Service Design Thinking: The Principles Behind Serving the User

What does service design thinking have to do with providing better service? Don't get confused. Let's dive into the practice here.

Services are different from products in that you are not dealing with a physical, tangible item. When designing a product, you have touchpoints to base upon, whereas services are not visible. That is why service design thinking came. It addresses the need to serve the user in a way that fulfills their intended actions.

How is this possible? By incorporating every part of the process in service design. We'll explore more about the discipline here.

What Is Service Design in Design Thinking?

The term service design does not necessarily mean you'll design a service. It's about the conscious effort to unite every aspect of the service. You have to involve the entire organization, from the employees to the users. As a vital part of design thinking, service design encompasses the user's journey across the service you're providing to them.

Did you know that customers are four times more likely to jump off to a competitor based on their experience with the service? Additionally, McKinsey & Company cites that 70% of customers base their buying decisions on the treatment that they get. What's the rationale behind these? It's the service that matters.

And that is why service design thinking is crucial as you will be involving both the end-user and the people working behind providing the service.

Service design thinking has two components similar to providing services in a restaurant, as an example. A restaurant serves customers at the main dining hall while preparing the food behind a back kitchen. The main dining hall, or the table, is the front side of the service, and the backside is the kitchen. Both of which are vital in providing service inside a restaurant.

Frontstage

The front part of service design acts as the direct point of contact with the service. This includes several examples, such as:

• Buttons or links on a website
• Product categories
• Play or pause keys

In service design thinking, you will innovate according to how users interact based on the presented interface. You have to design this user-facing component in a way that makes sense for the service user.

Backstage

Another important component of service design thinking is the back part, where the service bases its mechanism. For service to work, the following has to be designed accordingly as well: 

• A procedure in place
• The technology behind the service
• Policies regarding use of service

For the service design to fulfill the user's request, you will need to take care of the backside and develop the mechanism behind the service. This means involving the employees, suppliers, and the people working behind the scenes to provide the service.

What Are the Principles of Service Design Thinking?

People

A crucial part of service design thinking is the people who will be using the service. The service design has to revolve around the user. Incorporate what they want to gain from your service and how they prefer to access it.

People-centric service means identifying the kind of service that users want to experience. Rather than prioritizing what a business wants to provide, service design thinking puts the focus back on its customers. Cater to the needs of your specific demographics. Are they computer-savvy? Do they need external devices to access your service? Answer the important questions that revolve around people.

Props

Props, or objects, are the ones where users will access the service you're offering. You have to make them easier to handle for a comfortable service experience. As one of the service design principles, props are your best tool to spur engagement from users accessing your service.

In our restaurant example, the props can be cutlery on a dining table. Or, in the case of software, the device they use to access your platform. Service design thinking is about developing a user-oriented prototype. It's not about the business proposing a plate size or choosing between iOS and Android. Service design thinking identifies the ideal plate the user wants to use on a restaurant or their preferred mobile OS.

Processes

The procedure in which a user will access the service is an integral part of the service design. Equip the user's journey with a flow of interactions that make it easy to use your service.

When crafting a methodology, think about what would benefit the user. Does an additional button help? More intuitive icons placed strategically? Align your processes with the input from the user. Plan them according to what is the most efficient way for them. The same planning and thinking goes in restaurant management which was discussed. 

Perspective

Another part of service design thinking is taking into consideration multiple perspectives. Identify areas for improvement whenever a user accesses the service. Include every possible viewpoint for reference, whether that's coming from the end-user, designer, or management.

These varying perspectives - no matter how conflicting or odd they may be - contribute to the overall service design. When you think from multiple perspectives, you see areas you would've otherwise missed. This, in turn, allows you to develop a better service that benefits the user.

Partners

There are various parties involved in the creation and provision of service. Involve every entity's decision and views in the service design thinking. The participation from employees, managers, designers and even suppliers is key to developing a proper service presentation.

Collaboration is essential to procreating a service. Each idea from partners contributes to its improvement. By acknowledging each contribution, there's a high chance to perform or provide a better service.

What Is a Service Design Example?

While products and services are two distinct areas, several platforms nowadays blur the lines between the two. Software, for instance, is considered a product that services its users. Let's try to understand more about service design through these examples from famous brands:

Starbucks - people do not merely go to the famous coffee shop Starbucks for a serving of cappuccino alone. Most of the time, they go for the overall experience they get. Is it ideal to slowly finish a cup of coffee over extended periods? For Starbucks, this is their service design. More than the coffee drink products, it's the service that they experience hanging out or having a meeting inside a coffee shop. Both customers and employees are well aware of this service mechanism.

While it's fairly easy to make a cup of coffee at home, coffee shops like Starbucks integrate service design thinking into their store. And with great attention to detail - their round tables mean you don't have to have somebody at the other seat. You can freely take your time without the awkward feeling inside a public place.

Netflix - watching movies is now possible at any given time, thanks to Netflix. No more running late to movie houses to catch the screening time. Netflix allows you to decide what movie to watch, whenever you feel like it, and even where to watch. In just a few clicks, you have the freedom to choose your movie entertainment at your fingertips. It's a unique service design that coincides with the user's needs and, at the same time, an algorithm that they develop to recommend movies based on what you watch frequently.

The software gives the user a product they can use while at the same time servicing their needs. This is one of the most common examples to apply service design thinking. Following the thought process paves a better, more efficient user experience.

To Conclude

Service design thinking is all about incorporating a thorough plan to provide service to the user. It's about identifying vital points along with how a user can access the service you're providing.

Not only that but there is also the involvement of employees and the entire organization. As previously discussed, both frontstage and backstage complement service design thinking. Unite the ideas and processes from both ends, and you would have implemented strategic service design thinking.

Keep a thorough plan from the initial service touchpoint to how you provide the service to the end-user. Service design thinking is a method that allows you to dig further towards the user's needs. Rather than developing your service around the company, it's about turning them on how a user will benefit from the service you provide.

To assist you with service design thinking, a complete service provider has to aid you in connecting the dots - from the people to the processes. On-demand subscription firms like Delesign can help you implement service design thinking to make your services more holistic and serve the user.

Whether you're serving customers in a restaurant, developing software, or providing professional services, Delesign has a complete talent selection. This includes graphic design, multimedia, web development, and SEO writing capabilities. Thus, providing a complete implementation of service design thinking to help you provide better service for your users and customers.