Design Thinking for Product-Service Systems Design

Human-centred approaches to problem-solving have gained significant popularity in recent years. Among them, Design Thinking (DT) has received widespread attention, particularly through the work of design firms like IDEO and the Stanford d.school. Needfinding, idea generation, and prototyping techniques have often been applied to design Product-Service Systems (PSS) ‘experiences’, where tangible products and intangible services are integrated to design value-adding solutions for customers and users. Yet, the literature does not fully explain how the DT body of knowledge can effectively be applied to intentionally design PSS in different contexts. This chapter reviews existing literature on the usage of the DT method and tools in PSS design, presenting a list of recommendations that emerged from applying DT in co-production mode with companies in the Swedish manufacturing sector.