Topic outline

  • Service Design Project Course

    Service Design Project Course 4 ECTS

    Responsible teacher: Helena Sustar, @helena.sustar, helena.sustar@aalto.fi   

    Where: Väre Building, Otaniementie 14, Espoo

    Room: Q103

    Course term: 11 lectures

    Time: 13.02. - 24.04.2018

    Days: Wednesday 17:30 - 20:30

    Workload: 108 hours: 40 hours: contact hours / 68 hours: Independent work

    Note: Course requires group work outside of the contact hours and therefore you might find it demanding.   

    Grading: 0-5

    Course Language: English (Finish)

    Twitter: #AaltoOpenSD

     

    Note! Course certificates 

    For grading results and course certificates please contact Mr Heikki Hassi at heikki.hassi@aalto.fi  

    or visit  Certificates and transcripts of records - in English: http://avoin.aalto.fi/en/studies/certificates/ 

    Todistukset ja opintosuoritusotteet - in Finnish: http://avoin.aalto.fi/fi/studies/certificates/

     

    Course Description

    The main aim of this course is a student’s ability to utilise individual service design expertise in practical development and innovation project. The student understands service characteristics and knows how to take these into account when redesigning or developing new service design concepts. Students get familiar with service design process model and utilising appropriate service design tools at a certain stage of service design development. A student demonstrates an application of service design knowledge on the practical project of selected services by proposing service design improvements.


    Content and Structure

    The course structure supports student learning and gaining service design skills in several different ways. Students are encouraged to examine selected service project themes holistically from the complex systemic level, fragmented service providers, up to individual service user. Students examine service providers’ perspective as well as user side, doing that by adopting different service design tools like stakeholders map, workshop, interview, online survey, customer service journey, scenario and personas. Students had the opportunity to visit service design agency, attend service design event and listen to academic and industry related guest speakers. Last but not least students reflect on their project work progress, teacher and guest lectures, and design agency visit.  

     

    Learning Outcomes

    •    Adopt advance service design tools in the practical service design project

    ·       Familiarise with specific service design literature related to selected service design project topic and advance service design tools  

    •    Independently design, develop, plan, prepare and facilitate a workshop

    •    Critically reflect on group service design project progress, learning, lectures, visits and project theme.   

    ·       Present and argue final project service design solution

    ·       Practice ethical procedures


    Individual lectures descriptions 

    Lecture 1: Course introduction & Project themes       Wednesday 13.02.

    The first lecture consists of two parts: course introduction and project themes outline. The first part starts with introducing the course technicalities, practicalities and course content. Following, requirements for the individual and group work; important dates related to course deliverables comprising of the Midterm and the Final presentation as well as an independent workshop. Introduction lecture also instructs on how to write a learning blog and critically reflect on course content. The first part concludes on how students will be assessed. In the second part of the lecture, four different projects’ themes are presented including project opportunities, challenge and project goals. Each project is supported with adequate supporting literature. This part of the lecture concludes with team building exercise.   

    A practical implication of an SD tool: Provotype

    Reading 1 

    - Hodgson, A., & Midgley, G. (2015, January). Bringing foresight into systems thinking: a three horizon approach. In Proceedings of the 58th Annual Meeting of the ISSS-2014 United States (Vol. 1, No. 1).

    - K. Benifand, N. Ahmed, R. Church (2014) Re-imagining the Future: The Biomimetic Economy

    Homework 1

    1.     Create a provotype for your project service design solution. This can be a simple artefact, prototype, game, scenario. You can play it out using role-playing.  

    2.     Be prepared to present your provotype in a 5 min presentation.

    3. Research the field of your assigned project.  

     

    Lecture 2: Understand the bigger picture                     Wednesday 20.02.

    This lecture concerns planning the initial part of the project however seeing it as a part of a bigger picture. Lecture on systemic design will be given explaining what the systemic design is and presenting its use in a case. Then will follow the first exploration of your project theme by exploring future trends adopting three horizons exercise.  

    A practical implication of an SD tool: Three horizons (3H)

      

    Lecture 3: Frame your project focus                              Wednesday 27.02.

    At this lecture, Project 1 will present their case analysis and deliver their workshop. After that, we will play the board planning game called ATLAS game. The game enables service designers and professionals to plan service co-development projects and it can be used as a tool for learning about service co-development methods. The game permits players to study and discuss their own real-life problems in the game setting, analyze their project's issues and identify appropriate participants and methods.  

    A practical implication of an SD tool: ATLAS game + Clarifying Priorities & Master Canvas by Peloton   

     

    Lecture 4: Lecture on Ethics                                         Wednesday 06.03.

    At this lecture will be given a short talk on design ethics covering how to write consent forms and information sheet. After the lecture will be time for mentoring of individual groups. 

    Homework 2  

    1. Prepare Consent form & Information Sheet for your data collection or co-design activity. 

    For examples see My Courses. 

     

    Lecture 5: Rethinking & User study action                    Wednesday 13.03.

    At this lecture Project 2 group will be presenting their case analysis and deliver their workshop. After that will be time for the group work, tutoring and adopting Value Mapping and Evidence Planning tools by Peloton.  

    A practical implication of an SD tool: Value Mapping and Evidence Planning by Peloton 

     

    Lecture 6       Midterm presentation                               Wednesday 20.03.

    The first part of this lecture is dedicated to mid-term projects presentations, projects’ evaluations, feedback and discussions. Feedback will be peer to peer-assisted in addition to responsible teacher feedback. The second part of the will concern lecture titled “What makes a good workshop?" where will be disused issues that we have to take in account before the workshop, during the workshop and after the workshop.  

    A practical implication of an SD tool: Workshop template & Mapping our workshop actions exercise  

     

    Lecture 7       Developing New ideas                                Wednesday 27.03.

    At this session Project 3 will have the opportunity to present their case analysis and deliver their workshop. After that will be time for the group work and tutoring.

    A practical implication of an SD tool: Ideation tool by Futurice

     

    Lecture 8       Visualisation and prototyping                 Wednesday 03.04.

    At this lecture, the Project 4 opportunity will have the opportunity to present their case and conduct the workshop. After that will follow the lecture on Prototyping Services.

    A practical implication of an SD tool: Fake advertisement by Futurice

    Reading 3

    Camburn, B., Viswanathan, V., Linsey, J., Anderson, D., Jensen, D., Crawford, R., ... & Wood, K. (2017). Design prototyping methods: state of the art in strategies, techniques, and, guidelines. Design Science, 3.

    Task: Write on a blog ½ page plan on how you are planning to prototype your service design concepts. 


    Lecture 9            Guest lecture (to be announced)                 Wednesday 10.04.

    This is a guest lecture. The rest of the time will be dedicated to group work and tutoring.

    A practical implication of an SD tool: proposed by guest lecturer 

     

    Lecture 10     Visit at selected service design agency         Wednesday 17.04.

    This lecture is dedicated to visiting a design agency. 


     

    Lecture 11     Finalising                                                           Wednesday 24.04.

    At this last lecture, each group will have the opportunity to present their Final projects’ service design solution and get feedback, which will be peer to peer-assisted, in addition to responsible teacher feedback.

     

    Assessment

    The final grade is created from sub-grades:

    1.    Use of Service Design Tools in the project (20%);

    2.    Case analysis session and Workshop (10%);

    3.    Service design solution (50%);

    4.    Learning blog (20%).

    5.    Participants need also attend the course at least 80%.

     

    Group work

    1.    Presenting the case analysis and conduct a workshop

    2.    Mid-term project presentation 

    3.    Final presentation

     

    Individual work

    1.    Contributing to questions, discussion, and reading the relevant literature. 

    2.    Writing weekly learning blog

    3.    Working on the project

     

    Study material

    Each group had specifically assigned the reading material.