Service patterns

A service pattern is step or stage of a service that’s similar or repeated across different journeys. It considers the things a user interacts with, and all of the things that make it happen behind the scenes.

Service patterns help us to:

• Create consistent experiences for our users between different journeys, creating familiarity and user confidence
• Bring design teams closer to align and share knowledge
• Provide a starting point for designing steps in new journeys based on existing knowledge
• Help us be more efficient, repeatable and scalable
• Help us consider re-using building blocks for a service ie API’s, data, systems, people, legal.

Jeanette Clemens

Five types of customer value

• Functional value
• Social value
• Emotional value
• Epistemic value – generated by the desire to learn
• Conditional value – benefit that depends on specific situations or context

Sheth, Newman and Gross (Consumption values and market choices) quoted in Kalbach, J., Mapping Experiences, Sebastopol 2016, p. 35

Goal of alignment diagrams

Your ultimate goal is creating an inclusive dialog within the organisation, not creating the diagram itself.
From Kalbach, J., Mapping Experiences, Sebastopol 2016, p. 13

Service design blueprint

A blueprint is an operational tool that visualizes the components of a

service in enough detail to analyze, implement, and maintain it.

Blueprints show the orchestration of people, touchpoints, processes,

and technology both frontstage (what customers see) and backstage

(what is behind the scenes). They can be used to describe the existing

state of a service experience as well as to support defining and implementing new or improved services. While service blueprints resemble approaches to process documentation, they keep the focus on the customer experience while showing how operations deliver that experience.

Nick Remis / Adaptive Path

Service vs Experience

The difference between a service and an experience is that while both are intangible, that is, you cannot touch that, service is only that – whereas an experience is also designed to be memorable.

From James Wallman – Stuffocation, Living with Less (p.248)

Jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) Technique

A JTBD is not a product, service, or a specific solution; it’s the higher purpose for which customers buy products, services, and solutions. (…) It helps the innovator understand that customers don’t buy products and services; they hire various solutions at various times to get a wide array of jobs done.

There are two different types of JTBDs:

1. Main jobs to be done, which describe the task that customers want to achieve.
2. Related jobs to be done, which customers want to accomplish in conjunction with the main jobs to be done.

Then, within each of these two types of JTBDs, there are:

1. Functional job aspects—the practical and objective customer requirements.
2. Emotional job aspects—the subjective customer requirements related to feelings and perception.

Finally, emotional job aspects are further broken down into:

1. Personal dimension—how the customer feels about the solution
2. Social dimension—how the customer believes he or she is perceived by others while using the solution.

(…) The better a solution can fulfill all of these job levels and layers, the better chance it has in the marketplace. Also, the better the solution either achieves or nicely dovetails with related JTBDs, the better chance of success it has. In short, the JTBD concept is a guide for thinking beyond to make your current solutions, and your competitors’ solutions, obsolete.

From The Innovator’s Toolkit

 

The Progress Making Forces Diagram

This diagram can be used (e.g. in interviews) to explore physical, functional, social, and emotional aspects of the forces that pull people towards either tried and tested and innovative solutions.

 

From jobstobedone.org

 

The Customer-Jobs-To-Be-Done Canvas by Helge Tennø

10 service design heuristics

Our Ten Service Design Heuristics

1. Address Real Need

Solve people’s problems while providing value that feels like it’s worth the effort. Base service models on needs identified from contextual research with people.

2. Clarity of Service Offering

Provide a clear service offering in familiar terms. Actors should easily grasp if a service is right for them and what they are trying to deliver.

3. Build Lasting Relationships

The service system should support appropriate interactions, allow for flexibility of use, and foster ongoing relationships. The right level of engagement supports an evolving service experience.

4. Leverage Existing Resources

Consider the whole system and what existing parts could be used to better deliver the service. Find opportunities to augment, repurpose, or redeploy resources.

5. Actor Autonomy and Freedom

The service ecosystem should fit around the habits of those involved. Do not expect people to adapt their life or work styles to suit the service model.

6. Graceful Entry and Exit

Provide flexible, natural entry and exit points to and from the service. Consider when it is appropriate for actors to jump in, or to achieve closure.

7. Set Expectations

Let actors know succinctly what to expect. Assist understanding of where they are in the system through the design of environments and information.

8. The Right Information at the Right Time

Tell the actors of the system what they need to know with the right level of detail at the right time. Weigh the costs and benefits of providing more or less precise information.

9. Consistency Across Channels at any Scale

Continuity of brand, experience, and information should exist across the entire service system. Actors should be able to seamlessly move across channels.

10. Appropriate Pace and Rhythm of Delivery

All actors should experience and provide the service at a suitable and sustainable pace.

 

Usability Matters

Collect efficient feedback with Edward de Bono’s thinking hats

Workshop participants put on a metaphorical coloured hat that symbolises a certain type of thinking. This allows to collect efficiently different types of feedback and avoid having an idea shot down for purely political reasons:

1. Pitch Design team presents their idea and value proposition and/or  Business Model Canvas
2. White hat (Information and data; neutral, objective;) Participants ask clarifying questions to fully understand the idea
3. Black hat (Difficulties, weaknesses, dangers; spotting the risk): Participants write down why it’s a bad idea; collect one feedback after the other while participants read it out loud
4. Yellow hat (Plus points, positives, opportunities) write down – collect
5. Green hat Ideas, alternative possibilities; solutions to black hat problems. Open discussion, facilitator to write down feedback
6. Evolve Design team evolves idea

Osterwalder 2014, p. 136 – 7

Three types of feedback

1. Opinion (“I believe …”)
   • Good: Logical reasoning can improve ideas
   • Bad: Can lead pursuing pet ideas of people with more power
2. Experience (“In our last project …”)
   • Good: Provide valuable learning that can prevent costly mistakes
   • Bad: Failing to realise that different contexts lead to different results
3. Market facts (“We have data that …”)
   • Good: Provides input that reduces uncertainty and market risk
   • Bad: Measuring wrong or bad data can lead to missing out on a big opportunity

Osterwalder 2014 et.al., p. 134

8 Rules for interviews

1. Adopt a beginner’s mind Listen with a “fresh pair of ears” and avoid interpretation. Explore unexpected jobs, pains, and gains in particular.
2. Listen more than you talk Your goal is to listen and learn, not to inform, impress, or convince your customer of anything. Avoid wasting time talking about your own beliefs, because it’s at the expense of learning about your customer.
3. Get facts, not opinions Don’t ask, “Would you…?” Ask, “When is the last time you have…?”
4. Ask “why” to get real motivations Ask, “Why do you need to do…?” Ask, “Why is___important to you?” Ask, “Why is___such a pain?”
5. The goal of customer insight interviews is not selling (even if a sale is involved); it’s about learning Don’t ask, “Would you buy our solution?” Ask “what are your decision criteria when you make a purchase of…?”
6. Don’t mention solutions (i.e., your prototype value proposition) too early Don’t explain, “Our solution does…” Ask, “What are the most important things you are struggling with?”
7. Follow up Get permission to keep your interviewee’s contact information to come back for more questions and answers or testing prototypes.
8. Always open doors at the end Ask, “Who else should I talk to?”

Osterwalder 2014 p.112-3