Service Design

Singapore University of Social Sciences

Service Design (DES552)

Synopsis

While user experience design emphasises the interaction between users and products, service design puts human experience at the heart of the design process and takes a broader perspective to look at the full end-to-end journey, including the planning and organising of the infrastructure, human resources, communication, interaction, and processes that stretch across multiple channels and touchpoints. A service designer looks at an experience holistically, maps out all the related aspects that contribute to the experience, and explores possibilities to create memorable, meaningful, and targeted experiences. In DES552 Service Design, students will build the vocabulary of service design, take a human-centred design approach to evaluate, analyse, and document the existing condition of service, and bring together research insights, design, business, and technology to shape the services of the future. Note: DES552 requires research concepts and skills covered in DES541 Design Inquiry: Analysis and Synthesis. Students are required to complete or register for DES541 in the same semester (if available). The coverage of research skills in this course will be brief to give room for more important concepts and topics on service design.

Level: 5
Credit Units: 5
Presentation Pattern: Every semester

Topics

From artefact to service: An overview of the service economy
Service design concepts, terminology, and principles
Measuring and evaluation of services
The core capabilities of service design
Service design process, methods, and tools
Understanding contexts: mapping and blueprinting
Generating service concepts: Service proposition
Minimum viable service: prototype and walkthrough
Touchpoint development: Signpost, set design, and flow evidence
Usability testing: Feedbacks and iterations
Communicating and presenting designs
Service design and its future development

Learning Outcome

Discuss the theoretical and practical understanding of core concepts and principles of service design.
Examine the methodological framework and design methods that support the design and innovation of systems, services, and experiences.
Analyse the role of technology and design in bringing meaningful offerings and service experiences to an intended target group.
Propose an end-to-end process for analysing and crafting complex services.
Evaluate an existing service using the appropriate vocabulary and methods to judge its efficacy and value.
Create a vision for an ideal customer journey, that considers user and business goals.
Plan and execute system mapping, customer journeys, scenarios, service specifications, and service design blueprints.
Formulate and conduct design experiments and usability tests for the service prototypes.
Prepare appropriate design documentation that captures and organises the design inquiry process, rationale and outcome.