CTO STRAIGHT TALK | ISSUE 3 "Design thinking" refers to a specific version of customer-centric product development, though the term itself dates back to a 1987 book on architecture and urban planning. The precepts, however, predate that publication. Robert McKim of Stanford University's School of Engineering introduced an iterative design process that included "express, test, cycle" in 1973. Engineer Rolf Faste expanded on that approach and developed design-thinking courses at Stanford in the �80s and �90s. And Palo Alto-based design and consulting firm IDEO (launched by another Stanford faculty member) built a thriving business helping companies apply design thinking- which IDEO defines as "a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success"-to product and service development. 11