[fishtank]

Basically: research, hypothesize, prototype, test, iterate, deliver. It's not new, but here we are with new terminology.

It is good because if you're a design firm you sometimes need an HBR-approved buzzword to get your client, the VP of Marketing, to let you do any kind of user research. But ultimately, like any business concept used primarily to sell in client work and justify it up the ladder, it will be replaced by "whatever the stakeholder wants" when push comes to shove.

[byandyphillips]

Sorry, but you completely missed the mark on this one. Are you in UX or have you led design thinking sessions? It's successful because the product stops being something the designer created and starts being a product the whole team created. It gives everyone, no matter your role, a voice in the product and the creativity to build what you think the product should be.

[jonshariat]

It also centers the process, meaning how problems and solutions are validated, on your users.

[virgilp]

How's that different than "lean startup" ?

[fsloth]

If you are working for an established consultancy and selling for example a marketing project to a large incumbent I don't really think there is obvious place to sell you services using the term "startup".