Analyzing Client Perspectives of Service Design and the Role of Service Designers
Holm, Kimmo (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121535914
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121535914
Tiivistelmä
This thesis was done for Accenture Song Helsinki, part of Accenture. The purpose was to understand how prospective clients understand service design, its implementation, and their expectations for service designers. This research benefits service designers who promote, sell, and deliver service design projects.
The goal was to map requirements clients have for service design and service designer and create illustrative profiles of the requirements. The knowledge base explored organizational design maturity, the dual role of service designers (facilitator vs. designer), and their required capabilities, providing a foundation for data analysis.
The study followed a case-study approach, and the case was defined as the personal beliefs and expectations of prospective buyers regarding service design. Six in-depth interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Both methods proved effective for understanding participants through observation and interpretation.
Analysis of the interviews revealed three distinct service design project profiles, service designer as a design lead, service designer as a servant-leader and service designer as a facilitator. Each profile was accompanied by a detailed description of the corresponding responsibilities and capabilities of the service designer. Differences in profiles largely stem from the differences in how the service designer is seen – as an expert designer (design lead), an expert designer advising the client (servant-leader), and a facilitator of the process (facilitator).
Based on the research, clients hold diverse beliefs about service design, the role of service designer, and practical implementation. These beliefs range from a holistic belief where the service designer is an expert designer who guides the client towards a good solution and where design is the result of both active collaboration with stakeholders and users and the expert point-of-view of the service designer, to a belief where the service designer facilitates the design process for the client and design is primarily done by stakeholders in co-creation workshops. In this study, the more holistic belief was held by people in more design mature organizations.
These findings help service designers in tailoring their approach and communication to meet client needs and expectations.
The goal was to map requirements clients have for service design and service designer and create illustrative profiles of the requirements. The knowledge base explored organizational design maturity, the dual role of service designers (facilitator vs. designer), and their required capabilities, providing a foundation for data analysis.
The study followed a case-study approach, and the case was defined as the personal beliefs and expectations of prospective buyers regarding service design. Six in-depth interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Both methods proved effective for understanding participants through observation and interpretation.
Analysis of the interviews revealed three distinct service design project profiles, service designer as a design lead, service designer as a servant-leader and service designer as a facilitator. Each profile was accompanied by a detailed description of the corresponding responsibilities and capabilities of the service designer. Differences in profiles largely stem from the differences in how the service designer is seen – as an expert designer (design lead), an expert designer advising the client (servant-leader), and a facilitator of the process (facilitator).
Based on the research, clients hold diverse beliefs about service design, the role of service designer, and practical implementation. These beliefs range from a holistic belief where the service designer is an expert designer who guides the client towards a good solution and where design is the result of both active collaboration with stakeholders and users and the expert point-of-view of the service designer, to a belief where the service designer facilitates the design process for the client and design is primarily done by stakeholders in co-creation workshops. In this study, the more holistic belief was held by people in more design mature organizations.
These findings help service designers in tailoring their approach and communication to meet client needs and expectations.