Human Centred Service Design - Short Reflections

I'm delighted to have recently completed IDEO U 's hands on, collaborative, fun & insightful course in Human Centred Service Design.

The course was a relatively short, yet a powerful deep dive into the core aspects of service design and provided a fantastic space to enhance one's knowledge and practical experience. I had an amazing time getting stuck into 1:1 interviewing, journey mapping, Moments that Matter ideation, blueprint prototyping and vision creation.

I think (though it is pretty hard to choose) my top 3 takeaways from the course are:

1. I flipping love service design!! (though I kind of already knew this!)

I now can't wait to continue developing my design project further on the side. [And if there are any motivated or more experienced service designers/Design Thinkers out there, who feel they might be able to help me (feedback, knowledge sharing etc) tackle and re-imagine the transitional social care experience in the UK - please get in touch!] I'd love to chat more :) Maybe Caroline Rabe Dayle Thorpe-Clarke Craig Fallowfield-Tomkins Ella Walding ?

2. Empathise, Reflect, Pivot

I was again reminded of just how powerful it is to listen to stories from your user(s) to ensure that any future design action is rooted in; A) empathy, B) actually solves the right problem for the right people! In my discovery, I rapidly realised that my intended design challenge and proto-persona, were pointing me down a challenging rabbit hole. Jumping then back into conversations with people, really challenged my preconceived ideas but, it also showed me a new avenue to pivot into and while it isn't always comfortable letting go of your ideas, finding evidence that is rooted in empathy and personal stories makes its far easier to do. Active listening, lots of post-it notes (@MURAL is a great tool for integrated research and co-creation activities!) and staying curious, ultimately makes this happen.

3. Service Design as symphony

"When I was listening I listened to symphony orchestras[...]you don't listen to one instrument; you listen to music" - Charles Mingus

Like, music I've come to realise & respect at a far deeper level, the intricacy and complexity that is involved in service design. When you are experiencing a great service, you aren't listening to one instrument and then the next in linear sequence, you are rather standing inside a symphony, experiencing the conscious, fluid interplay of moments. In effect, music.

Additionally, as we so often experience only the front side of a service as customers, we usually aren't aware of just how considered, technical and confusing it is to design and build them. When confronted with a web of tied together service touch-points, operational or emotional, it can feel particularly overwhelming to know where to start ideation & prototyping. I definitely felt this. This is additionally important when you are needing to try and balance the needs of the business e.g. operational efficiency and constraints, with what is of the utmost value to the customer. On a practical level what I found useful here to help prioritise and spark decision making was a small tip from Melanie Bell-Mayeda (IDEO Partner) and I've shared it below.

1) Start small: Pick 2-3 moments /pains from your journey map and ask your end - customer about them in more detail. A 30min conversation is a great start. Start first with your customer's emotional needs and then work backwards to more distant operational moments (unless the two coincide). If a customer feels bad, no degree of operational slickness will make them want to return to your service!

2) Quickly brainstorm 'what might change that moment for the better' & what 3 steps can we take to do this (how)?

3) Reflect - if we made this change, would our customer be more fulfilled, content or more loyal?

I now can't wait to continue applying these newly sharpened skills to future challenges and continuing the learning journey forward.

A big thank you to the @IDEO U teaching team & to everyone on the course who also shared their ideas, feedback and knowledge along the way.

Here's to service design helping change the world for the better, one moment at a time.