5 principles of Service Design

User-Centered: Service design is user-centered and it has to be viewed from the customer’s point of view. Services are created through interaction between customer and the provider therefore; customers play a great role in the process of creating service design. To create a user-centered service customers should be understood and this is only possible through learning and understanding their habits, culture, and social context. Sometimes the best way to get real insights and to understand how customers feel, designers should walk in customers shoes. This is the only way they can really understand the concerns customers have and problems they are facing. So learning about customers will help designers to provide a service, which is designed by using a common language. A common language is a language everyone can understand. It doesn’t have technical words and expressions and it is purely based on customers understanding.

Co-Creative: Service design has to be co-creative which means to include all stakeholders in the process of design. Although in designing a service customers are one of the most important aspects, other stakeholders such as providers and employer are important as well. Therefore, in designing an ideal service experience everyone should be involved to explore and define the service proposition. This is co-creation and facilitating this group of people who are essential for the success of the business is an important part of design thinking and creativity. Everyone can be creative but the art of listening to all and put all ideas together and get to a practical idea, is what a service designer does.

Sequencing: All services should be visualized as a sequence of interrelated actions. Services are dynamic processes and they occur in a certain phases in time. This period of time needs to be not very long to make the customer bored and not very short to make customer stressed. To get to a great service experience, the service should be tested several times and the impacts on customers should be recorded.  

Evidencing: Intangible services should be visualized in term of physical artifacts. The intangible services are invisible and customers don’t even notice them in many occasions. To make them notice the service and remember it, a good service will provide some artifacts for customers. Evidencing can be provided in different ways according to the need in the particular situation. Some of these methods are by using bills, mail, signs, and souvenirs.

Holistic: The entire environment of a service should be considered. The environment where the service is taking place is very important and has to be considered. Overall every aspect of the service needs to be considered such as some alternatives in customer’s journey and the organization of the service provider. 

This is Service Design Thinking.