Design Thinking Techniques Selection in Software Development: On the Understanding of Designers and Software Engineers Choices

Design Thinking (DT) is a concept that promises increased innovativeness through a more user-centered approach. DT offers a mindset, working spaces, and techniques to support the generation of ideas and transform those into solutions. However, the selection of DT techniques is a complex endeavor since it needs to take into account the problem context and nature, user profile, among other characteristics. In addition, little is known about how do professionals make their selection. This paper reports on a focus group study with professionals working in software development. We used the Cynefin framework combined with the Double Diamond model to explore the process of selection of DT techniques for hypothetical scenarios. We found that the professionals need to respect the default domain to set their strategies and allow insights to emerge.