Methods

Definition: One of the fundamental differences between products and services that has an impact on how we must approach their design and development is that products are consumed once they have been produced, where as with services, production and consumption occur at the same time. In order to take this time factor into account, the service design process is more iterative then a product design process, and different stages often happen concurrently. These are some of the methods used by London-based service design studio live|work: Service Ecologies scope the actors involved in the service, and the relationships between them. We analyse the Value Exchange in each relationship and search for new opportunities for relationships that maintain a healthy balance of emotion, value and trust between the actors. In order to help understand and manage the complex relationships between the user, the touchpoints and the back end systems - all over time, we use Service Blueprinting as a practical and poweful service usability and management tool. To get a realistic view of the effects of a service we design service experience prototypesevidence of how the service would live in the world. In this way we are able to explore the implications of a wider system. Source: Livework Studio Ltd