Tools and Services is a category where I share basic information about the tools and services I use, both personally and professionally, and provide detailed elaborations when necessary.
The main motivation behind this approach is that many of the needs behind various ideas remain unclear and/or the business processes are executed in a more problematic manner than required. In both cases, elements that negatively affect both employee and customer experiences are present. Problems encountered may appear unique in the context of country, culture, or other contextual factors. However, it is important not to consider this as a misrepresentation. In reality, for most problems, there exist just as many, if not more, viable or at least fundamental solution approaches as there are problems themselves.
Service Design
Service Design refers to the process of examining an organization’s resources—assuming that the value of its assets and resources is entirely equivalent—and improving, developing, or enhancing the customer (direct employees/internal customers and indirectly, end users) experience. Of course, the term “customer” should also include employees (internal customers). The term Service Design was first used in 1982 by G. Lynn Shostack. As a senior executive assistant at a bank, Shostack regarded service design as part of marketing and management disciplines; however, in subsequent years, the term acquired various academic perspectives and sector-specific meanings1 2 3.
Service Blueprint
Shostack defines the service design process as the need to map the sequence and core functions of events occurring within a service in an objective and clear manner. The mapped process can be formalized and codified into a system known as a “service blueprint” 4. Service blueprint is an extension of a user journey map and this document/codification specifies all interactions a user has with an organization throughout their user lifecycle 1 5 6 7.
Principles of Service Design
Service design can be approached based on different principles and methodologies, depending on documentation and implementation requirements 1. As a result of conceptual and functional developments in service design over time, the following six principles have emerged:
Human-centered (Human-centered):
The experience of all individuals interacting with the service must be the foundation.
Collaborative (Collaborative):
All stakeholders with diverse expertise and capabilities (e.g., expertise, experience, etc.) must actively participate in the service design process.
Iterative (Iterative):
Service design is an iterative, exploratory, adaptable, and experimental approach focused on implementation.
Sequential (Sequential):
The service must be visualized and managed as a sequence of interrelated actions.
Real (True) : Needs should be investigated based on actual conditions, ideas should be prototyped towards real needs8, and the physical or digital validity of intangible values must be demonstrated.
Holistic (Whole) : Services must meet the needs of all stakeholders across the entire service structure and organizational environment in a sustainable manner.
Relationship Between Service Design and Product Design
Service design refers to the entire process, from start to finish, of a product or service. However, it is not the product itself. Rather, it represents a series of actions performed. Therefore, service design is broken down into components and presented as solutions tailored to the needs of all users, depending on actors, locations, and other factors9 10 6.
- The service design process begins with identifying and analyzing needs. The analysis process should be objective and, whenever possible, detailed.
- Following the analysis phase, an exploration phase is conducted. During this exploration phase, all research, internal insights, and stakeholder feedback are evaluated. Identifying problems is part of the exploration process.
- Solutions to problems must be actionable and grounded in objective reasons.
- The evaluation process is an optional step that may be repeated several times if necessary and tested by users. Continuous improvement and development should be implemented to achieve a successful customer (including employees) experience.
Based on the above explanations: a bicycle is a product. However, within a bicycle rental service provided by municipalities or private companies, the bicycle will become an asset. In addition to the bicycle, the application used by the company or municipality to access the relevant vehicle is also a product 7. Thus, there may be numerous products, touchpoints, and interaction points layered within the service, depending on the situation 11. If instead of municipalities or private companies, peer-to-peer (P2P) vehicle rental services are considered, then both the renter and the renter will become customers in different contexts. Products may vary depending on the situation, and each product may be experienced as part of the service. However, in order to address the contextual needs of designers, users, and/or customers, the service providers and service recipients must fully examine these types of relationships from start to finish. In such a case, brand expectations can become effective and sustainable, and solutions tailored to the needs of users and/or customers can be provided 9 10 12.
Key Points
The following key points must be considered for a service design process to be successfully implemented 9:
- Actors: (staff providing the service, stakeholders, etc.)
- Location: (touchpoints where the customer accesses the service; website, mobile app, etc.)
- Props: (physical objects or vehicles used during access to the service)
- Associates: (other organizations involved in the service delivery or provision; logistics, security, etc.)
- Processes: (workflows used to deliver the service)
Service Blueprints: Definition](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/service-blueprints-definition/?target=_blank&rel=noopener,noreferrer)
Footnotes
- Service design. Wikipedia ↩ ↩2 ↩3
- Chi Pham. (2016). What’s Service Design? And Why Does it Matter? ↩
- Sarah Gibbonson. (2017). What Is a Service? ↩
- [Sarah Gibbons. (2017). ↩
- The Principles of Service Design Thinking - Building Better Services. Interaction Design Foundation ↩
- Yakup Bayrak. (2018). Servis tasarımının önlenemez yükselişi ↩ ↩2
- Service Design Tools. sdt ↩ ↩2
- Alper Gökalp. (2018). İnsan odaklı tasarımın temeli: İhtiyaç Tespiti (Needfinding) ↩
- What is Service Design? Interaction Design Foundation ↩ ↩2 ↩3
- Beylem Cindoğlu. (2018). Servis Tasarımı 101: Daha iyi servisler kurgularken bilmeniz gerekenler ↩ ↩2
- Product-Service Hybrids – When Products and Services Become One. Interaction Design Foundation ↩
- Göksu Kaçaroglu. (2019). Servis Tasarımı Üzerine ↩