Service Design for Realizing the Invisible

Spotify also uses Service Design to better connect and understand how users interact with their service over time.

I am an avid practitioner of Service Design. I apply it broadly throughout my life, from the design of algorithms to the renovation of rooms in my house like the kitchen or the dining room. I rely upon it because Service Design is the practice to make visible the invisible.

Everyday we conduct sequences of actions to generate some kind of change in the world. Sometimes the relationship between the action and the result are direct - like you add oil to the car engine to lubricate the engine.  But other times we conduct multiple actions to reach a goal. Maybe we go to the grocery store with the end goal of bodily nourishment, or we go to the bar with the end goal of social engagement. Along the way you choose and pay for items.

Along the way you rely upon other persons and their actions. The grocery shelves must be stocked and the drinks must be served.

You rely upon an environment, such as the store or the bar, and expect the environment to be designed so as to support your actions. Food items are clearly visible and the bar has a surface upon which you may rest your drink, or maybe chairs, or at a minimum, enough space for a crowd of people to congregate.

Qualitative atmospheric element will shape these environments and influence your judgement although these elements are not directly connected to your goals or your actions. Within an upscale grocer like Whole Foods the lighting is often dim with dramatic spotlights creating strong shadows.  Is the bar full of energetic young people with nothing else to do or is it full of tired people in their 50s who just finished a day of work?

To provide a radical product innovation in these spaces can benefit from an understanding of how all these different factors - and others - inform and define the product as a service. I've seen AR apps to help people navigate grocery stores - and yet, I wondered "how is this better than the existing signage? Or how is a visual navigation system better than a 2D map?" 

Likewise, in a discussion about security systems, I've wondered how does face recognition on a camera actually improve security? Does it notify guards of unwanted persons? Does it seal the doors so the person can't enter the building?  What is the appropriate action for the venue to apply the technology?

Through service design, one can benefit from a structured approach, to identify the range of human interactions with a set of conditions to accomplish a goal, and how those interactions are distributed over space and time.  In this regard, it transforms the everyday experience into a gold mine of opportunity.