AMUO-C3006 - Basics of Service Design, 08.01.2019-26.02.2019
This course space end date is set to 26.02.2019 Search Courses: AMUO-C3006
Homework and the Final Assignment
Homework and the final assignment
Homework and the final assignment will enable you to create Service Design Portfolio, which you can use after the course ending and when get challenged with service design projects.
Note: Homework instructions
- Submit your homework as a one PDF or Word document (Please do not use Power Point)
- Avoid heavy graphics e.g. pre designed templates in Power Point
- Typography: Use Ariel, size 11 or 12
Homework 0: Pre-readings before the course start on 8th of January.
Please read the following 2 texts (see below).
You will find PDF’s at the bottom of the page Materials > Reading Material & Questions
1. Before reading these two papers have look slides How to read an academic article, which you will find in Materials.
2. Have look at first the question that you need to answer, than read the text.
1. Mager Birgit (2009) Service Design as Emerging Field, in Designing Services with Innovative methods: Perspectives on Service Design, Ed. Satu Miettinen, Mikko Koivisto, pp. 28-43
Answer the Question: Question: What are for you 3 the most important statements about service design?
2. Kimbell, L., (2011) Designing For Service As One Way Of Designing Services. International Journal of Design, no. 5, vol. 2.
Answer the Question: What are the main differences between company A, B and C in their service design process? (List 3)
Task: Write down terminology that you did not understand.
Bring answers and the task with you at the first lecture on 8th of January.
Homework 1: Observations, due to Monday 14th of January at 23:00
Individually or in pairs
Shadowing / Observation
Shadowing is contextualised information about how, when and why peoples' action is needed to generate an understanding of the human needs, and to generate meaningful insights for innovation. Traditional observations or diary studies do not provide the same depth of contextual information or detail about the purpose that can be achieved through the shadowing method (Wood & Lewis, 2016).
First, decide in your group where and when would you like to do the observations or shadowing. Then, select the situation, an event, environment or people that you desire to observe or shadow to study users, service providers, service delivery or system.
The place of observation can be the point where services are happening. For example, the transport group can divide observations among their group members in the following way: the first person observes at the train station, second at the bus station, third at the airport or petrol station, and so on.
You can also perform this exercise in pairs, for example, one person focuses on something different than the other. Observe the real place where the services are happening, like the encounter.
Observe the chosen place from 30 min to 1h and answer the following questions:
• What different stages make up the service?
• What are people involved in delivering the service and what they do?
• What objects they use or interact with?
• What spaces the does service take place in?
• What information is available to people?
• How people involved in delivering the service contribute to the experience?
Make notes of your observations, take photos, but ask before if people agree with that, and sketch the space. Feel free to use for this exercise the MindLab template. At the lecture, members of the group will need to share their findings. Some of you can be asked to report about the exercise findings.
Bring this homework at the lecture on Tuesday 15th of January 2019, and submit it in My Courses.
Homework 2: Blueprint, due Monday 21st of January at 23:00
Individually
Read the paper,
Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A., & Morgan, F. (2008). Service blueprinting: A practical technique for service innovation. California Management Review, no. 50, vol. 3, pp. 66-94.
and create a Blueprint of a service that you observed at the homework 1. If you require more information about the backstage processes, browse the service provider website, find a relevant article or other materials about organisation/company service delivery processes.
Question: What are the benefits that companies in the cases achieved when implementing Blueprint?
Bring homework at the lecture on Tuesday 22 January, and submit at My Courses.
Homework 3: Planning Co-Design Activates due to Monday 28th of January at 23:00
Individually or in pairs
Make a plan of co-design activities for organisation/company possible service delivery improvements inside of your group theme e.g. transport services, food shopping services, healthcare services, banking or library services. You can do this homework individually or in pairs.
With observation exercise, generating blueprint and internet investigations you gained a valuable inside about particular service provider. You are at the stage where you can propose co-design activity for organisation/company service delivery development.
Before the detail co-design activities planning identify possible participants, like stakeholders, users and organisational employees.
Task 1
1. What activates will you organise at different stages of the design process?
2. Imagine whom you would engage at different stages. What tools you would utilise? Make one A4 written plan.
Task 2
Prepare more detail plan of one of your planned activities from Task 1. Describe:
- What will be the main objectives of the activity?
- Who and how many participants will attend the activity?
- Where the activity will be?
- What probes would you use?
- What results are you expecting and how you will analyse them?
Bring homework at the lecture on Tuesday 29th of January and submit at My Courses.
Homework 4: Customer Experiences due to 5th of February
Individually
Chose a different service inside your key topic (healthcare services, banking services) than for homework 1. Test this service and record your service experiences.
Create customer service journey with relevant touchpoints and map out your experiences either by emoticons, experience curve, quotes, photos or sketch of relevant touchpoints.
I encourage you to use an Experience Fellow tool for this exercise https://www.experiencefellow.com. More detail information on how to use Experience Fellow will be provided at the lecture.
Bring homework at the lecture on Tuesday 5th of February and submit at My Courses.
Homework 5: Analyse an existing service due to 11th February
Individually
Analyse and visualise an existing service inside your topic (transport services, food shopping services) online or physical services that have a potential for the customer experience improvements. For the service visualisation, you can use any of the service design tools that we discussed in a second and third lecture, for example, personas, customer service journey, storyboard, blueprint, service ecology, stakeholders map, etc.
For better understanding utilise two different tools like customer service journey and personas.
Please do not propose possible service improvements jet, these will be performing at Saturday's workshop. The size of the visualisation has to be A3 or bigger as you will present your visualisation to a group of four people. Homework is compulsory for the workshop on 11th of February.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask me.
The Final Assignment: Ecology of your service design learning due to 26th of February
(Submission on My Courses until 27th of February at 23:00)
Individually
During the course make notes and reflections on lectures, exercises, homework, the workshop and reading material. Make a visualisation with explanatory texts about your understanding of the course content and their parts and how these are related. This is a reflective task how did you understand the main topics in service design, but it also can be a common in service design exercise. In the final assignment you should include reading material, lectures, practical work and reflections, which should be visible in your individual assignments.
You can apply the service design ecology to a profession where you work, to demonstrate how your company can benefit from your learning in this course.
Feel free to use graphic design programs (e.g. Adobe Illustrator, InDesign) collage, drawings, but not PowerPoint. The size of the poster should be bigger than A3, a poster size. At the final lecture, you will present your work in a presentation of 5 min to your fellow students.
If you decided to do your exercise digitally please send it to me before the lecture, so that it can be projected from my computer.
If you have any questions regarding this assignment, do not hesitate to ask me.