Study of design thinking and software engineering integration in education and training

Abstract

Integrating design thinking (DT) with software engineering (SE) is widely applied in industry, serving as a reference for SE in education and training. The industry has various integration models, but researchers and educators mainly adapt them for education. A clear understanding of DT-SE integration models is essential to figuring out their implementation. This study examines existing DT-SE integration models, challenges, and integration methods using Kitchenham’s framework in education and training. The paper was collected from ScienceDirect, IEEEXplore, Scopus, ACM, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar, yielding 593 initial publications, with 43 selected for in-depth analysis. Findings indicate that the d.school model is the most widely adopted DT model. Key challenges include team dynamics, process management, complexity, and cultural factors. DT is integrated into requirements engineering (RE) due to its user-centered nature, though only two studies explicitly describe DT-SE integration models, both applied early in SE processes. These findings suggest educational practices align with industry trends in model adoption and integration focus. Educators and practitioners can use these insights to design or adapt integration models suitable for education and training by shaping curricula that emphasize user-centered design, collaboration, and the extension of DT practices beyond RE-strengthening its impact for education and training.