary leap, but it can be a way to explore the solution space.
I got the same reaction from that “how intelligence agencies think” YouTube video. Come now, “situational awareness”? Who needs a conspiracy to pay attention to their environment? And other mental tricks that people who must be told what to do may not come up with for themselves.
Design however is a highly praiseworthy contemplation. There are those who do it well, and those who best learn to rip off what works as faithfully as means allow.