This articlewas written byTiffany Haleand originally published onBuilt In.
Failure is more than a rite of passage when working in technology its a guarantee.
Do users hate your proposed process flow?
(No big deal, it was just a wireframe!)
What is service design anyway?
Often, when thinking of such products, we look to wildly successful examples like the iPhone.
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However, technology need not be at the heart of a successful product design.
Service design is different from but also often inclusive of product design.
All this falls into the bucket of user experience design.
Where does service design come in?
Service design applies to the point-of-sale (POS) system that alerts baristas to new orders.
Its the layout of the prep counter where the barista creates your drink.
How would this play out in our coffee pick-up example?
The customers experience would change drastically.
The customer would receive an alert indicating the order is ready based on estimated completion timelines.
The customer now has to wait several minutes for their drink, sometimes doubling the expected pick-up time.
To remedy this experience,user journey mappingis a must.
Journey mapping in product design may focus on a single portion of a customers experience.
Journey mapping from a service design perspective extends this focus to all touchpoints that make the customers experience possible.
This holistic view often uncovers frustrations that live well outside of an app users locus of control.
Customers dont need to have full knowledge of the problem to reap the benefits of a great solution.
The nine whys exercise is a greatstrategyto tease out the origin of these kinds of problems.
Its not enough to ask why users didnt complete the process in your current product or system.
Continual curiosity will help you identify their true preferences and the benefits they experience by circumventing the existing process.
Lean on your user research partner or objective colleagues to facilitate neutral sessions with users and service teams alike.
Users who thwart systems to develop their own workarounds arent evil or stubborn theyre in need.
Field studies, specifically direct observation, are fantastic tools for understanding precisely where these workarounds come from.
Record that information and find meaningful ways to bring it into the experience youre designing for them.
The realities of remote work neednt eliminate this kind of research.
Simply focus on meeting users where they are now.
It may not be appropriate, or possible, for your team to take on everything.
Instead of fretting about the limitations take a note from improvisation.
Corporate boundaries or organizational limitations are simply information, and should not end collaborative conversations.
And yes, it can be tricky to draw the line between product design and service design.
And that means its vital to employ strategies of both to deliver the greatest experience to your users today.
